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 Hickory Bluff Pioneers Posted by:  rogueblack
N 26° 57.375 W 082° 03.663
17R E 394683 N 2982031
Tucked away in Charlotte Harbor is a small park with a piece of history.
Waymark Code: WM4K2C
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/01/2008
Views: 36
If a visitor blinks, they may miss it! A tiny park is nestled amongst towering apartments along the Peace River in Charlotte Harbor. This tiny park is the spot chosen for the historical marker describing some of the achievements of the pioneers back when the area was first settled and Charlotte Harbor was known as Hickory Bluff.
The marker reads:
Hickory Bluff Pioneers
After the Civil War (1861-1865), soldiers stationed in Florida decided to stay for the warm climate as well as for political and financial gain. Some became early pioneers here in Hickory Bluff, not far from the 1872 Charlotte Harbor post office.
Lot. Nathan H. De Coster and Capt. John F. Bartholf were Union soldiers stationed at Ft. Myers. After marrying Florida women, they homesteaded in this area. John Lomans, an African-American soldier also serving at Ft. Myers, helped De Coster set up the first sawmill south of Tampa. Lomans later served as voter registrar, and De Coster became a county judge, postmaster and customs inspector. Bartholf was superintendent of public instruction when schools were etablished throughout the Peace River region, including Hickory Bluff in 1873. The first school house was constructed from boards sawn at De Coster's Mill.
Mathieu F. Giddens was a former Confederate soldier who owned a farm on Mill Creek and served as county commissioner. Giddens donated land for the Charlotte Harbor Cemetery after his father-in-law, Joel Knight, died in 1879.
Francis Durrance, Jr., owned a house and cattle in eastern Hickory Bluff. He was a customs collector in Punta Gorda and served as the local preacher. Around 1927, his son, Cleveland Pasco Durrance, built a Mediterranean Revival style home (called locally the "Spanish House," now demolished) near this site. He later moved his family to the house next door and rented the Spanish House to seasonal tourists.
Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners, 2008
Marker Number: 2008
Date: 2008
County: Charlotte
Marker Type: Plaque
Sponsored or placed by: Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners
Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new, and if you took any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark.
Please post a photo at the marker location.
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