Flamingo, Florida
Encyclopedia
Flamingo is an unincorporated community
and ghost town
in Monroe County
, Florida
, United States
. It began as a small coastal settlement on the eastern end of Cape Sable
on the southern tip of the Florida peninsula
, facing Florida Bay
. It is now the southernmost headquarters of Everglades National Park
, the end of the 99-mile Wilderness Waterway known as the Ten Thousand Islands
, and the southern end of the only road (running 38 miles) through the park from Florida City
.
there were scattered settlements
on Cape Sable
, including at Flamingo. The settler
s made a living by providing fish, fresh vegetables and charcoal
to Key West
.
The settlement received its name in 1893 when the settlers had to choose a name for their new post office. They chose the flamingo
as the most distinctive bird seen in the area. While the flamingo did not breed in Florida, birds from Cuba
and the Bahamas once traveled in large numbers to the area. Flamingos were last seen in large numbers in the area in 1902. The post office was closed in 1909.
Life in Flamingo could be unpleasant. Leverett White Brownell, a naturalist
, visited Flamingo in 1893. He described the village of 38 "shacks" on stilts as infested with flea
s and mosquito
s. He claimed to have seen an oil lamp extinguished by a cloud of mosquitoes. He also stated that flea powder was the "staff of life" and that the cabins were thickly soot
ed from the use of smudge pot
s. He added that tomatoes, asparagus and eggplant were the principal crops.
Flamingo had a small boom
in the early 20th Century when speculators
thought that Henry Flagler
would choose a route for his Florida East Coast Railway
across Florida Bay to Key West. Nearby rookeries, such as the famed Cuthbert Rookery, became popular with poachers who sought to kill the nesting birds for their plumage, which was used for fashionable women's hats. Resident and early game warden
Guy Bradley
was shot and killed in Flamingo after confronting plume
hunters.
A fish house was built in Flamingo in 1908 and fishing became the primary occupation of the town. The Ingraham Highway from Homestead
reached Flamingo in 1922 but was poorly maintained and virtually impassable in wet weather until the National Park Service
gave it a gravel
top in the late 1940s. During prohibition moonshining
became a major occupation in Flamingo but was eventually suppressed by government agents.
The Snake Bight
Trail provides an alternative pedestrian
access to the sea to the east of Flamingo but its two-mile length is notorious for the number and ferocity of the mosquito
es. The Christian Point Trail is less daunting and leads through open saltwater marl prairie to Christian Point. The area reportedly got its name when it was used as a mass grave after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 washed numerous dead bodies from the Keys ashore.
, a store, a gift shop (open only during the winter months), a few houses for park rangers and a campground.
Most of these facilities, however, were severely damaged or destroyed in 2005 by storm surge
s up to 9 feet during Hurricane Wilma
. The marina and store have reopened but are currently limited to daytime activity only. There are three new plans to increase eco-tourism with improvements to Flamingo, two of which include rebuilding the destroyed facilities. All plans include keeping the historic gas station and Mission 66 visitor center facility. Handicap access will also be added and employee housing and backwater chickee
s will be replaced in all three plans. As of March 29, 2009 the lodge had been razed and plans to rebuild it are on indefinite hold.
Flamingo is one of the interpretive centers of Everglades National Park. Trails such as the Snake Bight Trail, Christian Point Trail, Rowdy Bend Trail and Coastal Prairie Trail allow visitors to experience the buttonwood, mangrove and coastal prairie ecosystems. Eco Pond is man-made and is part of Flamingo's sewage treatment system. As the largest body of fresh water in the saltwater area of the Everglades it attracts birds in abundance. It had been surrounded by invasive, non-native Brazilian pepper
bushes before the National Park Service recently removed this alien weed and replaced it with native vegetation.
Other services available include ranger-led nature hikes, talks, "swamp tromps" and weekend slide shows in the campground amphitheater. There are also narrated boat tours including cruises on the beautiful schooner "The Windfall".
