New River Photo 1884 courtesy History Fort Lauderdale
Legends & Lore of Fort Lauderdale’s New River
by Donn R. Colee Jr.
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.
About the author
Donn R. Colee Jr. is a seventh-generation Floridian and a direct descendent 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 about a massacre of long-ago family members 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 that myth, but the power of New River quickly propelled the book to become a history of the river, its fascinating people and the transformation of its 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. He is a former commissioner of the Florida Inland Navigation District, the state agency responsible for maintenance and improvements of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Fernandina Beach to Key Biscayne. It was built by a company that was cofounded in 1881 by his great-great-great-grandfather, who became its civil engineer.
Donn and his wife, Martha, reside in Palm Beach Gardens.
This is Donn’s second book. His first, Towers in the Sand, is the history of radio and television stations in Florida and the people who brought them to life. His family has been engaged in Florida broadcasting for three generations.
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