16/10/2026
– The Sage of Chokoloskee
One hundred years ago today, on October 16, 1926, Chokoloskee lost one of its earliest pioneers. But Charles G. McKinney left behind something remarkably rare for someone who lived in such an isolated place at the turn of the twentieth century: his voice.
McKinney arrived on Chokoloskee in 1886 and became a merchant, establishing his trading post, and the island’s first postmaster, bringing postal service to the remote settlement.
Those accomplishments tell us a few things about what McKinney did, but his writing shows us who he was.
For nearly twenty years, from 1906 to 1926, McKinney served as the Chokoloskee correspondent for The American Eagle, signing his reports simply, “Progress.” Through those columns, we can understand something of life as it was actually lived in the Ten Thousand Islands.
McKinney wrote about his neighbors, the weather, religion, fishing and hunting, illness, school, visitors, boats, dances and gatherings, moonshine, bootlegging, and the everyday absurdities of living in an extremely isolated community.
Known as the “Sage of Chokoloskee,” McKinney became well known for the humor and dry wit that ran through his observations of island life. He could joke that bootlegging was “about the best and safest thing” in their little neck of the woods, or remark on the state of local education: “Maybe we don’t need any school, we all know enough anyway. They seem to learn to chew to***co, cuss and drink booze at an early age and think their education is complete when they get these necessities ground into their topknots.” Even church life was not beyond his humor. Writing about a preacher who had attracted few listeners, McKinney observed, “If Jesus himself were to come and preach a while some would sour on him also. He would have few hearers after a few sermons.”
McKinney’s legacy on Chokoloskee was much larger than his newspaper columns. He helped shape the community itself. But his writings preserve something even his lasting impact on Chokoloskee cannot: the voice of the man himself, his personality, his humor, and his view of everyday life in the islands.
His final days came during one of the most difficult moments in the community’s history.
The devastating hurricane of September 1926 damaged or destroyed homes and businesses throughout the region, including McKinney’s trading post. In the weeks that followed, Chokoloskee was still clearing wreckage and recovering.
The October 16, 1926 issue of The American Eagle carried what would prove to be McKinney’s final report. In it, he wrote, “We hope the Good Lord will not give us such a dose soon again.” McKinney died suddenly in Everglades that same day. When The American Eagle later reflected on his final dispatch, the editor noted that these were probably the last lines penned by their “venerable and much lamented Chokoloskee correspondent.”
One hundred years later, Charles G. McKinney still feels remarkably present. His physical legacy remains woven into Chokoloskee, while his writings allow us to hear the voice of the man behind that history.
Visit the Museum of the Everglades to learn more about Charles G. McKinney and the people whose lives helped shape our community.
Museum of the Everglades, located at 105 West Broadway Avenue in Everglades City, is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is always free.
