Chokoloskee Travel Guide

ted smallwood came to chokoloskee in 1897. in 1906 he built a general store. smallwoods was in constant operation until 1982. today it is a museum and is listed on the national register of historic places. in the 1960's my father and i fished at chokoloskee frequently and i had the opportunity to meet many of the interesting locals that hung out at smallwoods at that time. my father became friends with A.C. hancock, cliff "dinks" boggess, and charlie sanders. see the attached website to learn about many of the people who took part in the development of the town of chokoloskee.

the blue heron motel was owned by A. C. hancock. hancock was one of the most infuential residents of chokoloskee. hancock was a collier county commissioner and later a collier county sheriffs deputy. he owned the blue heron motel and was a WWII veteran. A. C. hancock was a boat builder and a fishing guide. hancock married the daughter of ted smallwood and built the "school boat" that sent chokoloskee children to school to everglades city before the bridge was built in 1955. in the 1960's my father frequently fished from chokoloskee island and we aways stayed at the blue heron motel. A. C. hancock treated us as special guests and i will always remember those special days of my youth fishing with my father at chokoloskee. A. C. hancock died in 2004 and the blue heron motel is now closed. this closed motel is still a remant of florida history and is worth a look when visiting chokoloskee. see the attached website to learn about the interesting people that lived and built this interesting florida frontier town.

pictured is all that is left of the chokoloskee boat yard. back in the 1960's this was a busy boat making facility. it was here that A.C hancock built the school boat that sent chokoloskee children to school to everglades city before the bridge was built in 1955. the historic chokoloskee boat yard is located next to smallwoods general store. for those interested in florida history this spot is worth a look.

this small cemetery is the final resting place of a number of chokoloskee's early settlers. you can take a look at the head stones and see the names of people who were important members of the community.

when in chokoloskee and if you do not have a boat there are a number of local guides that can take you fishing. pictured is a sign for rodney raffield, one of chokoloskee's back country guides.

most people visit chokoloskee for it's excellent salt water fishing. depending on the time of the year you can catch snook, tarpon, snapper, and redfish. chokoloskee is one of florida's best back country fishing locations. pictured is the fishing hole on smallwood drive. the fishing hole has a boat ramp, marina, and bait shop. a good place to go to find out were to fish in chokoloskee.