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103-765: The northern part of the Ten Thousand Islands, between Cape Romano and Everglades City , is in the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge . The southern part of the Ten Thousands Islands, south of Everglades City, is in Everglades National Park . The 99-mile-long (159 km) Wilderness Waterway begins at Everglades City and ends at Flamingo at the southern tip of the Florida peninsula. Administrative control of

206-633: A customs house at Mobile Bay in 1804 were dropped in the face of Spanish protests. The United States also hoped to acquire all of the Gulf coast east of Louisiana, and plans were made to offer to buy the remainder of West Florida (between the Perdido and Apalachicola rivers) and all of East Florida. It was soon decided, however, that rather than paying for the colonies, the United States would offer to assume Spanish debts to American citizens in return for Spain ceding

309-728: A fort at Prospect Bluff . This British Post at Prospect Bluff harbored Native American refugees from the Creek War following their demise at the Battle of Horsehoe Bend. A company of Royal Marines , commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Nicolls , was to subsequently arrive, but was invited to relocate to Pensacola in late August 1814. It was estimated, by Captain Nicholas Lockyer of HMS  Sophie , that in August 1814 there were 1,000 Indians at Pensacola, of whom 700 were warriors. Two months after

412-535: A mission at Immokalee which eventually moved to Everglade when revitalized in the 1930s by Harriet Bedell . In 1922, Barron Collier began buying large areas of land in what was then southern Lee County . In 1923, the Florida legislature created Collier County from Lee County, and they chose the county seat to be in Everglade. During that same year, it only consisted of a dozen families, but some northern sportsmen had established winter homes there. Also in 1923,

515-718: A policy of providing refuge to runaway slaves in an attempt to weaken the British Southern Colonies . Hundreds of Black people escaped slavery to Florida over the ensuing decades, with most settling near St. Augustine at Fort Mose and a few living amongst the Seminole, who treated them with varying levels of equality. Their numbers increased during and after the American War of Independence , and it became common to find settlements of Black Seminoles either near Seminole towns or living independently, such as at Negro Fort on

618-528: A promise of arms and continued defense. On 16 March 1812, this force of "Patriots", with the aid of nine U.S. Navy gunboats , seized the town of Fernandina on Amelia Island , just south of the border with Georgia, approximately 50 miles north of St. Augustine. On March 17, the Patriots and the town's Spanish authorities signed articles of capitulation. The next day, a detachment of 250 regular United States troops were brought over from Point Peter, Georgia, and

721-531: A raid on Payne's Town, the chief town of the Alachua Seminoles. Smith's force found a few Indians, but the Alachua Seminoles had abandoned Payne's Town and moved southward. After burning Payne's Town, Smith's force returned to American held territory. Negotiations concluded for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 1813. On May 6, 1813, the army lowered the flag at Fernandina and crossed the St. Marys River to Georgia with

824-405: A single nation of American Indians independent of both Spain and the United States, until 1803 when both nations conspired to entrap its founder. Mikasukis and other Seminole groups still occupied towns on the United States side of the border, while American squatters moved into Spanish Florida. The British had divided Florida into East Florida and West Florida in 1763, a division retained by

927-468: A stream of refugees relocating to depopulated areas of Florida. A majority of these refugees were Muscogee (Creek) Indians from Georgia and Alabama, and during the 1700s, they came together with other native peoples to establish independent chiefdoms and villages across the Florida panhandle as they coalesced into a new culture which became known as the Seminoles. Beginning in the 1730s, Spain established

1030-479: Is connected to Everglades City by a causeway, has about 400 permanent residents. Other islands have been sporadically inhabited in the 19th and 20th centuries by individuals or families. Some of the Ten Thousand Islands are suitable for overnight visits, as dictated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service . Since this is a wilderness area where wind, weather and lack of fresh water can become threatening,

1133-580: Is now Alachua County , an area where the Spanish had maintained cattle ranches in the 17th century. Because one of the best-known ranches was called la Chua , the region became known as the " Alachua Prairie ". The Spanish in Saint Augustine began calling the Alachua Creek Cimarrones , which roughly meant "wild ones" or "runaways". This was the probable origin of the term "Seminole". This name

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1236-658: The Second Seminole War (1835-1842), which was by far the longest and most wide-ranging of the three conflicts. Initially, less than 2000 Seminole warriors employed hit-and-run guerilla warfare tactics and knowledge of the land to evade and frustrate a combined U.S. Army and Marine force that grew to over 30,000. Instead of continuing to pursue these small bands, American commanders eventually changed their strategy and focused on seeking out and destroying hidden Seminole villages and crops, putting increasing pressure on resisters to surrender or starve with their families. Most of

