Fort Drum Community
The original pioneer settlers of Fort Drum were Joel Swain, Henry Parker, and Henry
Holmes.
Elder Joel W. Swain was born in South Georgia in 1836. He became a Primitive Baptist
preacher and moved his family to Hillsborough County, Florida, during the late 1860’s
where he served as minister of Mt. Enon Church near present-day Plant City for about ten
years. About 1877 Elder Swain and his family settled at Fort Drum. The Indian War fort
had been abandoned for many years and the area was a true wilderness. Elder Swain
donated for community use seven and one half acres; five for a cemetery to be named St.
Martha, in honor of his wife, and the remaining two and one half to be used for a church
and school. He built the church and preached there for many years and taught the children
of Fort Drum in the school building he also constructed.
About 1878 Henry L. Parker moved from the Bull Creek-Lake View area and settled at
Fort Drum. Parker’s wife, Elizabeth, had died in 1876 and he had married Ruth Ann
Richards. At the time he moved to Fort Drum Henry Parker was a member of the Brevard
County Commission. He constructed a log house and reserved a room in the building for
a general store and trading post. The nearby Cow Creek Seminole Indians traded bird
plumes, and the hides of alligators, deer, and otters in exchange for guns, ammunition,
and groceries. Cattlemen who gradually moved into the area also purchased most of their
supplies at Parker’s.
Henry Allen Holmes settled at Fort Drum about the same time as his stepfather, Henry
Parker. Holmes became active in the cattle business, and was one of the leading ranchers
in the lower Kissimmee River valley.
Henry A. Holmes residence
Henry L. Parker
Elijah and Charity (Hunter) Padgett came from Georgia to Brevard County prior to 1860
and eventually settled north of Fort Drum near the present-day Okeechobee-Indian River
county line. Padgett’s son, James Tippen Padgett, lived about seven miles north of Fort
Drum and founded the community of Olney. He operated a general store and post office
there for a number of years. Also living in the Olney area was the John McLaughlin
family.
James Tippen Padgett and his second wife Vandalia Ella Willis Padgett and their
son Roy, about 1900
Among those living at Fort Drum during the early 1880’s were the families of Asbury
Sellers, Elmo Boatwright, Streaty Ashford Hair, Sr., and Mary (Parker) Morgan. Mrs.
Morgan was the mother-in-law of Henry Holmes and her son, James Morgan, married
Lucinda Sellers. Robert LaMartin moved from Basinger to Fort Drum during the late
1880’s and taught school there. He returned to Basinger about 1893. Allen Chandler, son
of Shadrach Chandler, moved to Fort Drum from Basinger and remained there until the
turn of the century. John F. Parker, no relation to Henry, settled in Brevard County during
the 1870’s. He eventually moved to Fort Drum where he raised cattle and established a
store.
Henry Parker represented Brevard County in the Florida Legislature during the 1881,
1893, and 1899 sessions. He was instrumental in obtaining a post office for Fort Drum
which was established August 22, 1888, with Parker as first postmaster. He served until
April 30, 1896 when Allen Chandler was appointed. Chandler served for four years and
Parker again became postmaster December 29, 1900. After the establishment of the Fort
Drum post office, James Webb received the contract to deliver the mail from Kissimmee
to Fort Pierce, via Fort Drum. In writing about early postal service, Albert DeVane said
the following:
He (Webb) made bond and began the delivery of mail. The route was from
Fort Pierce to Kissimmee via Fort Drum. It took one day to deliver the
mail by horseback from Fort Drum to Fort Pierce, spending the night
there and returning the next day. The trip from Fort Drum to Kissimmee
took two days each way. This gave the territory one mail a week each way.
The people began to request more frequent and better mail service so a
new route was established from Fort Drum to Quay (now Winter Beach)..
.Mail service was doubled between Fort Drum and Kissimmee.
James Webb’s sons Minor, Lewis, and Henry were bonded as riders; also
his son-in-law, Ed McLaughlin.
During the 1890’s Fort Drum received a number of new residents. The community
blacksmith was William W. Beecher, a native of Illinois who moved to Fort Drum about
1895. When one of the settlers died, Mr. Beecher constructed the casket and Mrs. Ida
Lee, wife of pioneer James Milton Lee, put in a cloth lining. The first Fort Drum resident
to be buried in a store bought casket was Ruthy Ann Parker, who died in 1911. George
W. Drawdy, Sr. and family, originally from Georgia, arrived at Fort Drum during the
1890’s. The Drawdy family opened up a general store, which they owned until 1906.
