Coopertown | village

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Population: 0008. (At least, that's what the sign says, zeros and all.)

Coopertown was founded by John Cooper in 1945 and has remained with the Cooper family since. The site where Coopertown occupies was originally an Indian village where the family of Jimmy Osceola lived in the early part of the 1900's. They lived a very simple life, as did many of the Seminole Indians living along the Tamiami Trail at that time. With the lack of "modern" transportation, they relied on the Everglades for much of their food. They cooked what they hunted over an open fire in the chickee (an open-sided Seminole dwelling, thatched with palms).

In October, 1945, the three Cooper brothers came to the Tamiami Trail from Melbourne, Florida, looking for better frog hunting in the Everglades. The brothers and their families lived in tent dwellings until 1947 when the original John Cooper home was built. Prior to this time, John Cooper and his wife, Marion, had worked in the manufacturing plants of Detroit during World War II. The Coopers originally came from White Oak, Missouri, where the family of 10 children farmed, raising milk cows along with white corn, cotton and oats. One of the Cooper brothers, James T. (Jay) went into the service for a five-year period. John went on to establish the Coopertown Airboat Tours.

www.coopertownairboats.com/about.htm