1339-564: The Apalachicola River . The presence of a nearby refuge for free Africans was considered a threat to the institution of chattel slavery in the southern United States, and settlers in the border states of Mississippi and Georgia in particular accused the Seminoles of inciting slaves to escape and then stealing their human property. In retaliation, plantation owners organized repeated raids into Spanish Florida in which they captured Africans they accused of being escaped slaves and harassed

1442-539: The Big Cypress Swamp to live on land considered unsuitable by American settlers. The original indigenous peoples of Florida declined significantly in number after the arrival of European explorers in the early 1500s, mainly because the Native Americans had little resistance to diseases newly introduced from Europe. Spanish suppression of native revolts further reduced the population in northern Florida until

1545-452: The Caribbean . It is part of the only region in the 48 contiguous states that falls under that category. More specifically, it generally has a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen climate classification : Aw ), bordering a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification: Am ). As of the 2020 United States census , there were 352 people, 103 households, and 59 families residing in

1648-573: The Florida panhandle for a large Indian reservation in the center of the peninsula per the Treaty of Moultrie Creek . In 1832 by the Treaty of Payne's Landing , however, the federal government under United States President Andrew Jackson demanded that they leave Florida altogether and relocate to Indian Territory (modern day Oklahoma ) as per the Indian Removal Act of 1830 . A few bands reluctantly complied but most resisted violently, leading to

1751-776: The Indian Removal Act (1830). After several ultimatums and the departure of a few Seminole clans per the Treaty of Payne's Landing (1832), hostilities commenced in December 1835 with the Dade battle and continued for the next several years with a series of engagements throughout the peninsula and extending to the Florida Keys . Though the Seminole fighters were at a tactical and numerical disadvantage, Seminole military leaders effectively used guerrilla warfare to frustrate United States military forces, which eventually numbered over 30,000 regulars, militiamen and volunteers. General Thomas Sidney Jesup

1854-584: The Louisiana Purchase included West Florida and gave the United States a strong claim to Texas. President Jefferson asked U.S. officials in the border area for advice on the limits of Louisiana, the best informed of whom did not believe it included West Florida. Later, in an 1809 letter, Jefferson virtually admitted that West Florida was not a possession of the United States. During his negotiations with France, U.S. envoy Robert Livingston wrote nine reports to Madison in which he stated that West Florida

1957-829: The Old Collier County Courthouse , Bank of Everglades Building , and Everglades Laundry (now the Museum of the Everglades). The city's public schools are operated by the District School Board of Collier County . The Collier County Public Library (CCPL) is the public library system that serves Collier County, and the one branch located within Everglades City is the Everglades City Branch Library Archived November 29, 2014, at

2060-623: The Seminole Wars , in the vicinity of the present Everglades City. American settlement began after the Civil War , when Union sympathizers who had farmed on Cape Sable to supply Key West during the war moved up the west coast of the peninsula. The first permanent settler was William Smith Allen, who arrived on the banks of Potato Creek (later renamed the Allen River) in 1873. After Allen retired to Key West in 1889, George W. Storter, Jr. became

2163-647: The Wayback Machine Seminole Wars 1,500 -2,000 Federal troops Second Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars ) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which coalesced in northern Florida during the early 1700s, when

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2266-484: The indigenous peoples of Florida caused a steep decline in the original native population over the following century, and most of the remaining Apalachee and Tequesta peoples settled in a series of missions spread out across north Florida. Spain never established real control over its vast claim outside of the immediate vicinity of its scattered missions and the towns of St. Augustine and Pensacola , however, and British settlers established several colonies along

2369-603: The mainland of Collier County. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km ), of which 0.9 square miles (2.3 km ) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km ) (21.01%) is water. Everglades City has a tropical climate , similar to the climate found in much of

2472-573: The Atlantic coast during the 1600s. After the establishment of the Province of Carolina in the late 17th century, a series of raids by British settlers from the Carolinas and their Indian allies into Spanish Florida devastated both the mission system and the remaining native population. British settlers repeatedly came into conflict with Native Americans as the colonies expanded further westward, resulting in

2575-648: The British and their Indian allies were beaten back from an attack on Fort Bowyer near Mobile , a U.S. force led by General Jackson drove the British and Spanish out of Pensacola , and back to the Apalachicola River. They managed to continue work on the fort at Prospect Bluff. When the War of 1812 ended, all British forces left the Gulf of Mexico except for Nicolls and his forces in Spanish West Florida. He directed

