Egmont Key
Carrying the Torch
“In Miccosukee, one language that Seminole people speak, there is a separate word for an island in the ocean that is different from the word for their island homes in the heart of the Florida Everglades. Egmont Key is one of these oceanic islands, located in the Gulf of Mexico at the entrance to Tampa Bay... during the late 1850’s (non-Seminole historians’ Third Seminole War) the U.S. Army was having difficulty holding Tribal members in Fort Myers, on the Florida mainland, while they awaited deportation. To prevent Seminoles from escaping back, into the tropical labyrinth of the Everglades, the army identified a simple and harsh solution. Seminoles were transported on boat from Fort Myers to Egmont Key while they waited for the paddle steamer the Grey Cloud to take them to New Orleans and the west.” (Excerpt from Egmont Key: A Seminole Story. Seminole Tribe of Florida, Historic Preservation Office)
Image Credit: Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum
3ft of Sea-Level Rise
An estimated that a one-meter rise in sea level will result in the loss of over 13,000 recorded archaeological sites in Florida alone, and an untold number that are currently unrecorded (Miller & Murray 2018).
Site History
Egmont Key holds painful Florida history in beautiful scenery. Sitting at the mouth of Tampa Bay, it is home to the Egmont Key Lighthouse, the Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, and the remnants of the Spanish-American War era Fort Dade. Human-caused environmental damage has reduced the island to less than half its historic size.
“Egmont Key was used as an internment camp to hold imprisoned Seminoles before they were transported west. It became known as the Seminole version of Alcatraz and was even called the dark place due to the horrors that took place on the island. In 1858, the steamer Grey Cloud left Egmont Key, transporting 160 Seminoles west. Polly Parker (Emateloye) was on board, but managed to escape after they stopped in the Florida panhandle at St. Marks. Her legacy can be seen in her many descendants who are today members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.” (Excerpt from “Egmont Key: A Seminole Story,” Seminole Tribe of Florida, Historic Preservation Office)
Image Credit: Egmont Key: A Seminole Story, Seminole Tribe of Florida Historic Preservation Office
