Okeechobee celebrates and preserves the past in a state that changes every day
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. - The town surrounding Florida’s largest lake embodies old Florida.
The city of Okeechobee gets its name from the giant lake it sits on. Okeechobee is the Seminole word for big water.
Some of the city's deepest roots are on the historic land where the Battle of Okeechobee took place. It was fought on Christmas Day, 1837, during the Second Seminole War.
"It was a very unpopular war because people said, ‘Why do you want Florida? It's useless land, just alligators, snakes, and bugs,’" stated Okeechobee Mayor, Dowling Watford.
Okeechobee mural
Colonel Zachary Taylor arrived from Tampa with one thousand troops, pushing the Seminole tribe south, away from the area. Taylor lost 26 men that day. The Seminoles only lost 12.
"He claimed it a great victory, but that’s debatable. Historians will probably say that he didn’t have a great victory here," explained Mayor Watford.
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Sixty years later, Okeechobee, then known as "The Bend", got its first resident - cattleman Peter Raulerson.
Historic photo of Okeechobee.
"He and six of his seven children came in October 1896," said Magi Cable, president of the Okeechobee Historical Society. "The first thing they did was build a barn to keep their cows, chickens, and pigs from predators.
Okeechobee grew larger, thanks to a new rail line and a booming fishing industry.
"We had all types of fish houses up and down Taylor Creek. We were going to become the "Chicago of the south", that’s how they sold us," shared Cable.
The 1928 hurricane wiped out the fishing industry.
Then, the 1928 hurricane wiped out the fishing industry, but the cattlemen continued to thrive.
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"It’s been here since the 1930s. We think it’s the center focal point of Okeechobee city," said Todd Clemons, owner of the historic Okeechobee Livestock Market.
Little girl inside Okeechobee Livestock Market.
He says it gets visitors from all over the world.
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"They go to Disney World, and then they come here too. They come here, and they can see what Florida used to look like and still is."
Okeechobee is, without a doubt, a slice of old Florida. It celebrates and preserves its past in a state that is changing by the day.
"Saving our history is important to us because so often it gets torn down," explained Cable.