2678-604: The Florida coast. In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida, Manuel de Montiano, had Fort Mose built and established as a free Black settlement. Fugitive African and African American slaves who could reach the fort were essentially free. Many were from Pensacola; some were free citizens, though others had escaped from United States territory. The Spanish offered the slaves freedom and land in Florida. They recruited former slaves as militia to help defend Pensacola and Fort Mose. Other fugitive slaves joined Seminole bands as free members of

2781-621: The Floridas. The American position was that it was placing a lien on East Florida in lieu of seizing the colony to settle the debts. In 1808, Napoleon invaded Spain, forced Ferdinand VII , King of Spain, to abdicate, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King. Resistance to the French invasion coalesced in a national government, the Cortes of Cádiz . This government then entered into an alliance with Britain against France. This alliance raised fears in

2884-664: The Isle of Orleans, the French government offered to sell it and all of Louisiana as well. While the purchase of Louisiana exceeded their authorization, Livingston and James Monroe (who had been sent to help him negotiate the sale) in the deliberations with France pursued a claim that the area east of the Mississippi to the Perdido River was part of Louisiana. As part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase treaty, France repeated verbatim Article 3 of its 1800 treaty with Spain, thus expressly subrogating

2987-550: The Mississippi and Perdido Rivers, based on the tenuous claim that it was part of the Louisiana Purchase. Madison authorized William C. C. Claiborne , governor of the Territory of Orleans , to take possession of the territory. He entered the capital of St. Francisville with his forces on December 6, 1810, and Baton Rouge on December 10, 1810. The West Florida government opposed annexation, preferring to negotiate terms to join

3090-754: The Patriot Army and was the President of the Legislative Council of the Territory of East Florida. Harris became the leader of a small band of Patriots who roamed the countryside threatening residents who had accepted pardons from the Spanish government. Buckner Harris developed a plan to establish a settlement in the Alachua Country with financial support from the State of Georgia, the cession of land by treaty from

3193-415: The Patriot Army, but King Payne and others held out for peace. The Seminoles were not happy with Spanish rule, comparing their treatment under the Spanish unfavorably with that received from the British when they held Florida. Ahaya , or Cowkeeper, King Payne's predecessor, had sworn to kill 100 Spaniards, and on his deathbed lamented having killed only 84. At a second conference with the Patriot Army leaders,

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3296-541: The Patriots could have made no progress but for the protection of the U.S. forces and could not have maintained their position in the country without the aid of the U.S. troops. The American troops and Patriots acted in close concert, marching, camping, foraging and fighting together. In this way, the American troops sustained the Patriots, who, however, were unable to take the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine . As soon as

3399-427: The Patriots surrendered the town to Gen. George Mathews, who had the U.S. flag raised immediately. As agreed, the Patriots held Fernandina for only one day before turning authority over to the U.S. military, an event that soon gave the U.S. control of the coast to St. Augustine. Within several days the Patriots, along with a regiment of regular Army troops and Georgian volunteers, moved toward St. Augustine. On this march

3502-449: The Patriots were slightly in advance of the American troops. The Patriots would proclaim possession of some ground, raise the Patriot flag, and as the "local authority" surrender the territory to the United States troops, who would then substitute the American flag for the Patriot flag. The Patriots faced no opposition as they marched, usually with Gen. Mathews. Accounts of witnesses state that

3605-565: The Patriots. In retaliation for Seminole raids, in September 1812, Colonel Daniel Newnan led 117 Georgia militiamen in an attempt to seize the Alachua Seminole lands around Payne's Prairie . Newnan's force never reached the Seminole towns, losing eight men dead, eight missing, and nine wounded after battling Seminoles for more than a week. Four months later Lt. Colonel Thomas Adams Smith led 220 U.S. Army regulars and Tennessee volunteers in

3708-551: The Seminole population had been relocated to Indian Territory or killed by the mid-1840s, though several hundred settled in central and southern Florida, where they were allowed to remain in an uneasy truce. Tensions over new settlement in the state under the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 south of Tampa led to renewed hostilities, and the Third Seminole War broke out in 1855. By the cessation of active fighting in 1858,

3811-462: The Seminole villages near the border, resulting in bands of Seminoles crossing into U.S. territory to stage reprisal attacks. The increasing border tensions came to a head on December 26, 1817, as the U.S. War Department wrote an order directing General Andrew Jackson to take command in person and bring the Seminoles under control, precipitating the First Seminole War. The war preceded with

3914-421: The Seminoles again promised to remain neutral. The blacks living in Florida outside of St. Augustine, many of whom were former slaves from Georgia and South Carolina, were not disposed to be neutral. Often slaves in name only to Seminoles, they lived in freedom and feared loss of that freedom if the United States took Florida away from Spain. Many blacks enlisted in the defense of St. Augustine, while others urged

