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View from above of creek with rapids

Paynes Creek Historic State Park

Straddling the former treaty boundary of Seminole lands, this interpretive site along the Peace River features a network of trails tied together by a swinging footbridge.

Bowling Green      ( 27.626243,-81.808709 )      4.0 miles

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Along a tributary of the Peace River, Paynes Creek Historic State Park encompasses a landscape where an important turn of American history occurred in the 1840s.

In response to an attack at the trading post on Paynes Creek, Fort Chokonikla was the first of a string of U.S. Army forts built across South Central Florida.

old fashioned map showing fort locations Map of the forts as seen in the park museum


Constructed in 1849, Fort Chokonikla anchored a line of forts towards Fort Pierce for the U.S. Army to contain the Seminole people along a newly modified boundary of Seminole lands.

Paynes Creek flows into the Peace River. A network of four miles of trails interprets both habitats and history, with a swinging footbridge connecting key locations.

Tannic river flowing past a sandbar The Peace River


Resources

Resources for exploring the area
South Florida Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in South Florida book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover  
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.

Overview

Location: Bowling Green
Length: 4 mile trail network
Trailhead: 27.626243,-81.808709
Address: 888 Lake Branch Rd, Bowling Green
Fees: $3 per vehicle
Restroom: At the visitor center and picnic area
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 863-375-4717
 
Open 8 AM to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome. The trail from the parking area to the museum is accessible.

Directions

 
Follow US 17 south from Barstow to Bowling Green. In Bowling Green, turn left onto Main St and follow it east a quarter mile to Lake Branch Rd. Turn right and drive 1.1 miles. The park entrance is on the right. Make the first right along the entrance road to park in front of the visitor center.

About the Park

Flowing into the Peace River, the creek called Hatse Lotka by the Seminoles marked the boundary of an uneasy truce.

When the seven-year Second Seminole War ended in 1842, they were pushed out of more productive lands to the southern part of the Florida peninsula.

That same year, Congress passed the Armed Occupation Act to provide 160 acres of free land and a year’s rations to settlers willing to cultivate and defend it for five years.

The idea was to drive the Indians out. Over the next seven years the influx of settlers led to more conflicts and increased militarization in Florida by the U.S. Army.

Obvious earthen ramps leading to water crossing A former crossing through Hatse Lotka, now Paynes Creek


In Tampa, a military supplier to Fort Brooke, Thomas Kennedy, was named as the government-appointed Indian trader.

In 1845, Kennedy hired George Payne to run his new trading post on Charlotte Harbor.

A few years later, Kennedy teamed up with John Darling, a Tampa man who owned a sloop, to transport supplies.

In the spring of 1849, store manager George Payne emptied out the trading post and moved the goods seventy miles up the Peace River to this new location.

The new Kennedy-Darling Store sat on the bluff above Hatse Lotka on reservation land.

View across creek with gap in forest The store’s location is marked in an open field south of the creek


That July, a rogue band of warriors attacked and destroyed the store, killing George Payne and his employee Dempsey Whidden.

The Seminoles attemped to appease the Federal goverment after this unexpected event, but more ominous repercussions followed the loss of the trading post.

Within a few months, the U.S. Army began constructing Fort Chokonikla on high ground above the north bank of what they now called Paynes Creek.

It was the first of a string of forts built across Florida to contain the Seminole. Fort Chokonikla was never attacked, but many soldiers died due to yellow fever and malaria.

American flag over a plain of dead grass with interpretive sign foreground The flag marks the location of Fort Chokonikla


Abandoned in the summer of 1850, Fort Chokonikla faded into the landscape. Ignoring the treaty boundary, settlers pushed south into Seminole lands.

The Federal government did not intervene on the Seminoles’ behalf. In December 1855, Army troops destroyed a large Seminole plantation. The Seminoles retaliated with raids.

In a series of skirmishes and raids ending in 1858, the Third Seminole War saw the U.S. Army actively target crops to starve tribal members off their lands.

Most agreed to relocate in the “Indian Removal” to Oklahoma. Others, led by leaders refusing to sign another worthless treaty, moved onto the tree islands of the Everglades.

Pieces of colorfully patterned plates Broken ceramics found at this site



Exploring the Park

Inside the park museum are a handful of artifacts uncovered during archaeological digs within this 410 acre park, along with details on the Seminole Wars.

Two interpretive trails, the accessible Fort Chokonikla Trail and the longer Historic Trail, lead to those sites as well as a memorial erected to Payne and Demspey.

Gravestone like monument with picket fence around it The memorial to the slain storekeepers


Two short upland loops near the fort site, the Flatwoods and Mary Jane Trails, tally 1.1 miles of habitat immersion.

Starting near the picnic area, the Peace River Trail makes a 1.1 mile loop along the north shore of Paynes Creek to the river.

Tannic creek beneath moss laden trees Peace River Trail Discover a scenic shoreline along the Peace River where Paynes Creek empties into the winding, narrow river's tannic flow.

It provides the best scenic views and wildlife watching within the park.

Baby alligators on a log with big gator watching them Mama and baby alligators in a slough along the Peace River Trail


Trail Map

Paynes Creek Historic State Park Trail Map
Red: Historic Trail. Blue: Peace River Trail.

Explore More!

Slideshow

See our photos of Paynes Creek Historic State Park


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Boardwalk amid cypress trees Mosaic Peace River Park At the site of a former phosphate mine, a boardwalk slips through the cypress swamps of the Peace River floodplain at Mosaic Peace River Park near Fort Meade.
Fort Fraser Trail Fort Fraser Trail Paralleling US 98 between Bartow and Lakeland, the Fort Fraser Trail is along an urban greenway with connectivity to Circle B Bar Reserve
Trail through pine forest Alafia River State Park Alafia River State Park lets you launch on a Florida downhill while mountain biking the rugged terrain of a reforested open pit mine.
Solomon's Castle Solomon’s Castle A glimmering monument to recycling and ingenuity, Solomon's Castle is a quirky work of art. A nature trail leads along the forested edge of Horse Creek.

Trail Map (PDF) Official Website

Category: Florida State Parks, Museums, Parks, South FloridaTag: Bartow, Bowling Green, CCC, Dog-friendly, Fishing, Florida State Parks, Historic Sites, Lakeland, Peace River, Picnic, Playgrounds, Seminole Wars, Wildlife Viewing

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