Canoes may be rented at the marina, and a boat launch is available if you bring your own boat. Manatee
s and crocodile
s are sometimes seen in the Buttonwood Canal. This is one of the few places in the United States where you can see American crocodile
s. They can be distinguished from alligator
s, which are common elsewhere in the park, by the narrower snout, lighter color and "toothier" grin. (Alligators are black, crocodiles tend to be grey.) Camping is available in the large campground, although electrical hook-ups are not available. Mosquito
es can be present any time of year but in the winter months are not a serious problem.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
and ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
in Monroe County
Monroe County, Florida
Monroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 79,589. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county was 74,737....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It began as a small coastal settlement on the eastern end of Cape Sable
Cape Sable
Cape Sable, Florida is the southernmost point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland, running west and curving...
on the southern tip of the Florida peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
, facing Florida Bay
Florida Bay
Florida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland and the Florida Keys. Its area is variously stated to be , or , or . Nearly all of Florida Bay is included in Everglades National Park. The southern edge, along the Florida Keys is in the Florida Keys National Marine...
. It is now the southernmost headquarters of Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...
, the end of the 99-mile Wilderness Waterway known as the Ten Thousand Islands
Ten Thousand Islands (Florida)
The Ten Thousand Islands are a chain of islands and mangrove islets off the coast of southwest Florida, between Cape Romano and the mouth of Lostman's River. Some of the islands are high spots on a drowned shoreline. Others were produced by mangroves growing on oyster bars...
, and the southern end of the only road (running 38 miles) through the park from Florida City
Florida City, Florida
Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States and is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 5,413,212 in 2007. The population was 7,843 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S....
.
Early years
After the end of the Seminole WarsSeminole Wars
The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...
there were scattered settlements
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
on Cape Sable
Cape Sable
Cape Sable, Florida is the southernmost point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland, running west and curving...
, including at Flamingo. The settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s made a living by providing fish, fresh vegetables and charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
to Key West
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
.
The settlement received its name in 1893 when the settlers had to choose a name for their new post office. They chose the flamingo
Caribbean Flamingo
The American Flamingo is a large species of flamingo closely related to the Greater Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Greater Flamingo, but that treatment is now widely viewed as incorrect due to a lack of evidence...
as the most distinctive bird seen in the area. While the flamingo did not breed in Florida, birds from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and the Bahamas once traveled in large numbers to the area. Flamingos were last seen in large numbers in the area in 1902. The post office was closed in 1909.
Life in Flamingo could be unpleasant. Leverett White Brownell, a naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, visited Flamingo in 1893. He described the village of 38 "shacks" on stilts as infested with flea
Flea
Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
s and mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
s. He claimed to have seen an oil lamp extinguished by a cloud of mosquitoes. He also stated that flea powder was the "staff of life" and that the cabins were thickly soot
Soot
Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres,...
ed from the use of smudge pot
Smudge pot
A smudge pot is an oil-burning device used to prevent frost on fruit trees. Condensation of water vapor on particulate soot prevents condensation on plants and raises air temperature very slightly. Usually a smudge pot has a large round base with a chimney coming out of the middle of the base...
s. He added that tomatoes, asparagus and eggplant were the principal crops.
Flamingo had a small boom
Boom and bust
A credit boom-bust cycle is an episode characterized by a sustained increase in several economics indicators followed by a sharp and rapid contraction. Commonly the boom is driven by a rapid expansion of credit to the private sector accompanied with rising prices of commodities and stock market index...
in the early 20th Century when speculators
Speculation
In finance, speculation is a financial action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum...
thought that Henry Flagler
Henry Morrison Flagler
Henry Morrison Flagler was an American tycoon, real estate promoter, railroad developer and partner of John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil. He was a key figure in the development of the eastern coast of Florida along the Atlantic Ocean and was founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway...
would choose a route for his Florida East Coast Railway
Florida East Coast Railway
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad.Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a project of Standard Oil principal Henry Morrison...
across Florida Bay to Key West. Nearby rookeries, such as the famed Cuthbert Rookery, became popular with poachers who sought to kill the nesting birds for their plumage, which was used for fashionable women's hats. Resident and early game warden
Game warden
A game warden is an employee who has the role of protecting wildlife. Game wardens may also be referred to as conservation officers or wildlife officers...
Guy Bradley
Guy Bradley
Guy Morrell Bradley was an American game warden and deputy sheriff for Monroe County, Florida. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he relocated to Florida with his family when he was young...
was shot and killed in Flamingo after confronting plume
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
hunters.
A fish house was built in Flamingo in 1908 and fishing became the primary occupation of the town. The Ingraham Highway from Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
reached Flamingo in 1922 but was poorly maintained and virtually impassable in wet weather until the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
gave it a gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
top in the late 1940s. During prohibition moonshining
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
became a major occupation in Flamingo but was eventually suppressed by government agents.