4017-450: The Seminoles to fight the Patriot Army. In a third meeting with Seminole leaders, the Patriot Army leaders threatened the Seminoles with destruction if they fought on the side of the Spanish. This threat gave the Seminoles favoring war, led by King Payne's brother Bolek (also known as Bowlegs) the upper hand. Joined by warriors from Alligator (near present-day Lake City ) and other towns, the Seminoles sent 200 Indians and 40 blacks to attack

4120-512: The Seminoles were removed from Northern Florida to a reservation in the center of the Florida peninsula, and the United States constructed a series of forts and trading posts along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts to enforce the treaty. The Second Seminole War (1835–1842) began as a result of the United States unilaterally voiding the Treaty of Moultrie Creek and demanding that all Seminoles relocate to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma under

4223-459: The Seminoles, and a land grant from Spain. Harris petitioned the governor of Georgia for money, stating that a settlement of Americans in the Alachua Country would help keep the Seminoles away from the Georgia border, and would be able to intercept runaway slaves from Georgia before they could reach the Seminoles. Unfortunately for Harris, Georgia did not have funds available. Harris also hoped to acquire

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4326-583: The Spanish when they regained Florida in 1783. West Florida extended from the Apalachicola River to the Mississippi River . Together with their possession of Louisiana , the Spanish controlled the lower reaches of all of the rivers draining the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains . It prohibited the US from transport and trade on the lower Mississippi. In addition to its desire to expand west of

4429-550: The Spanish, after conflicts with colonists from the Province of Carolina . Creek people , at first primarily the Lower Creek but later including Upper Creek , also started moving into Florida from the area of Georgia. The Mikasuki , Hitchiti -speakers, settled around what is now Lake Miccosukee near Tallahassee . (Descendants of this group have maintained a separate tribal identity as today's Miccosukee .) Another group of Hitchiti speakers, led by Cowkeeper , settled in what

4532-440: The U.S. government was notified of these events, Congress became alarmed at the possibility of being drawn into war with Spain, and the effort fell apart. Secretary of State James Monroe promptly disavowed the actions and relieved Gen. Mathews of his commission on May 9, on the grounds that neither of the instructed contingencies had occurred. However, peace negotiations with the Spanish authorities were protracted and slow. Through

4635-800: The Union. Governor Fulwar Skipwith proclaimed that he and his men would "surround the Flag-Staff and die in its defense". Claiborne refused to recognize the legitimacy of the West Florida government, however, and Skipwith and the legislature eventually agreed to accept Madison's proclamation. Claiborne only occupied the area west of the Pearl River (the current eastern boundary of Louisiana). Juan Vicente Folch y Juan , governor of West Florida, hoping to avoid fighting, abolished customs duties on American goods at Mobile, and offered to surrender all of West Florida to

4738-467: The United States east of the Perdido River, i.e., the balance of West Florida and all of East Florida. The United States would be authorized to either accept transfer of territory from "local authorities" or occupy territory to prevent it falling into the hands of a foreign power other than Spain. Congress debated and passed, on January 15, 1811, the requested resolution in closed session, and provided that

4841-493: The United States if he had not received help or instructions from Havana or Veracruz by the end of the year. Fearing that France would overrun all of Spain, with the presumed result being that Spanish colonies would either fall under French control or be seized by the British, in January 1811, Madison requested the U.S. Congress pass legislation authorizing the United States to take "temporary possession" of any territory adjacent to

4944-522: The United States military strategy was to target Seminole civilians by destroying their food supply. By 1858, most of the remaining Seminoles, war weary and facing starvation, acquiesced to being removed to the Indian Territory in exchange for promises of safe passage and cash payments. An estimated 200 to 500 Seminoles in small family bands still refused to leave and retreated deep into the Everglades and

5047-458: The United States that the British would establish military bases in Spanish colonies, including the Floridas, and as such potentially compromise the security of the southern frontiers of the U.S. By 1810, during the Peninsular War , Spain was largely overrun by the French army. Rebellions against the Spanish authorities broke out in many of its American colonies. Settlers in West Florida and in

5150-436: The United States to the rights of France and Spain. The ambiguity in this third article lent itself to the purpose of U.S. envoy James Monroe, although he had to adopt an interpretation that France had not asserted, nor Spain allowed. Monroe examined each clause of the third article and interpreted the first clause as if Spain since 1783 had considered West Florida as part of Louisiana. The second clause only served to render

