Crime Scene and Trauma Cleanup in Chokoloskee, FL

Chokoloskee is an unincorporated community and census-designated place on Chokoloskee Island in Collier County, at the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands on Florida's southwest coast.

Native Americans inhabited Chokoloskee Island for at least 1,500 years, and its ancient Calusa shell mounds were built more than 2,000 years ago.

The name Chokoloskee is derived from a Native American word meaning "Old Home."

The modern settlement of Chokoloskee traces back to 1874, when the Santini brothers arrived and went on to claim most of the island by 1880.

Chokoloskee got a post office in 1891 that was first called Comfort, but the name was changed to Chokoloskee within a year.

Ted Smallwood moved to the island in 1897, became its major landholder, and in 1906 opened the Smallwood Store and became postmaster, a job he held until 1941.

Ted Smallwood's store was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, stayed in business under his daughters until 1982, and is now open as a museum.

Chokoloskee was reachable only by boat until a causeway connected the island to the mainland in 1956.

The Ten Thousand Islands country around Chokoloskee had a frontier-era reputation as a refuge for outlaws, most famously the alleged killer Edgar Watson, whose story was popularized by Ted Smallwood.

The 2020 census counted just 346 residents in Chokoloskee, living in 155 households, and the little island community remains renowned for its fishing at the edge of Everglades National Park.