The Story of the Chokoloskee Bay Country: With the Reminiscences of Pioneer C. S. Ted Smallwood (Copeland Studies in Florida History)

This book details the history of the area surrounding the small island town of Chokoloskee. Home to fishermen, outlaws and pioneers, the region was first occupied in the late 1870s (though not "settled" until the mid 20th century) and has a fascinating past. Central to the book is the memoir of Charles Sherod Ted" Smallwood, a Chokoloskee pioneer whose general store was an outpost for supplies and a gathering point for area residents. Smallwood was present at the execution of outlaw Edgar J. Watson, suspected of murdering several area residents and the subject of Peter Mathiessen's best-selling trilogy of books "Killing Mr. Watson," "Lost Man's River" and "Bone by Bone."