As you well know by now, the Everglades is full of secrets and mysteries just waiting to be uncovered, whether you choose to do your exploring on an airboat tour or decide on a more hands-on approach. From intriguing plants and animals of all shapes and sizes to abandoned planes and boats, explorers have not run out of new findings when exploring the river of grass. Recently, a team of amateur explorers uncovered yet another mystery of the Everglades.
Shawn Beightol, a chemistry teacher from Miami, has been exploring the Everglades for years. Recently, Beightol found a handful of military maps from the 1850s that detailed the locations of key fortresses and strongholds in the area. With the help of fellow explorers--Tony Pernas of the National Park Service and computer engineer Chris Harris--Beightol began overlaying the old maps with GPS coordinates in hopes of finding some of these abandoned strongholds, including Fort Harrell.
Together, this team of explorers has spent over 100 hours searching through the wetlands, going on five separate expeditions beginning in the spring. Their trips were focused on locations that seemed to match Fort Harrell’s description. One such expedition in late June, Beightol and his teammates came across post holes and limestone structures that seemed to be the remnants of a wall support. About 100 yards away, they uncovered a 20-foot Cypress log that had been carved into a structural beam. Although these findings aren’t 100% indicative that they had found Fort Harrell, they do suggest a man-made structure in the area that dates back several hundreds of years.
The explorers reported their findings to the National Park Service and a local archaeologist, who are currently conducting tests on the found materials and post holes to determine if they could be linked to Fort Harrell or any of the other nearby abandoned fortresses. If their conjectures are correct, Beightol hopes that the location will be memorialized and added to local bike and boating routes.
When you go on an airboat tour with Wild Florida, you never know what you may see! Experience the mysteries of the Everglades firsthand. Call us at (866) 532-7167 or visit our website to book your tickets today.