The Snake Bight
Bight (geography)
In geography, bight has two meanings. A bight can be simply a bend or curve in any geographical feature—usually a bend or curve in the line between land and water....
Trail provides an alternative pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
access to the sea to the east of Flamingo but its two-mile length is notorious for the number and ferocity of the mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
es. The Christian Point Trail is less daunting and leads through open saltwater marl prairie to Christian Point. The area reportedly got its name when it was used as a mass grave after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 washed numerous dead bodies from the Keys ashore.
Flamingo today
The residents of Flamingo were relocated shortly after the creation of Everglades National Park. Through the second half of the 20th century Flamingo consisted of the Flamingo Lodge (open year-round), a restaurant and cafe (open only during the winter months), a marinaMarina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
, a store, a gift shop (open only during the winter months), a few houses for park rangers and a campground.
Most of these facilities, however, were severely damaged or destroyed in 2005 by storm surge
Storm surge
A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
s up to 9 feet during Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. Wilma was the twenty-second storm , thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, and fourth Category 5 hurricane of the record-breaking 2005 season...
. The marina and store have reopened but are currently limited to daytime activity only. There are three new plans to increase eco-tourism with improvements to Flamingo, two of which include rebuilding the destroyed facilities. All plans include keeping the historic gas station and Mission 66 visitor center facility. Handicap access will also be added and employee housing and backwater chickee
Chickee
Chikee or Chickee is a shelter supported by posts, with a raised floor, a thatched roof and open sides. The chickee style of architecture — palmetto thatch over a bald cypress log frame — was adopted by Seminoles during the Second and Third Seminole War as U.S...
s will be replaced in all three plans. As of March 29, 2009 the lodge had been razed and plans to rebuild it are on indefinite hold.
Flamingo is one of the interpretive centers of Everglades National Park. Trails such as the Snake Bight Trail, Christian Point Trail, Rowdy Bend Trail and Coastal Prairie Trail allow visitors to experience the buttonwood, mangrove and coastal prairie ecosystems. Eco Pond is man-made and is part of Flamingo's sewage treatment system. As the largest body of fresh water in the saltwater area of the Everglades it attracts birds in abundance. It had been surrounded by invasive, non-native Brazilian pepper
Brazilian pepper
Schinus terebinthifolius is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to subtropical and tropical South America...
bushes before the National Park Service recently removed this alien weed and replaced it with native vegetation.
Other services available include ranger-led nature hikes, talks, "swamp tromps" and weekend slide shows in the campground amphitheater. There are also narrated boat tours including cruises on the beautiful schooner "The Windfall".
Canoes may be rented at the marina, and a boat launch is available if you bring your own boat. Manatee
Manatee
Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows...
s and crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s are sometimes seen in the Buttonwood Canal. This is one of the few places in the United States where you can see American crocodile
American Crocodile
The American crocodile is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas. Populations occur from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of southern Mexico to South America as far as Peru and Venezuela. It also lives...
s. They can be distinguished from alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s, which are common elsewhere in the park, by the narrower snout, lighter color and "toothier" grin. (Alligators are black, crocodiles tend to be grey.) Camping is available in the large campground, although electrical hook-ups are not available. Mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
es can be present any time of year but in the winter months are not a serious problem.
Sources
- Tebeau, Charlton W.Charlton W. TebeauCharlton W. Tebeau was a prominent American historian of Florida. Tebeau was born in Springfield, Georgia. He took a teaching job at the University of Miami in 1939, where he remained for 37 years, ultimately serving as chairman of the University of Miami's History Department for 23 years.Tebeau...
(1968) Man in the Everglades. Coral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables, FloridaCoral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
: University of MiamiUniversity of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
Press. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-17768 - Bullen, Adelaide K. (1965) "Florida Indians of Past and Present", in Carson, Ruby Leach and Tebeau, CharltonCharlton W. TebeauCharlton W. Tebeau was a prominent American historian of Florida. Tebeau was born in Springfield, Georgia. He took a teaching job at the University of Miami in 1939, where he remained for 37 years, ultimately serving as chairman of the University of Miami's History Department for 23 years.Tebeau...
, Eds. Florida from Indian trail to space age: a history. (Vol. I, pp. 317–350). Southern Publishing Company. - National Park Service - Everglades National Park - accessed April 23, 2006
- Everglades History - accessed April 24, 2006
- Everglades National Park planning upgrades to Flamingo - accessed January 18, 2008