A boom-to-bust generational saga of a pioneer family and their cattle empireCattle ranching has long been a major force in Florida, covering over 12 percent of the state's lands.
About the Author: Gregory Enns is the founder of Indian River Media Group, a company that publishes magazines for Florida's Treasure Coast and Space Coast.
252 Pages
History, United States
Description
About the Book
Cow Creek Chronicles explores the history of cattle ranching in Florida through the century-long saga of the Raulerson family, pioneers who moved south to Florida during the 1800s and built a cattle empire between Fort Pierce and Okeechobee.
Book Synopsis
A boom-to-bust generational saga of a pioneer family and their cattle empire
Cattle ranching has long been a major force in Florida, covering over 12 percent of the state's lands. In Cow Creek Chronicles, journalist Gregory Enns explores this history through the century-long saga of the Raulerson family, who built a cattle empire at Cow Creek Ranch between Fort Pierce and Okeechobee.
The Raulersons were a family of pioneers that moved south to Florida during the nineteenth century. Family patriarch Frank Raulerson established the ranch in 1923. As the cattle herd grew and fences were built, Seminole communities that had lived near the creek in thatched huts called chickees were forced off the land to nearby towns and reservations, and this book includes their stories. At its height in the 1960s, the 23,000-acre Cow Creek Ranch, operated by Frank's granddaughter and heir Jo Ann Raulerson Sloan, boomed under the supervision of a core group of cowboys using modern agricultural methods. As the years went by, Jo Ann's husband, TL Sloan, mismanaged expenses and mired the ranch in debt, and the family sold off the land in parcels--many of which are now conservation areas.
In this narrative, readers will gain insight into how ranches were first established in Florida, including how cattle were managed and breeds developed. Enns opens a window into the lives of ranch hands and cowboys, highlighting traditions such as roundups, cattle drives, parades, and rodeos, as well as folkways such as cooking and handcrafts. He also draws attention to the history of the Cow Creek band of Florida Seminoles, including their legendary heroine Emateloye Estenletkvte (Polly Parker). Cow Creek Chronicles weaves together many strands in a unique history of the modern settlement of Florida.
About the Author
Gregory Enns is the founder of Indian River Media Group, a company that publishes magazines for Florida's Treasure Coast and Space Coast. A fifth-generation Floridian, Enns has worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Florida and Alabama for over 25 years.
Dimensions (Overall): 9.02 Inches (H) x 6.08 Inches (W) x .59 Inches (D)
Weight: .77 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 252
Genre: History
Sub-Genre: United States
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Theme: State & Local, South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Format: Paperback
Author: Gregory Enns
Language: English
Street Date: October 14, 2025
TCIN: 1004472151
UPC: 9780813081205
Item Number (DPCI): 247-42-4980
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
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Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 0.59 inches length x 6.08 inches width x 9.02 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.77 pounds
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