Clawing Our Way to the Top: How Everglades City Became Stone Crab Capital of the World

Everglades City is known as the “Stone Crab Capital of the World,” but how did this quiet little fishing village rise to claim that title? As the October 1st opening of the 2023 Stone Crab season quickly approaches, Museum Manager Thomas Lockyear will explore the history of harvesting this tasty crustacean and how it grew from a side job for commercial fishermen to a pillar of the local economy. The role that iconic characters from the region’s past like Ernest Hamilton and Totch Brown played in developing the business will be discussed as well as tools of the trade, the work of the locally based Florida Stone Crabbers’ Association, and the future of the industry.