Indiantown

Indiantown is named after the Seminole Indians who settled there in the early 1800s. Though the city is small in population and size, it boasts a rich and colorful history that includes connections to English royalty and the filming of Hollywood movies, and it is the birthplace of the only female Seminole tribal leader, Betty Mae Tiger Jumper. In 1924, railroad tycoon Solomon Davies Warfield built an extension of the Seaboard Air Line Railway from Coleman, Florida, to West Palm Beach, with a stop in Indiantown. Warfield envisioned Indiantown as the southern hub of the Seaboard rail line and planned a model city. He died in 1927 before his dreams were realized. Today, however, Indiantown boasts a thriving citrus and boating industry, is home to one of North America's largest winter thoroughbred training facilities, and houses the world's first hybrid solar energy plant.

Before creating this book, author Carol Matthews Rey―Martin County’s 2007 Teacher of the Year―worked with colleagues and students on several Indiantown history projects, with the assistance of the Elisabeth Lahti Library archives in Indiantown, and conducted interviews with many longtime community members. Inspired by her connection and love for the community and its residents, Rey tells the story of this small but interesting town.