April 5, 1998

Seminole War Military Camp Became Site Of Cleveland

The rise of ground we now know as Cleveland, on the south shore of Peace River, has been inhabited for least 500 years. We know the precise location of a pre-historic Indian town because of the plat for Cleveland filed in 1884 by Dr. A.T. Holleyman.

His map carefully indicates two "Indian Mounds" and a U. S. Army "breastworks" he mistakenly attributed also to Indians. All the earthen structures have been obliterated by modern grading.

Florida Indians of all tribal affiliations built their thatch houses on artificial mounds -- just as we do today and for the same reason, to keep their feet dry.

Those first inhabitants died away from warfare and epidemics. Creek Indians from overpopulated southern Georgia moved into the vacant land about 1700-1720. They called themselves Seminoles -- "those who go to distant places."

The army redoubt was constructed in 1857 following a series of bloody raids by Seminoles against settlers along the Peace River. In January, Company H, Fifth U.S. Infantry, was dispatched from Fort Myers to intercept a possible invasion of Indians from the Everglades.

The post was called Camp Whipple in honor of a Revolutionary War hero. It was occupied only for six weeks. The soldiers were withdrawn when a scouting party up the Peace River found the Seminoles had left the area following a decisive battle in 1856.

The defeat by homestead volunteers and regular soldiers from Fort Meade culminated in removal of Billy Bowlegs and his tribe to Oklahoma. Other army scouting parties occupied Camp Whipple occasionally but never again in force.

Not all Seminoles were removed to Oklahoma or driven to secret places in the Everglades. The 1880 census for Manatee County -- which then included what is now Charlotte County -- enumerates 60 Seminole adults living peaceably along Fish Eating Creek.

Earliest settlers on the south side of the harbor were James Youmans at Shell Creek in 1855, Frederick Howard in 1873 at what is now Solana on the outskirts of Punta Gorda; and James Madison Lanier in 1878 at what is now downtown Punta Gorda.

They homesteaded their properties as small farmers and hunters -- shipping oranges, bird plumes and alligator hides from Tom Knight's store and dock at Hickory Bluff (now Charlotte Harbor Town) across the bay.

An excellent description of Camp Whipple and Lanier's homestead is related by Ted Smallwood who as a boy in 1883 moved with an uncle to Cleveland from central Florida. The account is published in a little book "The Story of Chokoloskee by Charlton W. Tebeau:

"We got a man by the name of Omsby to carry us from Punta Rassa to Cleveland, which was then called Camp Whiffle (sic.) Capt. Omsby had a small sail boat about 25 feet long with a half-cabin on it. We tacked on up north through Matlacha -- head wind and it raining. No power in the boat. Either sail or no go.

"We finally got on up to Punta Gorda (the point of land, not yet a town.) Madison Lanier was living there. He had a small house 15 by 18, a shed on one side, dirt floor, and had some dried venison hanging up under the shed. Capt. Omsby got a ham and saw Lanier later and settled with him.

"Lanier was out hunting when we passed on up northeasterly to Camp Whiffle. It is now called Cleveland. There were pits 4x4x8 feet dug in the ground about 100 yards from the creek. They said the soldiers hid in them to fight the Indians."

James Madison Lanier's unattended hut suggests a temporary hunting shelter. His home probably was in the Cleveland area where he lived after selling the hut and 30 acres on February 5, 1883, to Punta Gorda Founder Col. Isaac Trabue.

By 1884 the upper reaches of Charlotte Harbor had become well known as a paradise for tarpon fishing and quail hunting. The area could be reached only by an arduous sea journey from Pensacola or Cedar Key, but avid sportsmen endured the trip for the reward.

Dr. Alfred T. Holleyman, a sport fisherman from New York state, endeavored to cash in on the popularity by purchasing part of the James Youmans homestead October 22, 1884. He platted a town and built a lodge near a productive Peace River fishing hole.

Grover Cleveland had just been elected president of the United States, and Holleyman was an ardent supporter. In enthusiasm for the first Democrat victory since Abraham Lincoln, Holleyman named his new town Cleveland.

Holleyman imported 300,000 board feet of lumber by schooner from Mobile, Ala., with which to build his combination home and hotel. Called the Baxter House, it was of two-story frame construction capable of accommodating 40 guests.

The Florida Southern Railroad pushed its line from Bartow Junction in 1886 and reached Cleveland on May 26. The final rails to Trabue, as yet uninhabited, were laid in July. While the railroad constructed a huge resort hotel at Trabue and 4,200-foot dock at Punta Gorda, Cleveland was the terminal for passengers going on to Fort Myers.

Travelers stayed overnight at the Baxter House and next morning caught the little paddle-wheel steamer "Alice Howard" for the 8-hour last leg of their journey.

The "Alice Howard" carried mail and freight as well as passengers, and shuttled between Fort Myers and Cleveland three times weekly. Holleyman's wife, Alice, was the first postmaster at Cleveland. The post office was in the hotel lobby.

The Baxter was purchased by New York Senator George Cahoon in 1925 as a winter retreat for himself and friends. He renamed it the National Hotel.

Upon Cahoon's death in 1937, the hotel passed to his male nurse, Arthur Vincent, who changed the name to Peace River Lodge. After several other owners, the landmark burned in 1965.

With opening of the railroad, W. L. Huckeby, operator of a sawmill at Cloverport, Ky., saw an opportunity. He moved his sawmill to Cleveland in late 1886, trucking his machinery to Mobile, Ala., by oxcart and then by schooner to Cleveland. The journey took 56 days. The mill arrived in good shape. It made inexpensive lumber available for new homes, stores and the Methodist Church.

Among Cleveland's prominent men in the early days was George Brown an African-American carpenter from Charleston, S.C. He came there with a black crew in 1890 to supervise construction of the Peace River Phosphate Company barges and drying bins. Seven years later, as the phosphate deposits began to play out, Brown opened a large shipyard he called Cleveland Marine Steam Ways.

Brown was a dignified man respected by both whites and blacks who always addressed him as "mister." He employed both races who worked together harmoniously. He insisted on diligent work, but paid top wages.

Cleveland reached its hey-day in 1924-25 when it incorporated to float a bond for streets and curbs. Dr. Vernon Jordan, a dentist with office in Punta Gorda, was mayor; Shelby C. Cleveland city Marshal; and Andrew S. Cleveland, postmaster.

Sadly the Great Depression hit a few years later, and the village of Cleveland had to default on its bonds. With this, Cleveland voided its charter and drifted into obscurity. However, recent construction of large, luxurious homes in the vicinity is stimulating rebirth of the historic town.

cutline l -- house on shore.

Photo provided by the Charlotte Harbor Area Historical Society

Baxter House at Cleveland was a hunting lodge for wealthy sportsmen. Home on left was that of George Brown, African-American owner-operator of a large ship yard nearby.

By Lindsey Williams, columnist for Sun Coast Media Group newspapers