Red Barn - Brighton Reservation - Okeechobee, Florida, USA - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

"During the fledgling days of Seminole Cattle, Red Barn came into the picture. At one time, Red Barn was one of the most important structures for the Brighton Seminole Community. Seminole labor built Red Barn under the supervision of Byron L. Yates, Civilian Conservation Corps – Indian Division. The intention was to kickstart the modern Seminole cattle industry, and the complex included the barn, a water tower, pole barn, and two concrete water troughs.

Red Barn was at the center of the cattle industry on Brighton and served as a central meeting place. It also housed the horses they used. Charlie Micco, Willie Gopher, and John Josh were the first elected cattle trustees for the Tribe, due in part to their experience working cattle near Brighton. Micco’s camp was directly to the north of Red Barn, so he could be on hand at all times. He was the first cattle foreman of the Tribe. Josh also lived very close by, keeping his camp just to the east.

In meetings at Red Barn, they workshopped and created the structure of the Seminole Cattle program. The Tribe would eventually use these plans as a foundation for the new governmental structure of the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 1957. Red Barn served as the Seminole’s first town hall, before they were even a federally recognized tribe. Today, only Red Barn remains of the original complex, which stopped being used in the 1960s. It is one of the oldest standing structures on any Seminole reservation." (copied from; Florida Seminole Tourism, The Legacy of Red Barn)


Marker Inscription:

Red Barn

The Brighton Red Barn, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps-Indian Division in 1941, helped mark the beginning the modern Seminole cattle industry. Many of the first Seminole cowboys kept their horses and saddles here and hay was stored in the upper loft. After the Red Barn fell out of use as a horse barn it served as the social center for the Brighton community and as an informal setting for discussions among Seminoles about the creation of a federally recognized Tribal government in the 1950's. The Red Barn today represents a powerful symbol of Tribal sovereignty.

The Red Barn was the first Seminole property to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 and was listed on the Tribal Register of Historic Places in 2011. It is protected under the Tribal Cultural Resource Ordinance (C-01-16) and Federal law.

Restoration of the Red Barn and this marker are supported in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior.

Marker Number: 0 Date: 2011 County: Glades Marker Type: Other Sponsored or placed by: Seminole Tribe - Tribal Register of Historic Places Website: [Web Link]

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.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   03/14/2025 BoomersOTR visited it