Smallwood Store

Yes, there’s an admission charge. And darned right it’s worth it.
Besides what others have said, this is a Do Not Miss for any Peter Matthiessen readers, or anyone who has read the National Book Award-​winning Shadow Country (in the running for Great American Novel) or, even more to the point, the first book in his Watson trilogy, Killing Mister Watson. THIS IS RIGHT WHERE THAT HAPPENED!
And it is STILL, over a century later, in the Smallwood family, and Ted Smallwood’s descendants are the people who work there!
It is a complete time warp back to the early part of the 20^th century, and the more you look at the exhibits or pictures, the more you are transported directly back to those times – because nothing’s – and I mean nothing’s – been changed. The view off the back porch is, alone, worth the price, and you get some understanding of why people would try to put down roots in such a strange and savage place. (Also, the height of the place says something about hurricane storm surges – and surviving them).
The gift shop is FAR above average: there are just a few designs of t-​shirts and hats (they’re not exploiting the visitors). Instead, there are other things not found generally: all the books about the place (and there’ve been many), alligator hides, Seminole-​design hotpads, shark teeth (be careful – they are sharp!) and a personal favorite, alligator nails.
See why the charge is worth it?

Beware: there is an admission fee! Of course this is not posted on their website. We visited (drove 3 hours) because we thought the store and the nearby area would be something special. While it is nice to see a part of Florida that isn’t a townhouse development I don’t find a mobile home park much of an improvement. The store is essentially a large room crammed with random items (e.g. old bottles, old signs, etc.). This is not a functioning store like the general stores found in the Northeast. There are no interpretive signs, nothing to make this a «museum» as it claims to be on the door. It is a crowded antique mall. Don’t waste your time.

There were lots of signs along our right advertising the Smallwood Store. The Store evidently is an important piece of Florida’s heritage. At least that’s what the signs indicated. Thus, we followed the signs to Chokoloskee.
First of all we had trouble parking. There isn’t a lot of room but we were curious as to what this place really was. It’s a museum of sorts. We were quite disappointed but that was our fault because we didn’t do our research. Admission is $ 5.00 per person to enter the building.
We walked around and didn’t go inside. There just didn’t seem to be enough there to catch our interest.

This place is the essence of Florida backcountry. It’s preserved to about 95% to its original state. Walking in is like stepping back in time. If history is your thing this is little nook is the place to go. Not to mention where it’s located, Chokoloskee, which was cutoff from the mainland until 1955 when they built a road to it.

We followed the reviews from Unilocal regarding the small museum and we’re delighted to find the museum and boat trip the highlight of our week. The museum was fascinating as they had so many things from the olden days from the general store and a great story about the outer life and the Indians that were part of the original area.
For the cruise, the captain made a special effort to ensure that we saw wildlife, dolphins and spent time to talk about his Island home. It was truly a beautiful and exciting day with the private boat tour is really very special.

I was skeptical about paying $ 5 for this «museum», but it was well worth my money just to see the antiques and hear the history of the place. I’ll be back!

No visit to Florida is complete without a visit to this site. The Everglades comprises a large piece of the state. However, few tourists ever visit the Everglades. In fact, even fewer Floridians ever see the Everglades in such a way that develops a feel and appreciation for Florida History, for the pioneers, and for the Native tribes. I lived in South Florida for over 40 years and had never heard of the Smallwood Store. Fortunately, I just had to visit this place after I read about it in the New York Times in an article about how this amazing treasure may be erased by new development/​construction. I hope not.

