Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Okeechobee County was formed Aug. 7, 1917, from St. Lucie, Osceola and Palm Beach Counties. Long a haunt of the Seminoles, the area saw almost no white penetration until the First Seminole War, 1835-42. Much fighting occurred in the county during the war including the Battle of Lake Okeechobee on Dec. 24, 1837. The county has become a major truck crop area. The vicious 1928 hurricane led to flood control on the Lake.