The Okeechobee Waterway is one of the most impressive creations of man and God. Most people have never heard of it and most do not realize that it is possible to cross the middle of the state of Florida, from Fort Meyers to Stuart by water. Its main segments are the St. Lucie Canal, Lake Okeechobee, Lake Hicpochee, and Caloosahatchee River. The shallow (6 ft/1.8 m) waterway has four locks and is used by small commercial and leisure craft. It is also an outlet for the floodwaters of Lake Okeechobee.
This is an image which shows the route. We left Fort Myers and turned right. We ran up the Caloosahatchee River which turns into the Okeechobee Waterway (OWW). Then we stopped in the town of LaBelle for a night and anchored in the river. From there, we merged onto the Caloosahatchee Canal which took us through a couple locks and finally to the town of Clewiston which is on the banks of Lake Okeechobee. From there, we crossed the lake and entered the St. Lucie Canal. This canal took us to the St. Lucie River which took us to the town of Stuart, Florida. All in all, the OWW is approximately 155 statute miles from start to finish. It was a most beautiful and amazing part of our voyage.
I think the OWW is best described in a video we made. The lyrics to the music were written by singer/songwriter Mike Jurgensen who wrote and performs a number of interesting folksongs about Florida and her environs. His music can be experienced if you go to http://www.mikejurgensen.com/ and you can listen to various clips of his great music if you go to
We thank Mike for his great lyrics. We are especially thankful that his song tells the story of the OWW and saves me from having to do it. Click on the picture below to view the video.
The Caloosahatchee basin as it exists today was formed by Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments deposited by fluctuating sea levels over one million years ago. As sea levels receded, a mainland emerged with a series of lakes connected by wet prairies in a shallow valley which stretched between an inland sea and a gulf. From a tiny lake in the center of the valley a waterfall fed a river which flowed to the gulf.
The first humans inhabited this region over ten thousand years ago. The lush flora and fauna of the valley provided an ample food supply and the materials to make food, clothing and shelter.
The early Spanish explorers wrote of this region in the early 1500's. They gave names to many of the things they encountered here, which names are still in use today. These included the Calusa and the Mayaimi; the waterway, River of the Calusa; the inland sea the Mayaimi Lagoon -Big Water; and the peninsula, Florida for the variety of flora found here.
The Seminole indians fled to this area from Alabama and Georgia in the mid-1700's. Like the Spanish, the Seminole left a legacy of many place names. The Mayaimi Lagoon became Lake Okeechobee, and the river became the Caloosahatchee. The name Florida survived.
After the Civil War in the 1860's, homestead opportunities attracted many southerners and squatters to Florida. Settlements were built as far south as the Caloosahatchee.
Twenty years later in 1881, Florida Governor William Bloxham persuaded Philadelphia toolmaker and developer, Hamilton Disston, to purchase four million acres of South Florida at twenty five cents per acre. At this time, the Caloosahatchee basin, with seasonal wet prairies, provided a connection between the lakes in the valley flowing to the Gulf of Mexico. As such, Disston's first project in southwest Florida was to drain the land around Lake Okeechobee. He enlisted the expertise of cattlemen Jacob Summerlin and Capt. Francis Asbury Hendry to survey a route east from Lake Flirt through wetlands connecting Lakes Lettuce, Bonnett and Hicpochee. At the eastern end of Lake Hicpochee the route followed an existing Paleo or Mayaimi Indian canal to Lake Okeechobee.
In September 1881, Disston brought a dredge into Fort Myers and began dredging a 48 ft. canal from Ft. Thompson (11/4 miles east of LaBelle) to Lake Okeechobee.
Despite these drainage efforts the powerful hurricanes of 1926 and 1928 caused significant flooding and loss of life at Moore Haven and Clewiston. Demand for relief from the repeated flooding reached Washington in the midst of an economic depression. The Army Corps of Engineers worked with the Flood Control District to improve the region's flood control.
After the 1928 hurricane President Hoover visited the area to view the devastation and recommended assistance to prevent future flooding. In 1930, Congress appropriated money to construct the Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee.
Over the next several years, the winding Caloosahatchee was all but transformed by dredges into a straight deep channel.
As part of the 1930 flood control project, the St. Lucie River and Caloosahatchee were dredged and channelized creating the Cross-State Ship Channel. This channel, now known as the Okeechobee Waterway, or C-43 Canal, links the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.
The first humans inhabited this region over ten thousand years ago. The lush flora and fauna of the valley provided an ample food supply and the materials to make food, clothing and shelter.
The early Spanish explorers wrote of this region in the early 1500's. They gave names to many of the things they encountered here, which names are still in use today. These included the Calusa and the Mayaimi; the waterway, River of the Calusa; the inland sea the Mayaimi Lagoon -Big Water; and the peninsula, Florida for the variety of flora found here.
The Seminole indians fled to this area from Alabama and Georgia in the mid-1700's. Like the Spanish, the Seminole left a legacy of many place names. The Mayaimi Lagoon became Lake Okeechobee, and the river became the Caloosahatchee. The name Florida survived.
After the Civil War in the 1860's, homestead opportunities attracted many southerners and squatters to Florida. Settlements were built as far south as the Caloosahatchee.
Twenty years later in 1881, Florida Governor William Bloxham persuaded Philadelphia toolmaker and developer, Hamilton Disston, to purchase four million acres of South Florida at twenty five cents per acre. At this time, the Caloosahatchee basin, with seasonal wet prairies, provided a connection between the lakes in the valley flowing to the Gulf of Mexico. As such, Disston's first project in southwest Florida was to drain the land around Lake Okeechobee. He enlisted the expertise of cattlemen Jacob Summerlin and Capt. Francis Asbury Hendry to survey a route east from Lake Flirt through wetlands connecting Lakes Lettuce, Bonnett and Hicpochee. At the eastern end of Lake Hicpochee the route followed an existing Paleo or Mayaimi Indian canal to Lake Okeechobee.
In September 1881, Disston brought a dredge into Fort Myers and began dredging a 48 ft. canal from Ft. Thompson (11/4 miles east of LaBelle) to Lake Okeechobee.
Despite these drainage efforts the powerful hurricanes of 1926 and 1928 caused significant flooding and loss of life at Moore Haven and Clewiston. Demand for relief from the repeated flooding reached Washington in the midst of an economic depression. The Army Corps of Engineers worked with the Flood Control District to improve the region's flood control.
After the 1928 hurricane President Hoover visited the area to view the devastation and recommended assistance to prevent future flooding. In 1930, Congress appropriated money to construct the Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee.
Over the next several years, the winding Caloosahatchee was all but transformed by dredges into a straight deep channel.
As part of the 1930 flood control project, the St. Lucie River and Caloosahatchee were dredged and channelized creating the Cross-State Ship Channel. This channel, now known as the Okeechobee Waterway, or C-43 Canal, links the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.
Thanks Larry great update.
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