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| Paynes Creek Historic State Park | |
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  Site of park in U.S. state of Florida Show map of Florida Paynes Creek Historic State Park (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Hardee County, Florida, USA |
| Nearest city | Bowling Green, Florida |
| Coordinates | 27°37′33″N81°48′14″W / 27.62583°N 81.80389°W /27.62583; -81.80389 |
| Governing body | Florida Department of Environmental Protection |
Payne's Creek Massacre--Fort Chokonikla Site | |
| Nearest city | Bowling Green, Florida |
| Area | 400 acres (161.9 ha) |
| Built | 1849 |
| NRHP reference No. | 78000944[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 1978 |
Paynes Creek Historic State Park is aFlorida State Park located on Lake Branch Road one-half mile southeast ofBowling Green, Florida. On November 21, 1978, it was added to the United StatesNational Register of Historic Places, under the title ofPayne's Creek Massacre-Fort Chokonikla Site (also known as "site of Chokonikla blockhouse and bridge" or "Military cemetery").
Following theFirst Seminole War theTreaty of Moultrie Creek and theTreaty of Payne's Landing (see also Treaty of Fort Gibson) created reservations for theSeminoles in central and southern Florida . When theSecond Seminole War ended, theArmed Occupation Act of 1842 was enacted by the federal government that let settlers apply for a 160-acre (0.6 km2) to homestead in Florida.
Ignoring the terms of the treaties with the Seminoles, settlers moved southward, encroaching on the reservation. The remainingSeminole,Mikasuki andCreek leaders in central and south Florida such asBilly Bowlegs (Holata Micco),Abiaka (Sam Jones) andChipco were leery of their new neighbors.
Their ability to trade was limited by the government through the treaties, so as to prevent them from obtaining weapons to cause further conflict. To compensate, white-run trading stores were permitted on the reservation's outskirts to the north and west, letting the Indians obtain supplies and luxuries unavailable within the reservation.
Many of the trading posts were built by Kennedy and Darling, two armysutlers fromFort Brooke who had started their own trading company. Their first trading post onCharlotte Harbor north of theCaloosahatchee river was damaged in the September1848 Hurricane, eventually abandoned (spring 1849); which subsequently burned down and that area is now known asBurnt Store.
Another such store was constructed in the spring of 1849 along the Charlo-popka-hatchee-chee (Little Trout-Eating Creek in Seminole), west of Peas Creek (later known as thePeace River), near present-dayBowling Green. The proprietors were Capt. George Payne and Dempsey Whidden.
On July 17, 1849, Payne and Whidden were killed and wounded William McCullough and Nancy (Whidden) McCullough by five renegade Seminoles, following which the store and everything in it was burned. Another deadly attack occurred just days earlier on July 12, 1849, at the Indian River settlement, nearFort Pierce.
The attack on the trading post in present-dayHardee county caused many of the settlers to flee to the nearest block houses, then ask for military forces to be sent so they could return to their homes in safety.
This led to the establishment of Fort Chokonikla near the site of the former trading post only three months later, on October 26. The fort's name is believed to derive from the Seminole "Chocka-nickler" meaning "burnt store". It was also variously spelled at the time as "Chokkonickla" or "Chokhonikla".
Following the fort's completion, the nearby creek (Haste Lotka) became known as Payne's Creek, which it is still called to this day.
However, due to its location near a swamp, a breeding site formosquitos, many of those stationed at the fort contracted and died ofmalaria. This became such a problem that the fort's doctor recommended the fort's closure. The army quickly agreed, and the fort was vacated on July 18, 1850, after less than nine months of occupancy, and a year and a day after Payne and Whidden's deaths.
Activities includecanoeing,kayaking,fishing,geocaching, and bird and butterfly watching. Amenities include a number of historic sites, threepicnic pavilions, and a museum at the visitor center that recreates pioneer life.
Florida state parks are open between 8 am and sundown every day of the year (including holidays).
Media related toPaynes Creek Historic State Park at Wikimedia Commons
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