Early Settlers
The Tequesta tribe lived in South Florida before the coming of the Seminole Indians in the early 1800s. The Spanish said they were a hunter-gathered society.
The Spanish reported the tribe had only 30 members by 1743. This was due primarily to European diseases, warfare and alcoholism. The Spanish contend that the remaining Indians were sent to Havana, Cuba when the Spanish ceded Florida to the United States in 1819. Another theory maintains that the remnants of the tribe hid out and later joined the Seminoles.
Seminole Indians
The Seminole Indians, originally part of the Crete Nation (Georgia), arrived in South Florida during the three Seminole Wars (1817-1819, 1835-1842, 1855-1858). During this period, Major Lauderdale set up a fort along the New River in an effort to defeat the Indians and force them to reservations in (today's) Oklahoma. Many bloody battles, including one on Pine Island Ridge (site of Tree Tops Park and Forest Glen Development), were fought in South Florida during the second and third Seminole Wars.
Ultimately, all but approximately 100 Seminoles, who refused to leave the Everglades, were sent to Indian Reservations. Seminole
Indians played a role in the lives of early settlers in the Cooper City/Davie area until the mid-1930's when a peace treaty was signed with the United States Government and the current reservation land established.
The threat of Indians kept Broward County from growing. It was not until the late 1870's that any activity was recorded in the area.
First Permanent Settlers
Broward County was part of Dade County until 1915. Fort Lauderdale was the first permanent settlement in Broward County based along the New River. Mail arrived by way of the "Barefoot Mailman" and then by stagecoach in the late 1800's. Early Fort Lauderdale residents included Frank Stranahan, operator of the New River Camp & Trading Post, and Edward Moffat who ran a camp and operated the New River Ferry. Through the combined efforts of Julia Tuttle and William Brickell of Miami, Henry Flagler was encouraged to continue his Florida East Coast Railway to Miami. This opened the door for many land speculators in the area and, combined with Governor Broward's canal project, resulted in a real estate boom that was not interrupted until the hurricane of 1926.
The man who encouraged the early pioneers was Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909. Broward believed that if canals were dug between Fort Lauderdale and Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades could be drained and provide rich farmland. He proposed that the Everglades be sold for $2.00 per acre and that the money be used to drain and channel the water. The project began on July 4, 1906.
The Cooper City/Davie area continued to be inhabited by the Seminoles during this period. These Indians traded with and lived peacefully beside the white settlers. The Everglades area extended as far east as I-95 according to maps dated 1905. It was considered an impenetrable swamp by settlers.
Millionaire R.P. Davie of Colorado bought about 27,000 acres in 1906, constructed smaller irrigation and drainage canals and sold the land in 10 acre parcels through advertisements around the Nation. The Everglades Sugar and Land Company also offered such parcels for sale. Most of Davie's early residents bought their land this way.
Early settlers to what is now Davie included the Hill, Cross, Griffin and Hammer families along with workers returning from the Panama Canal Zone. The town was named Zona then, as it reminded many of Panama. It was later named for R.P. Davie in honor of his contributions to the community.
Cooper City/Davie settlers worked at farming, livestock raising and growing oranges. Swamp and marshland dominated the area. With few roads available, the South New River Canal (C-11 Griffin Road), enabled trading barges to ship produce and supplies as well as transport passengers to and from Fort Lauderdale.
The current City of Cooper City was once Wacico Groves, short for the Walsh Citrus Company. Operated by Clyde Walsh, the joint stock company had its home base in Indiana. The caretaker's home and packing house were near the current Cooper City entrance on Griffin Road.
Early residents of the Davie area recall Morris Cooper's purchase of Wacico Groves after the 1947-1948 flood devastated the groves. A conflicting story claims that the purchase was made from the University of Miami. Further research will likely bear out a connection between the two groups.
Morris Cooper's dream of a well-zoned community came about in 1959. By the end of that year, 85 residents lived within 35 completed homes. Twenty-seven of those residents dedicated themselves to such problems as street lights, paved streets and signs, arrangements for mail service and negotiations for a school.
Today Cooper City has grown to a town encompassing more that seven square miles with 30,402 residents. City residents face quite different problems from early city residents. Our biggest concern continues to be how to provide necessary services to a rapidly expanding community while preserving the special place Cooper City has become.
Undoubtedly, the well-zoned community as dreamed by Morris Cooper has become a reality. Our founder would certainly be proud of the progress Cooper City has made.