5253-505: The Wildlife Service recommends only seasoned canoeists and sea kayakers attempt the trip. Part of the archipelago lies within Everglades National Park . The following islands are officially designated camping sites: Ten Thousand Islands archipelago is among the best and last remaining dark skies sites in coastal Southwest Florida. Most notable is Pavilion Key that lies 11 miles south of Everglades City and lacks any urban development to

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5356-429: The adjacent Mississippi Territory started organizing in the summer of 1810 to seize Mobile and Pensacola , the last of which was outside the part of West Florida claimed by the United States. Residents of westernmost West Florida (between the Mississippi and Pearl rivers) organized a convention at Baton Rouge in the summer of 1810. The convention was concerned about maintaining public order and preventing control of

5459-524: The area. In December 1855, U.S. Army personnel located and destroyed a large Seminole plantation west of the Everglades , perhaps to deliberately provoke a violent response that would result in the removal of the remaining Seminole citizens from the region. Holata Micco , a Seminole leader known as Billy Bowlegs by whites, responded with a raid near Fort Myers , leading to a series of retaliatory raids and small skirmishes with no large battles fought. Once again,

5562-488: The capital of their colony of West Florida. But as was made clear by several local uprisings and other forms of "border anarchy", Spain was no longer able to defend nor control Florida and eventually agreed to cede it to the United States per the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, with the transfer taking place in 1821. According to the terms of the Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823) between the United States and Seminole Nation,

5665-547: The city was 96.45% White , 0.84% African American , 0.63% Native American , 0.42% Asian , 1.46% from other races , and 0.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.97% of the population. In 2000, there were 230 households, out of which 13.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 3.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. Of all households, 27.0% were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who

5768-424: The city. As of the 2010 United States census , there were 400 people, 106 households, and 80 families residing in the city. As of the census of 2000 , there were 479 people, 230 households, and 154 families residing in the city. The population density was 513.2 inhabitants per square mile (198.1/km ). There were 345 housing units at an average density of 369.6 per square mile (142.7/km ). The racial makeup of

5871-464: The community was officially incorporated as the " Town of Everglades " (adding the "s"). The Tamiami Trail , which crossed Collier's domain, passed five miles north of Everglades City. While construction was proceeding on the Trail (it was completed in 1929), Collier pushed construction of what became State Road 29 from Everglades City to Immokalee , providing the town with its first land connection to

5974-400: The convention declared West Florida to be independent. Pro-Spanish, pro-American, and pro-independence factions quickly formed in the newly proclaimed republic. The pro-American faction appealed to the United States to annex the area and to provide financial aid. On October 27, 1810, U.S. President James Madison proclaimed that the United States should take possession of West Florida between

6077-481: The destruction of the Negro Fort in July 1816, and subsequently Jackson's forces destroyed several Seminole/Creek and Miccosukee settlements including Fowltown pursuing them and Black Seminoles and allied Maroons across northern Florida in 1818. Jackson's expedition culminated in April 1818 with the Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident . The Spanish government expressed outrage over Jackson's "punitive expeditions" into their territory and his brief occupation of Pensacola

6180-427: The district from falling into French hands; at first it tried to establish a government under local control that was nominally loyal to Ferdinand VII. After discovering that the Spanish governor of the district had appealed for military aid to put down an "insurrection", residents of the Baton Rouge District overthrew the local Spanish authorities on September 23 by seizing the Spanish fort in Baton Rouge. On September 26,

6283-428: The early 1600s, at which time the establishment of a series of Spanish missions improved relations and stabilized the population. Beginning in the late-17th century, raids by British settlers from the colony of Carolina and their Indian allies began another steep decline in the indigenous population. By 1707, settlers based in Carolina and their Yamasee Indian allies had killed, carried off, or driven away most of

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6386-481: The early 1840s, many Seminoles had been killed, and many more were forced by impending starvation to surrender and be removed to Indian Territory. Though there was no official peace treaty, several hundred Seminoles remained in central and southern Florida after active conflict wound down. The Third Seminole War (1855–1858) was precipitated as an increasing number of settlers in central and southern Florida led to increasing tension with Seminoles and Miccosukees living in

6489-435: The few remaining bands of Seminoles in Florida had fled deep into the Everglades to land unwanted by American settlers . Taken together, the Seminole Wars were the longest, most expensive, and most deadly of all American Indian Wars . Spanish Florida was established in the 1500s, when Spain laid claim to land explored by several expeditions across the future southeastern United States . The introduction of diseases to

6592-493: The first clause clearer. The third clause referred to the treaties of 1783 and 1795 and was designed to safeguard the rights of the United States. This clause then simply gave effect to the others. According to Monroe, France never dismembered Louisiana while it was in her possession. (He regarded November 3, 1762, as the termination date of French possession, rather than 1769, when France formally delivered Louisiana to Spain). President Thomas Jefferson had initially believed that