After Henry Holmes’ wife Joanna died in 1894, he married Carrie Roberts of Orange
County. Carrie’s brother, David Roberts, also moved to Fort Drum during the 1890’s.
Other early pioneers at Fort Drum were Robert Anderson, James Norman, James Webb,
and John Barton.
Fort Drum’s school was a one-room
structure with a vestibule. During the
pioneer days all classes were taught
there, primer class through seventh
grade. The students ranged in age from
six to nineteen and since, on occasion,
the teacher was younger than the older
students, disciplinary problems arose.
One time a male teacher whipped three
boys for teasing a girl. One of the boys
nodded to his sister and both of them
left the schoolhouse, not returning to
class that day. The teacher
disappeared that night and the
common belief was that the father of
Fort Drum School house
these children had chased the teacher
out of the area. Fort Drum’s early
schoolteachers included Elder Joel
Swain, Robert LaMartin, Guy Hardy,
Miss Virie Wigfield, Joe Williams,
Lawton Geiger, Josephine Stinson,
Ebenizer Akins, Eva Daniels, and Mrs.
Schofield.
Midway was a small community
just north of Fort Drum. The
school served the Swain, Cason and
McLaughlin children. Standing in
back, left to right are: Bryan Swain,
Etta Swain, Mrs. Jordan, the
teacher; unidentified woman,
Mamie Cason holding baby, and
Midway School about 1911
Grandma Sellers
The only organized church at Fort Drum during the late nineteenth century was the
Primitive Baptist Church, which had been founded by Joel Swain. However, circuit
riding Methodist preachers served the community and eventually a Church of God
congregation was organized.
Fort Drum’s social life consisted of political picnics, square dances, fish fries, cane
grindings, candy pulls and camp outs. In 1914 the Fort Drum Debating Society was
established and by 1916 a Woodmen of the World Hall was in existence.
A young medical graduate, Dr. R. A. Young, came to Fort Drum in 1902. He was in poor
health and had been advised to seek a warmer climate. He was prompted to come to Fort
Drum by Henry Holmes who promised him a place to live and horses to ride for hunting.
Dr. Young accepted the offer and remained at the Holmes residence for many years. He
delivered babies throughout the area and provided his services to whites and Indians
alike.
Dr. R. A. Young cutting rattles off a snake
During the early 1900’s, Harley Holmes, Henry’s eldest son, operated a general
merchandise store. He was appointed postmaster November 25, 1907, because of Henry
Parker’s advanced age and declining health. On January 26, 1910, John F. Parker, who
also owned a general store, became postmaster and served until Hilton Brown received
the appointment in 1915. Brown also operated a general store.
In 1905 a large portion of southern Brevard County was formed into a new St. Lucie
County, with Fort Pierce as the county seat. Fort Drum was located in this new county
and its first representative on the Board of Commissioners w as R. D. Holmes. After
Holmes moved to Basinger, which was in Osceola County, R. E. McLaughlin represented
the Fort Drum area on the St. Lucie County Commission.
Main Street, Fort Drum about
1912. The house on extreme right
is the residence of Harley Holmes;
the building in the center is Harley
Holmes' general store; the small
building across the street from the
store is Minor Holmes ' barber shop.
With the establishment of Fort Pierce’s St. Lucie County Tribune in 1905, Fort Drum
news was reported on a regular basis in the early issues of that newspaper. The following
are several items appearing in the Tribune.
October 27, 1905 - The stockowners here have been very busy this past
week cow hunting. This is their last hunt till spring. They report plenty of
water on the ground.
J. W. Knight and G. W. Drawdy while out riding Wednesday afternoon
surprised an eight foot alligator in the edge of a swamp, in water two or
three feet deep. They fired at it with a shotgun and apparently killed it, but
when they caught it by the nose, oh my, you should have seen it throw the
water. Another well directed shot put an end to its struggles, and they
were able to drag it to shore.
November 24, 1905 - J. W. Knight killed the largest wild cat ever brought
to Fort Drum.
December 21, 1906 - Outside of a few hunting parties and perhaps a
dance, Christmas will be dull in Fort Drum this year.
The Kissimmee Valley Extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad was completed
through Fort Drum in 1914. A small depot was built at Fort Drum and several miles north
another station was established and given the name Osowaw. Some five miles southeast
of Fort Drum the railroad constructed a station and gave it the name Hilolo.