One of the most amazing discoveries I have made in my journey to rescue our country’s forgotten Spanish heritage is the discovery of the hispanic fishermen on the Gulf Coast who fished the waters alongside their Indian fishing partners known as the “Spanish Indians” and some freed black slaves. The formation of a hispanic creole culture unique to Florida just like what had happened at Fort Mose in the city of St. Augustine, that had been long forgotten inspired me to look even further into the lives of these fishermen and their influence in the region. From the Tampa Bay down to the condominium developments at Punta Rassa, several Spanish and Cuban fishermen settled in the region establishing fishing camps called “ranchos”. Several of these ranchos were built on Punta Rassa, Fort Myers Beach and islands such as Mound Key, Cabbage Key, Cayo Pelau, and Useppa Island.
On these ranchos, these fishermen would come seasonally to catch a variety of fish, dry them in the sun and then store them in barrels of salt from the Bahamas. They lived in palmetto thatched huts, smoking tobacco with clay pipes and consuming a diet of seafood and sea-grapes. By January or February, they sailed back to Havana with their catch just in time for Lent. Through their interactions with the Calusa and Muscogee Indians they encountered in the area, they learned net fishing techniques and employed many of them to assist them in their fishing operations. They also traded with fugitive slaves who lived along the Gulf Coast as well. In the process, many Indians assimilated, had mixed children with the fishermen and a new “Spanish Indian” culture was born. Many of them accompanied the fishermen on their voyages back to Cuba and became baptized in Cuba as well as adopting the Spanish language.
After Florida became a territory of the United States, many of these fishermen and their mixed families fell victim to the government’s Indian removal policies as well as the Seminole Wars. As a result, many of their settlements either disappeared or moved to other parts of the State. When the Civil War ended in 1865, many of these fishermen began returning to operate their ranchos alongside newer American fisheries that also exported fish to Cuba. Following the American victory in the Spanish-American War in 1898, Cuba eventually became a sovereign country and many of these fishermen left the area. Please be advised that there are no remains left of these fishing ranchos aside from archaeological artifacts on display in museums, but their influence survives in the names of the islands of the region. Intrigued by the stories of these fishermen, I decided to go to the sites of some of these fishing ranchos to learn more.
At the Mound House in Fort Myers Beach, a fishing rancho once stood on the site of the home, and the second floor of the home has an exhibit on these fishermen along with a few archaeological artifacts. At the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse, there is a small museum with a small exhibit on these fishermen and their presence on the island. An old cemetery on Cayo Costa holds the graves of thirty Cuban fishermen who perished in a 1910 hurricane. However, Hurricane Charley greatly destroyed the site and today, the site of the cemetery is an overgrown wilderness with no tomb markers or paths. Thanks to the efforts of many hard-working historians and archaeologists, little by little, we will know more about them.
Enjoying your blog! Thank you for sharing with me. Lots of connections with my own family in here - David Rahahę•tih Webb
Wonderful information and well organized blog.