The small town of Everglades City plays a big part in Backwater Glades, my new Kurt Hunter Mystery.
Known as the gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands, the city has a unique and colorful history—most notably for smuggling.
The city is old by Florida standards, being settled by Americans after the Civil War. Prior to that, the area was inhabited by the Glades who were later absorbed by the Calusa Indians.
Everglades City was a sleepy fishing and agricultural town until the late 1070s when it became known as one of the largest smuggling destinations in the country. “The Godfathers of Ganja,” available on Netflix popularized the area. At the time it was rumored that more than 80% of the 500 residents were involved in drug trafficking. A series of raids in the 1980s ended the era, jailing an estimated 50% of the adult residents.
The area has since moved on to tourism, using the phrase, “From Bales to Ales,” to romanticize its rebirth. Airboat, swamp buggy rides, kayaking, and ecotours as well as world-class inshore fishing are the big draws
We visited in late fall of last year (2022) and found the area perfect for a location. We kayaked several places including the Big Cypress Preserve where we were informed that our dog was not allowed in our kayak. That encounter provided the fictional Patricia Farley.
Everglades National Park is next door and the Gulf Coast Visitors Center is right in town. That made it a natural location for Kurt to hunt down some bad guys.