I have a strange affinity to this place, possibly based on my family history in Ireland of running all sorts of haberdashery and grocery stores and travelling stores for many years. Maybe it’s the trader blood in me coming out but the moment I walked up the stairs to this place I felt at home.
I love being in an old building which has history where you can imagine where real people lived and worked, cried and fought, ate and laughed, were scared, had secrets and loved and did pretty much what we all still do, and this building tries to preserve a Little bit of that history.
Because there is so little of the history of South Florida’s development being preserved, places like Smallwood Trading Post should be cherished and encouraged. $ 5 admission is the price of freaking Starbucks coffee for some people.
Take your time going through there, let your imagination take over. Go through it once and then, go back and go see how much you actually missed the first time. There is a whole lot to see, if you stop, put down your smart phone and actually look. Let your imagination take over, be a child again… enjoy the wonderful breeze coming through, look out at the beauty of the never-​ending Everglades and perhaps you will see a canoe coming up to the dock to trade

Smallwood Trading Post is a gem of history in the Everglades. The land bridge to this island (Chokolooskee) was built in 1955. Before that the Native Americans and locals came to this store by boat and traded furs and alligators and fish for supplies needed as they lived on the remote islands here. There are an amazing amount of historic displays and artifacts inside. The people that work here have an amazing amount of history to share. If you get anywhere near this area it is well worth the time to explore and experience. Great spot for sunsets also. (there are some great places to eat within a couple of miles also). (I have added a number of photos I took here)

We stumbled upon this place by randomly driving around Everglades City after a fantastic lunch at Camellia Street Grill. Follow the sign down a partly unpaved road to the end. Initially it looks like a cool spot to get a quick photo and that’s it. Initially saw the $ 3 admission fee and thought «nah!» but did a quick walk upstairs to peek in and got sucked in. Even went back outside twice for my wallet and camera, I was so impressed. This place has almost shut down a few times and most recently was bought and reopened just last month! The history of this place and the location itself are simply amazing.
A number of people have very obviously put a lot of quality time and effort into arranging things with authenticity, to resemble the original general store/​trading post and living quarters of earlier times. There are numerous displays with historically accurate intrepretations/​explanations, as well as a DVD of interviews playing in one corner of the store.
The souvenirs are actually decent and not too over-​priced.
They do a nice job of having quite a few Florida authors (both fiction and non-​fiction) on display and even have some of the authors there on hand to chat and sign books, and then they continue working in the background.
The folks working there are very friendly and interested in learning and sharing what they’ve learned about everything from early archeological finds of indigenous peoples to early European settlers to more recent times.

It’s a historic place, mostly by reason of the fact that it still exists, certainly not by reason of the fact that anything significant ever happened here. It was an early time trading post, still standing, but now a private pay to look at museum containing some interesting but rather insignificant artifacts.
It’s one of those places wherein the area, location and old stilted structure are of more interest than is the destination of Smallwood Trading Post. It’s well worth the stop by to see, as is the area, but hardly anything to write home about or cause one to make repeated trips.

On the western edge of the Everglades and deep in the heart of the 10,000 Islands, Chokoloskee Island has been called one of Florida’s last frontiers. At the Historic Smallwood Store you will learn the story of the pioneers and settlers who tamed this vast wilderness. Human habitation of Chokoloskee Island began approximately 2,000 years ago when a mound building people began altering the landscape with mounds and canals. Subsequent influxes of Native Americans expanded the mounds and fished, hunted and farmed the rich fertile soil. Moving south from conflict in North Florida and Georgia, the Seminole Indians were the last native peoples to make the Everglades their home.
White settlement in Chokoloskee Bay began near the end of the nineteenth century. Plume, hide, and fur hunters were the first to visit. They were quickly followed by families who combined seasonal hunting, fishing, and farming to make a living like their native predecessors.
Settlement brought a need for goods and mail and that need was met by the Smallwood Store. Established in 1906by Ted Smallwood, this Trading Post served a remote area, buying hides, furs and farm produce and providing the goods required. Ted Smallwood’s store was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It remained open and active until 1982. When the doors were shut, 90% of the original goods remained in the store. In the last few years Ted’s granddaughter has reopened the store as a museum, and today it serves as a time capsule of Florida pioneer history. The center section of the building remains as Ted would have known it. The hide room has been turned into exhibit space, telling the history of the pioneers of southwest Florida.