Paradise or Purgatory: The Challenges of Living in Flamingo

This dwelling of Houston Irwin photographed in 1948 is a prime example of housing in the town of Flamingo. The basic one-story structures raised on stilts were scattered along the shoreline of Florida Bay.

NPS photo (EVER 15112)

Introduction

Well before the creation of Everglades National Park in 1947, people lived in what we call the Flamingo area along Florida Bay. Long before the Spanish arrived in Florida, the Tequesta and Calusa tribes lived in the Everglades. It was not until the late 1800s that European Americans began to inhabit Flamingo year round. This unique place has provided beauty and inspiration, but it has also presented its residents with daunting challenges, including isolation, mosquitoes, severe weather, and hard work.

This image shows another popular structure of Flamingo, the boathouse.

NPS photo (EVER 15032)

The Great Labor Day Hurricane in September 1935 passed over the middle keys.

One of the strongest hurricanes to hit the Flamingo community was the Great Labor Day hurricane in September 1935. It still ranks as the most intense (lowest pressure) Atlantic hurricane to make landfall. Until Hurricane Dorian struck in 2019 with the same maximum sustained winds--185 mph--the Labor Day hurricane in 1935 ranked first by that measurement, too. The severest damage occurred in the Florida Keys, with the community of Islamorada wiped out. Upwards of 420 people died in the storm. More information is available on Wikipedia.

Hurricanes Pose an Annual Threat

Hurricanes challenge those who attempt to reside at Flamingo, particularly because of its location on Florida Bay. Storm surges and flooding have always been major concerns. Most of Flamingo’s buildings were – and still are – elevated as a way to protect them from water damage during tropical storms and worse.

Jeep in high water

NPS photo (EVER 12862)

Flamingo's isolation in and of itself challenged residents, who hoped that the creation of a road into Flamingo would solve these issues.

Even after the construction of the Ingraham Highway from Florida City, access to and from Flamingo was not an easy task, as seen by these commercial fishermen’s attempt to travel the road after the Sept. 21, 1948, hurricane.

It is a truism that water sustains life but also takes life. It was this delicate balance that Flamingo residents hoped to maintain by living near the life-sustaining waters of Florida Bay while attempting to avoid the bay's dangers. What do the narrow lots on Florida Bay depicted on the map below reveal about the orientation of Flamingo residents as they lived and worked in relative isolation?

This plot boundary map of Flamingo from January 1951 shows the importance of the bay to those who lived there. Every family that owned land in Flamingo had shore-front property because Florida Bay was the main source of income to residents. The map also shows that a few individuals built homes and squatted on government land.

NPS photo (EVER 303035)

Challenges of Living in Flamingo

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  Isolation

  Simple structures like this dotted the landscape in the Flamingo area in the first half of the 1900s.

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  Mosquitoes

  Mosquitoes have plagued humans for as long as humans have tried to live along Florida Bay.

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  Tropical Weather

  Hurricanes sweep across South Florida, leaving trails of destruction.

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  Making a Living

  The rich natural resources in Florida Bay lure people trying to make a living.

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  The NPS in Flamingo

  The National Park Service transforms life in Flamingo after Everglades National Park is dedicated in 1947.