FORT CHOKONIKLA
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FORT CHOKONIKLA |
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NAME: Fort Chokonikla COUNTY: Hardee ROADS: 2WD GRID: 3 CLIMATE: Fine BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime |
COMMENTS:
No residents. The fort site can be found in the Paynes Crek Historic State Park: 888 Lake Branch Road, Bowling Green, Florida REMAINS: Site of Fort and Site of Old Trading Post, Whiddon/Payne Grave |
| After the Second Seminole War there was still a lot of trouble between the white pioneers and the Seminoles. Whites continued to move on to, what was claimed as, Indian land. Florida is known for the vast number of forts built during the Seminole Indian Wars. To circumvent some of the troubles the U.S. established a trading post on Paynes Creek just west of the Peace (Pease) River. The store, opened in 1849, was called the Kennedy-Darling store. After a couple of months five indians attacked the store killing clerks Dempsey Whiddon and George S. Payne. William McCullough, another clerk, was wounded but escaped with his wife and child. Not wanting to cause another problem the Seminoles captured three of the Indians and killed another. The fifth one escaped. In the Fall of that year, 1849, Fort Chokonikla was established. The area is 1/2 mile north of the old burned out store. Chokonikla, reportedly, was the name given to the store which means "burned house". There were no Indian conflicts at the new fort however many men died from malaria and fever. The fort was abandoned in 1850. Replicas and markers signify the sites of the fort and the store. The marble marker for graves of the two clerks has been vandalized in the past so the State encased it in concrete on the original grave site. Submitted by: Mike Woodfin |
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