6695-428: The forces to take the fort. Jackson assigned Brigadier General Edmund Pendleton Gaines to take control of the fort. Gaines directed Colonel Duncan Lamont Clinch to build Fort Scott on the Flint River just north of the Florida border. Gaines said he intended to supply Fort Scott from New Orleans via the Apalachicola River. As this would mean passing through Spanish territory and past the Negro Fort, it would allow

6798-408: The formerly inhabited parts in a state of desolation. In June 1812, George Mathews met with King Payne and other Seminole leaders. After the meeting, Mathews believed that the Seminoles would remain neutral in the conflict. Sebastián Kindelán y O'Regan , the governor of East Florida, tried to induce the Seminoles to fight on the Spanish side. Some of the Seminoles wanted to fight the Georgians in

6901-411: The group when they reached the site of Payne's Town, which had been burned in 1812. The men built a 25-foot square, two-story blockhouse, which they named Fort Mitchell , after David Mitchell , former governor of Georgia and a supporter of the Patriot invasion of East Florida. By the time the blockhouse was completed, there were reported to be more than 160 men present in Elotchaway. On January 25, 1814,

7004-415: The islands is split between Collier County and Monroe County . The Ten Thousand Islands were used and occupied by Native Americans for thousands of years. Evidence of former living sites can be found under as much as four feet (1.2 m) of water. A number of shell rings and other shell complexes have been identified in or adjacent to the Ten Thousand Islands. The Horr's Island archaeological site at

7107-401: The land around the Alachua Prairie ( Paynes Prairie ) by treaty from the Seminoles but could not persuade the Seminoles to meet with him. The Spanish were also not interested in dealing with Harris. In January 1814, 70 men led by Buckner Harris crossed from Georgia into East Florida, headed for the Alachua Country. More men joined them as they traveled through East Florida, with more than 90 in

7210-576: The languages, adopting the dress, and inter-marrying. The blacks knew how to farm and served as interpreters between the Seminole and the whites. Some of the Black Seminoles , as they were called, became important tribal leaders. During the American Revolutionary War , the British, who controlled Florida, recruited Seminoles to raid Patriot-aligned settlements on the Georgia frontier. The confusion of war allowed American slaves to escape to Florida, where local British authorities promised them their freedom for in exchange for military service. These events made

7313-410: The loss of much Creek territory in what is today southern Georgia and central and southern Alabama. As a result, many Creek left Alabama and Georgia, and moved to Spanish West Florida. The Creek refugees joined the Seminole of Florida. In 1814, Britain was still at war with the United States , and in May, a British force entered the mouth of the Apalachicola River , and moved upriver to begin building

7416-422: The median income for a household in the city was $ 36,667, and the median income for a family was $ 38,929. Males had a median income of $ 32,083 versus $ 22,222 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 20,535. About 6.1% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line , including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or older. Historic buildings in Everglades City include

7519-518: The men apparently had brought families with them, as a child was born in Elotchaway on March 15, 1814. Buckner Harris hoped to expand American settlement in the Alachua Country and rode out alone to explore the area. On May 5, 1814, he was ambushed and killed by Seminoles. Without Harris, the District of Elotchaway collapsed. Fort Mitchell was abandoned, with all the settlers gone within two weeks. Some of

7622-621: The men at Fort Mitchell who signed the petition to Congress settled again in the Alachua Country after Florida was transferred to the United States in 1821. During the Creek War (1813–1814), Colonel Andrew Jackson became a national hero with his victory over the Creek Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend . After this victory, Jackson forced the Treaty of Fort Jackson on the Creek, resulting in

7725-552: The mountains, the United States wanted to acquire Florida. It wanted to gain free commerce on western rivers, and to prevent Florida from being used a base for possible invasion of the U.S. by a European country. In order to obtain a port on the Gulf of Mexico with secure access for Americans, United States diplomats in Europe were instructed to try to purchase the Isle of Orleans and West Florida from whichever country owned them. When Robert Livingston approached France in 1803 about buying

7828-532: The new United States enemies of the Seminoles. In 1783, as part of the treaty ending the Revolutionary War , Florida, was returned to Spain. Spain's grip on Florida was light, as it maintained only small garrisons at St. Augustine, St. Marks and Pensacola . They did not control the border between Florida and the United States and were unable to act against the State of Muskogee established in 1799, envisioned as

