smallwood store

Visited on a fishing trip after really enjoying the excellent novel by Peter Matthiessen. An end of the road place even today which makes it all the more interesting. $5 entrance fee is a little steep but glad to support living local history.

Must go up stairs to view, but well worth the $5.00 to visit. Really brings the history of the area home. If you are lucky, Rick Mager will be there to share his books and perspective. We didn't take the boat tour since the weather was very cool, but I'm guessing it would be very worth while. If you make it to Chokolee Island - be sure to take a few hours and visit this store!!

We. I biked to it which was nice in itself. Amazing collection of old Americana, and gorgeous views off the back deck.

A great look back at days gone by! Small museum with a touch of nastalga for the past. Locally owned and operated. Combine this with a everglades boat tour.

Big old barn of a building packed with supplies, clothing, goods, tools and photos of a past era. Smallwood family descendents staff the museum/gift shop. If you're lucky, local historian/author Rick Magers will be hanging out there to tell you tales of yesteryear.

Had hundreds of items from their and my past history..had been around as a working store from many years ago and finally turned into a museum. Was there for about an hour but only because I had other places I needed to go. Could have spent multiple hours there. Owner very helpful and talkative and gave brief history lesson... would have given more if had the time.Don't miss it if you like a window to the past and the history on the island..you'll be glad you stopped.

This is the real deal. Tourists can visit but it is much more than an attraction. This is an important historic American frontier Trading Post, General Store, rich with color and history. I dont know what its preservation status is, but I fear we may be in danger of losing a real national treasure. Support Smallwoods!!!!

We did an airboat ride at Captain Mitch's and our Captain, Captain Ben suggested we visit this small out of the way place... It was worth the trip. A ride through Everglades City (also a fun place) to Chokoloskee Island down a sandy road you'll find this little gem, Smallwood Store. The husband of the owner (a relative of the original owner Ted Smallwood) provided us with lots of fun tales of the old days and showed us around the store pointing out some cool things -- fossils, old ledgers, Native American artifacts etc). Disappointed to hear that there is a possibility of condos going up right next store ... but glad to have made the trip.

Beautiful views of the water. Very interesting collection of local memorabilia and the local people who are working there do a fine job of putting the little museum into historical perspective.

We followed the reviews from yelp regarding the small museum and we're delighted to find the museum and boat trip the highlight of our week. The museum was fascinating as they had so many things from the olden days from the general store and a great story about the outer life and the Indians that were part of the original area.For the cruise, the captain made a special effort to ensure that we saw wildlife, dolphins and spent time to talk about his Island home. It was truly a beautiful and exciting day with the private boat tour is really very special.

This is a small place but certainly worth the trip, especially for lovers of antiques and vintage Americana. The store/trading post has such an interesting - if at times sordid - history and it was a great little addition to our visit to the everglades. The store/museum offers plenty of photo opportunities and on a hot day, it was nice to take a minute to stand out on their balcony overlooking the water and enjoy the breeze. Well worth it!

We stopped in to hear the story of the store, but apparently the gentleman who typically talks about the history and contents was absent and the woman was busy with folding merchandise.. We wandered around the store turned museum. There were definitely original items as well as items post 1906, many I remember from my childhood in the 1950's such as old ice cube trays. We thoroughly enjoyed the video with the elderly gentleman, Totch, made in the 1990's about living on the island in early days. There is a $5 per person admission, free for 2 and under. Nice view from the back porch. This is not handicapped accessible; there is a flight of stairs to enter but good handrails. Just wish we had heard more stories while there.

Fun to see the coast of Ten Thousand Islands. There looks like there must be a good story about the origins of the store but it is a bit crowded and simply maintained. Good for a bit of local flavor.

The Smallwood Store is no longer a store, but a museum showing what the store was like when it was filling the needs of early settlers and Seminoles. The store has an assortment of goods that would have been on offer in the early 1900's. The store is on the site where the Killing in Killing Mr. Watson took place (although the current store wasn't there at the time).

We had only stopped at the dock to turn and head back up the coast . Luckily for us it had just turned 11.00 and the owner was opening up the museum/shop. $5 entrance fee was well worth the stories from the DVD, all the stuff on show and almost constant anecdotes from the owner. Well worth a visit and we learned a lot about the history of the area.