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 Edgar J. Watson - Fort Myers, Florida, USA Posted by:  BoomersOTR
N 26° 38.972 W 081° 50.810
17R E 415720 N 2947898
Infamous outlaw Edgar J. Watson's final resting place.
Waymark Code: WMZ5C2
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 09/12/2018
Views: 3
Edgar J. Watson was referred to as 'the desperado of Chatham Bend' according to a 1954 Collier County News article. He was killed in 1910 when a group of Chokoloskee Island residents shot and killed him riddling his body with 33 bullets. He had a reputation of being a murderer and the town folks feared for their lives.
His murderous habits were not only in Florida. He had murdered in South Carolina and the Oklahoma Territories. The list was long, he even bragged about having murdered 57 men.
His most famous murder was that of the "Queen of Outlaws" the famous Belle Starr. He was arraigned for her murder in Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1889, but nothing came of it due to the townsfolk determining that he had done them a service by killing her.
The book KILLING MISTER WATSON By Peter Matthiessen is a fictional account of the man, the legend and his demise.
Description:
Western Outlaw. Born in South Carolina, he owned a sugar cane plantation in southwest Florida during the lawless years of the late 19th and early 20th century. In his youth he got into a knife fight, killed a man and fled to the Oklahoma territories, where he left a trail of murders. In 1889, he was suspected of killing the notorious female outlaw Belle Starr, was put on trial, but nothing came of it and he was acquitted. Returning to Florida 1891, he killed a man in Arcadia, over a land dispute allegedly in self-defense. In 1892, he bought a 40 acre parcel at Chatham Bend and became a successful sugar cane farmer. Noted for being ruthless to his help, he had several fugitives living on his property, which would keep order and strong arm other land owners into selling their parcels. He would hire workers for his plantation, then on payday, would gun down his entire crew and dump their bodies in the bay. After years of living in fear of Watson, the local residents of Chokoloskee gunned him down at the Smallwood Store. He also was the subject of writer Peter Matthiessen's books, "Lost Man's River" and "Killing Mister Watson".
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith from Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6110/edgar-j.-watson
Date of birth: 11/11/1855
Date of death: 10/24/1910
Area of notoriety: Crime
Marker Type: Headstone
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Sunrise to Sunset
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
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