The New River winds its way through a mysterious and tumultuous history, from the whirlpools of a legendary birth to banks stained with the blood of a massacre. Long-lost tribes flourished on the bounty of fish from its crystal-clear water and game from its wooded shores, only to succumb to European weapons and disease. They were replaced by Seminoles and runaway slaves, with a few white pioneers seeking opportunity in the new southern frontier. After the Civil War, a trickle of immigrants became a flood of Confederate refugees and northern opportunists. South Florida’s destiny was changed forever when inshore transportation evolved from foot and hoof to inland waterway and steel rails. Schemes to “drain the Everglades” turned swamp to subdivisions with the New River at its core. Trace the storied arc of Fort Lauderdale’s ancient waterway with author Donn R. Colee Jr.
Donn R. Colee Jr. is a seventh-generation Floridian, a direct descendant of George Colee, who immigrated to the St. Augustine area from England in 1821. Donn grew up in Orlando but frequently visited relatives in the ancient city, where his curiosity was piqued by stories told about a massacre of family members long ago at Fort Lauderdale’s New River. While the “Colee Massacre” story was later debunked, it refused to die. His book began as an attempt to finally resolve the last vestiges of the myth and grew into a history of the river, its fascinating people and the transformation of a wilderness into a metropolis. Colee is a member of the Florida Historical Society, Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, St. Augustine Historical Society and Historical Society of Palm Beach County. This is his second book. His first, Towers in the Sand, is the history of the broadcasting industry in Florida, a business in which his family has been engaged for three generations. He resides in Palm Beach Gardens.