Smallwood Store offers look at Old Florida living
By GERAD TEAGUE
School of Communication
University of Miami
CHOKOLOSKEE, Fla. — Step into Ted Smallwood’s store and it is as it was a century ago: vestiges, from stretched animal pelts to old-fashioned commercial products, abound. An antique Coca-Cola machine dispenses the soft drink in glass bottles; 10 fluid ounces, of course, which is a mere pittance by today’s standards.
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The Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee Island near Everglades City is a look into the lifestyles of a century ago (Photos by Gerad Teague). |
Smallwood’s Store is one of the few remaining historical sites that encapsulates what life was like on the frontier. Antique lanterns hang from the girders above weathered wood floors. A magazine on display prominently reads: “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.”
How times have changed.
“About 95 percent of what you see is original from when the store was in operation,” said Alice Morrow, who has been working at Smallwood’s for several years.
Built in 1906, Smallwood’s Store was not only a store that served the surrounding community, but a post office and trading post as well.
Ted Smallwood, aside from his role as store curator, was responsible for both retrieving and then distributing mail to the tiny community on Chokoloskee.
“He brought the mail in. He’d be gone two days or so, to bring the mail from the Keys or Fort Myers,” Morrow said. “He’d signal the locals that he was coming so they were all here waiting for their mail when he got here.”
Smallwood also got along well with the Indians in the region, who he viewed as valuable trading partners. He was also one of very few people who could speak the native Seminole language, according to Morrow.
After he retired in 1941, the store remained until it was restored and opened as a museum in the 1980s.
"The barn-red building itself is elevated off the ground on wooden stilts, ostensibly to keep it safe from flooding.
The store abuts Chokoloskee Bay, breathtaking views and all.
Such a design appears to have passed the test of time, as it remains despite a century of hurricanes.
The store abuts Chokoloskee Bay, breathtaking views and all.
A deck in the rear serves as a prime location for fishing; apparently this is no secret as a family is out back on this sunlit afternoon, busy casting their lines.
The store, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, attracts people from all over the world who come to see one of Florida’s oldest buildings.
“The first two in this morning were from England,” Morrow said.
Visitors seem attracted to the historic charm they find at Smallwood. A trio of women pores over the counters, pointing at the items on the shelves and chatting amongst themselves. This behavior is not uncommon, Morrow said.
“People go, “Oh, my mother had one of them. I had one of them and I still use it!”
Joan Weber said she was Everglades City for lunch and decided to go exploring on Chokoloskee with her friends.
“We’re always looking for places to bring people that come to visit us,” Weber said. “The thing I like is that something like this exists that is old Florida, so they can see how it was, how people actually lived.”
Weber paced for a bit, taking in the surroundings. She was drawn in by particularly by a sheet of antiquated linoleum that still covered a section of the floor.
“This is just amazing that they’ve been able to have this survive,” she said.
The store is also famous for its being the location where reputed outlaw Ed Watson met his demise.
Watson escaped a troubled past by migrating to the Ten Thousand Islands region in the early 1880s, where he maintained his visible profile and was suspected in the murders of several individuals.
When he returned to Chokoloskee after the hurricane of 1910, he was met by a crowd at the store and fell victim to their brand of vigilante justice.
The story of Watson was retold by Peter Matthiessen in his trilogy of novels, Killing Mr. Watson, Lost Man’s River, and Bone Collector.
Tom Smith, a native of Massachusetts, nodded as he read Watson’s story, featured prominently next to a portrait of the notorious man himself.
“I could spend hours here,” Smith said. “This is a very nice museum … it’s very interesting.”
He moved on, passing slowly down the aisle as he marveled, pointing at various anachronisms like Esquire shoe polish and Glocoat wax.
“What a walk into the past,” he said. “You can still see some of this stuff in my parents' house.”
If You Go
Hours: From Dec. 1 to May 1: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.., From May 2 to Nov. 30: Friday to Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Contact: 239-695-2989
Directions: Smallwood’s Store is located on Chokoloskee Island, near Everglades City. The store is located seven miles south of U.S. 41 on State Road 29. Turn right on Mamie Street just after coming onto the island.
Smallwood’s Store is also in close proximity to Everglades National Park and is about three miles south of the Gulf Coast Visitor Center..
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