7931-493: The northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands was occupied year-round 3,500 years ago, and other sites are presumed to have been inundated by a rise in sea level. The material culture of the Native Americans living in the Ten Thousand Islands was distinctive enough to be classified as, at least, a sub-area of the Glades culture area. Almost all of the Ten Thousand Islands are currently uninhabited. The largest, Chokoloskee Island , which

8034-481: The principal landowner in the area. Storter gained fame for his sugar cane crops. He opened a trading post in 1892, and gained a post office, called " Everglade ", in 1895. Storter also began entertaining northern tourists who came to Everglade by yacht in the winter to hunt and fish. His house eventually grew into the Rod and Gun Club, visited by United States Presidents and other notables. The first school in Everglade

8137-484: The provisioning of the fort at Prospect Bluff with cannon, muskets, and ammunition. He told his Native American allies that the Treaty of Ghent guaranteed the return of all Indian lands lost to the United States during the War of 1812, including the Creek lands in Georgia and Alabama. Before Nicolls left in the spring of 1815, he turned the fort over to the maroons and Native American allies whom he had originally recruited for possible incursions into U.S. territory during

8240-494: The remainder of West Florida over to the U.S., Mathews traveled to East Florida to engage the Spanish authorities there. When that effort failed, Mathews, in an extreme interpretation of his orders, schemed to incite a rebellion similar to that in the Baton Rouge District. In 1812, General George Mathews was commissioned by President James Madison to approach the Spanish governor of East Florida in an attempt to acquire

8343-488: The remaining native inhabitants during a series of raids across the Florida panhandle and down the full length of the peninsula. In the first decade of the 18th century. 10,000–12,000 Indians were taken as slaves according to the governor of La Florida and by 1710, observers noted that north Florida was virtually depopulated. The Spanish missions all closed, as without natives, there was nothing for them to do. The few remaining natives fled west to Pensacola and beyond or east to

8446-493: The remaining troops. After the United States government disavowed support of the Territory of East Florida and withdrew American troops and ships from Spanish territory, most of the Patriots in East Florida either withdrew to Georgia or accepted the offer of amnesty from the Spanish government. Some of the Patriots still dreamed of claiming land in Florida. One of them, Buckner Harris , had been involved in recruiting men for

8549-488: The resolution could be kept secret until as late as March 1812. American forces occupied most of the Spanish territory between the Pearl and Perdido rivers (today's coastal Mississippi and Alabama ), with the exception of the area around Mobile, in 1811. Mobile was occupied by United States forces in 1813. Madison sent George Mathews to deal with the disputes over West Florida. When Vicente Folch rescinded his offer to turn

8652-527: The rest of the state. In 1928, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad began service to Everglades City, which became the southernmost point the Coast Line ever reached. Service was provided by an extension of the Coast Line's Haines City Branch from Immokalee to Deep Lake , where it connected to Collier's Deep Lake Railroad , an earlier railroad that transported agricultural freight. The railroad

8755-487: The sea during the American Civil War . Jesup also authorized the controversial abduction of Seminole leaders Osceola and Micanopy by luring them under a false flag of truce. General Jesup clearly violated the rules of war, and spent 21 years defending himself over it, "Viewed from the distance of more than a century, it hardly seems worthwhile to try to grace the capture with any other label than treachery . " By

8858-538: The settlers established a government, titled "The District of Elotchaway of the Republic of East Florida", with Buckner Harris as Director. The Legislative Council then petitioned the United States Congress to accept the District of Elotchaway as a territory of the United States. The petition was signed by 106 "citizens of Elotchaway." The Elotchaway settlers laid out farm plots and started planting crops. Some of

8961-558: The site of Everglades City, was occupied for thousands of years by Native Americans of the Glades culture , who were absorbed by the Calusa shortly before the arrival of Europeans in the New World , but by the time Florida was transferred from Spain to the United States in 1821, the area was uninhabited. A legend says that Seminoles planted potatoes along what is now the Barron River during

9064-492: The south of it. The pristine nature and low south latitude makes the area among the best and unique spots for stargazing and Milky Way astrophotography . [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service . Everglades City, Florida Everglades City is a city in Collier County , Florida , United States, of which it

9167-584: The state legislature changed the city's name to the " City of Everglades City ". The approximate coordinates for the City of Everglades City is located at 25°51′32″N 81°23′5″W  /  25.85889°N 81.38472°W  / 25.85889; -81.38472 . Everglades City is at the mouth of the Barron River , on Chokoloskee Bay. Chokoloskee Bay is approximately ten miles (16 km) long and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide, and runs southeast to northwest along

