The Full Story
About
How Chipco Preserve Came To Be
In the late 1840's, the federal government began surveying Seminole land in order to settle it. The image below is a digital version of a survey document dated 1849. By the 1870's, numerous people began to group around a small area in Central Florida that would later grow into a town that adopted the name of Chipco, after Seminole Chief Chipco.
Drs. Karen and Eric Hannel rediscovered this lost town through three years of historical and archaeological research and interviews. The image below is the headwater dam that fed both the grist mill and the planing mill. Photo courtesy of Drs. Karen & Eric Hannel.
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Drs. Karen & Eric Hannel with the marker they sponsored. Photo courtesy of Jack Higgins
Working with The Seminole Tribe of Florida and the State of Florida, the town of Chipco was recorded for posterity in November 2019 by the placement of a historical
marker.
The area where Chipco Township rose and then disappeared was once full of virgin pine woods and abundant wildlife, including alligators. The land and wildlife have seen many changes since the 1870's and we seek to preserve the remaining natural resources for future generations...that is Chipco Preserve.