Everglades City
by Thomas Lockyear | Museum of the Everglades
The new exhibit at Museum of the Everglades, “Thank You For Your Service – a Tribute to Everglades Veterans”, opened on May 14th in advance of the Memorial Day Weekend holiday.
Museum staff collaborated with local students and other residents to gather stories of veterans past and present from the greater Everglades area. Historian extraordinaire Kenny Brown at the Chokoloskee Marina generously placed his personal collection of military uniforms on loan to augment the exhibit’s artifacts.
The result is a unique window into the region’s past that reveals that the courage and tenacity of the area’s early pioneers were traits that many carried with them onto the battlefield.

The WWII heroism of Chokoloskee natives Peg & Totch Brown are celebrated alongside that of E.A. “Doug” Hendry, who would become Collier County’s 4th Sheriff when Everglades was still the county seat.
Ancestors of the towns’ founding families fought on both sides of the Civil War, with “Daddy of Chokoloskee” C.G. McKinney and Boggess family patriarch Francis Calvin Morgan both riding in the Confederate Cow Cavalry led by Hendry’s grandfather.
The exhibit also explores the area’s contributions made to our nation’s armed conflicts made in the form of natural resources (massive amounts of lumber) and the role of local fishermen conscripted into the Coast Guard Auxiliary during WWII – with both the Everglades Inn and Rod & Gun Club serving as barracks and bases of operation.
The exhibit was created with the intention of learning more about local veterans with the ultimate goal of creating a permanent military memorial for the town. With this in mind, there is opportunity to add veterans that might have been overlooked to the wall for the duration of the exhibit.
Stop by to learn a few of the fascinating service stories of the people who have called this town their home – or to add one to the historic record. Don’t forget to grab a free “Thank You For Your Service” bumper sticker while you are there.
The exhibit will remain on display through September 14th.
