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Sights to See
Sights to See
Well before Florida was touched by European settlement, ancient peoples settled along the banks of Fisheating Creek and constructed a series of earthworks as part of their village complex. They built temple and burial mounds, middens, embankments, ditches, and a pond.
At the Ortona Indian Mound Park, walk through part of a village complex from three thousand years ago and along canoe canals built by ancient peoples not far from the Caloosahatchee River along Turkey Creek. This site was first discovered in 1839, and has been carbon-dated to A.D. 300, the same period as when the Miami Circle was built. It is thought that the civilization that lived here was related to the Calusa.
Florida’s original alligator and crocodile adventure, Gatorama, opened in 1957, and it lives up to its name, with goliath-sized alligators lazing on the scenic shores of a large pond near Fisheating Creek. A half-century’s growth means you’ll see some of the biggest gators in Florida, truly impressive when they lunge out of the water to be fed.
Built by the US Army Corps of Engineers to maintain water levels between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf of Mexico, the Ortona Lock is along the Caloosahatchee River at Ortona. It is an important stop along the Okeechobee Waterway.
Cracker tales come alive, so to speak, at the Ortona Cemetery, along SR 78 west of US 27 and east of US 29, a region surrounded by massive ranches. Here, Seminole chief Billy Bowlegs III (who was 104 when he died) was interred in 1965.
Grecian columns flank the doorways to the Glades County Courthouse in downtown Moore Haven. You can walk inside and see the thick vault doors leading to the inner chambers, and huge historic maps on the wall. Designed by E. C. Hosford and a registered historic landmark, the courthouse dates back to 1928.
Founded by James A. Moore in 1915, the city of Moore Haven sits on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. In May 1916, Moore commissioned surveyor T.E Frederick to create a plat for town, which is about a square mile in size.
By virtue of its age and location, the Lone Cypress Tree (also known as the Sentinel Cypress), qualifies as a piece of history—it served as a navigational marker for sailors on the Lake Okeechobee for more than a century, as they used it to find the entrance to the newly-dug Caloosahatchee Canal.
Winding along the northern shore of the Caloosahatchee River, the Moore Haven Riverwalk – originally built in 1918 – is a pleasant way to experience downtown Moore Haven.
Open 24 hours, the Seminole Casino at Brighton has more than 300 gaming machines blinking and clanging for your attention, a slice of Las Vegas on the Okeechobee prairie. Bingo is played Tuesday-Friday at 6:45 pm, Saturday at 12:45 and 6:45 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm, with daily specials, Power Bingo, and special big ticket promotions.
