two Santini brothers. These early residents farmed, fished and caught turtles, selling any surpluses in Key West. Other residents came and went fairly frequently. Due to the efforts of Charles Greenleigh (C.G.) McKinney, a post office was established in Chokoloskee in 1891, although it was known as "Comfort" for the first few months. In 1897 Ted Smallwood moved to Chokoloskee Island. There were still just five other families on the island, including the Santini brothers. In 1899, the Santinis left and sold their claims to Smallwood, who became the major landholder on the island. Chokoloskee had acquired a post office in 1891, at first called Comfort, but changed to Chokoloskee within a year. At first, mail for Chokoloskee came by boat from Key West, then as the railroads extended down the Florida peninsula, the mail came from Punta Gorda and later from Fort Myers. After the highway reached Everglades City, it came by boat from there until the causeway to Chokoloskee Island was completed in 1956. Because of the uncertainty of the mail boat schedule, a conch shell would be blown to alert the islanders that the mail had arrived. Chokoloskee Island was quite isolated. At first it was in Monroe County, with the county seat in Key West, away by boat and inaccessible by land. In 1887, Lee County was created out of part of Monroe County, including Chokoloskee, but the county seat was in Fort Myers, almost in the opposite direction from Key West. Finally, in 1923, Collier County was created out of Lee County, with the county seat at Everglades City, just a few miles across Chokoloskee Bay from Chokoloskee Island. However, access to the outside world was still by boat to Key West or Fort Myers until the Tamiami Trail was completed and connected to Everglades City in the late 1920s. C.G. McKinney had moved to Chokoloskee in 1886. He had opened a small store soon afterwards and had been instrumental in getting the post office for Chokoloskee. In 1912 McKinney wrote a complaint about how Chokoloskee was being ignored. He was insulted that two recent letters to him had been addressed to "Everglade" (Everglades City). He wrote, "Now I wish folks could learn that there is another part of this neck of the woods beside Everglade. Everglade is a small place beside Chokoloskee. We have two business houses... we have ten families living here." Ted