I’m not sure what it is about this story that caught my attention, honestly. With all the old, potentially haunted buildings around Florida, why did this one make me stop and shake off the chills? I’m not sure, but you can best believe I’m going to find out.
I’ve never been to this place ever in my life, but there’s something resting about it. Something that makes you feel like I’ve been there before and I know that what they’re saying is the realest and best warning that you’ll get if that makes any sense. In amateur terms: it creeps me the heck out.
There are a lot of creepy places in Florida, and that’s not a read. Truly, all the ghost stories about Florida make it that much more interesting of a state to live in and learn about. Out of all the creepy places in Florida, this is one that has creeped me out the most, and I don’t even know the story behind it or why you’re not supposed to go under the building. I just know it’s going to scare me. I also know that I will never go to this place even just to visit, but that does not mean I don’t want to learn about why I will avoid it.
In Everglades National Park in Chokoloskee, Florida, The Smallwood Store, according to the official website, was a Trading Post opened in 1906. People would come from all over, apparently, to buy hides, furs and farm produce. Fun fact: Ted Smallwood was the first local white man to trade with the natives back in 1917 when he’d opened his first store in his own home.
Today, visitors can enjoy stepping back in time at the historic Smallwood store, which has earned a spot on the national Webster of historic places, with the store being open seasonally.
Oh, and it’s apparently also very famous for being the ending site of a famous Manhunt that ended a long time ago. The story says that a local farmer named Edgar Watson was killing all the migrant workers that he had been hiring to keep from paying them once their work was done. When he tried to escape after being found out, the farmer was shot and killed.
The granddaughter of the original owner of the store, Ted Smallwood, even recalls seeing Edgar in the store a lot. About Edgar,
“He spent a lot of time here at the store. He always wore an overcoat with a big bulge in it. And he always stood with his back to the wall, so no one could get behind him.”
Reports say that people have spoken of “an uneasy feeling when walking near the store”, and that you shouldn’t “go under the store at any cost “.
Yep. you don’t have to tell me twice. I will never be walking anywhere near or under the Smallwood Store. you would literally have to toss me under.
Would you visit the Smallwood Store or have you? Have you heard the stories? Let me know in the comments!
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