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Courtesy photo ÔWe Were Here: The People of the Belle Glade Culture Welcomed You in 1513' is the title of the new exhibit that opens Thursday at the Lake Placid Historical Society Depot Museum and the Lake Placid Memorial Library. The exhibit will be here until Feb. 16.

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published: Wednesday, January 23, 2013

'We Were Here' historical exhibit opens in Lake Placid

Special to the News-Sun

LAKE PLACID - The first-ever comprehensive historical exhibit about the people who held sway over the watery world of central Florida for 3,000 years will be shown in Lake Placid at the Depot Museum and the Lake Placid Memorial Library. The exhibit opens Thursday and will run through Feb. 16. The exhibit is part of Florida's celebration of Viva Florida 500 in 2013.

The exhibit, titled "We Were Here: The People of the Belle Glade Culture Welcomed You in 1513," is about the people who lived throughout the Kissimmee River/Lake Okeechobee Basin from Lake Kissimmee to Boynton Beach. Funded by a special Viva Florida 500 grant of $50,000 from the Florida Division of Historical Resources, the exhibit will be shown in six counties - including Highlands County - all areas where the people were.

They were at the height of their influence when the Spanish arrived in 1513, but by 250 years later when the Spanish left Florida the first time, the people were no more. They had no writing system and left no records about themselves. So the name they called themselves is not known. Scholars, who first discovered them in 1933/1934 while excavating a mound near Belle Glade, call them the Belle Glade Culture.

They are also known for their extensive earthworks, many with circles and radiating arms.

The "We Were Here" exhibit, produced by the Lawrence E. Will Museum: A Museum of the Glades in Belle Glade, tells of their habitat, origins, way of life, contact with Europeans, end and disappearance, and how they were discovered again. It was created by Robert S. Carr and Tim Harrington of the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy in Davie. The curator is Warner Hutchinson of Deerfield Beach.

Local archeologist Anne Reynolds recently updated a permanent Depot Museum display of tools, artifacts and history of the Indians of early Florida. Items related to the traveling display are shown with titles.

Catherine Smith, archaeologist and resident at the Museum of the Glades, will give a presentation for the public titled "Before Our Time, The People of the Water Were Pretty Good at Water Management" at the Lake Placid Women's Club, 10 N. Main Ave., at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31. This presentation is sponsored by the Lake Placid Historical Society. Call 465-1771 and leave a name for reservations.

The Lake Placid Historical Society Depot Museum is at 12 Park St. and is open Monday-Friday. Call 465-1771. The Lake Placid Memorial Library is at 205 W. Interlake Blvd. The exhibit will be shared between the two sites. The museum needs volunteers to assist during the exhibit so call and leave a name and number if interested.