9270-496: The summer and autumn, the U.S. and Patriot troops foraged and plundered almost every plantation and farm, most of them having been abandoned by their owners. The troops helped themselves to everything they could find. Stored food was used up, growing crops destroyed or fed to horses, all types of movable property plundered or destroyed, buildings and fences burned, cattle and hogs killed or stolen for butchering, and slaves often dispersed or abducted. This continued until May 1813 and left

9373-496: The territory over Spanish objections. Jackson's forces destroyed several Seminole , Mikasuki and Black Seminole towns, as well as captured Fort San Marcos and briefly occupied Pensacola before withdrawing in 1818. The U.S. and Spain soon negotiated the transfer of the territory with the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819. The United States gained possession of Florida in 1821 and coerced the Seminoles into leaving their lands in

9476-522: The territory was still a Spanish colonial possession. Tensions grew between the Seminoles and American settlers in the newly independent United States in the early 1800s, mainly because enslaved people regularly fled from Georgia into Spanish Florida , prompting slaveowners to conduct slave raids across the border. A series of cross-border skirmishes escalated into the First Seminole War , when American General Andrew Jackson led an incursion into

9579-477: The territory. His instructions were to take possession of any part of the territory of the Floridas upon making "arrangement" with the "local authority" to deliver possession to the U.S. Barring that or invasion by another foreign power, they were not to take possession of any part of Florida. Most of the residents of East Florida were happy with the status quo, so Mathews raised a force of volunteers in Georgia with

9682-514: The tribe. Most of the former slaves at Fort Mose went to Cuba with the Spanish when they left Florida in 1763, while others lived with or near various bands of Indians. Fugitive slaves from the Carolinas and Georgia continued to make their way to Florida, as the Underground Railroad ran south. The Blacks who stayed with or later joined the Seminoles became integrated into the tribes, learning

9785-473: The vicinity of St. Augustine . When Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain as part of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the majority of Florida's Indians travelled with the Spanish to Cuba or New Spain . During the mid-1700s, small bands from various Native American tribes from the southeastern United States began moving into the unoccupied lands of Florida. In 1715, the Yamasee moved into Florida as allies of

9888-563: The war. (see Corps of Colonial Marines ). As word spread in the American Southeast about the fort, white Americans called it the " Negro Fort ." Americans worried that it would inspire their slaves to escape to Florida or revolt. Acknowledging that it was in Spanish territory, in April 1816, Jackson informed Governor José Masot of West Florida that if the Spanish did not eliminate the fort, he would. The governor replied that he did not have

9991-447: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.50. In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 11.9% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 19.0% from 25 to 44, 30.5% from 45 to 64, and 34.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.0 males. In 2000,

10094-559: Was eventually applied to the other groups in Florida, although the Indians still regarded themselves as members of different tribes. Other Native American groups in Florida during the Seminole Wars included the Choctaw , Yuchi , Spanish Indians (so called because it was believed that they were descended from Calusas ), and "rancho Indians", who lived at Spanish/Cuban fishing camps (ranchos) on

10197-414: Was not in the possession of France. In November 1804, in response to Livingston, France declared the American claim to West Florida absolutely unfounded. Upon the failure of Monroe's later 1804–1805 mission, Madison was ready to abandon the American claim to West Florida altogether. In 1805, Monroe's last proposition to Spain to obtain West Florida was absolutely rejected, and American plans to establish

10300-520: Was once the county seat. It is part of the Naples – Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area , which is included in the Cape Coral - Fort Myers -Naples Combined Statistical Area . The Gulf Coast Visitor Center for Everglades National Park is located in Everglades City. As of the 2020 US census, the population was 352, down from 400 in the 2010 US census. The area around Chokoloskee Bay, including

10403-469: Was organized in 1893. The school moved into a new building in 1895, but the building was destroyed by a tornado later in the year. The next school building was washed away by the 1910 hurricane . A Methodist circuit rider began visiting Everglade in 1888, and another Methodist minister began a four-year residency the next year. After that, Everglade was occasionally visited by itinerant preachers of various denominations. The Episcopal Church established

10506-485: Was removed in 1957. In 1953, the " Town of Everglades " became the " City of Everglades ". In 1960, the strong winds and coastal flooding of Hurricane Donna combined to destroy 153 homes in Collier County, as well as inflict major damage on 409 more, and damage an additional 1,049. Everglades was hard hit, and two years later, Florida's legislature moved the county seat to East Naples, Florida . In 1965,

10609-406: Was sent to Florida to take command of the campaign in 1836. Instead of futilely pursuing parties of Seminole fighters through the territory as previous commanders had done, Jesup changed tactics and engaged in finding, capturing or destroying Seminole homes, livestock, farms, and related supplies, thus starving them out; a strategy which would be duplicated by General W. T. Sherman in his march to

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