Captain Percy Cook’s Fishing Lodge!

Captain Percy Cook’s Fishing Lodge!

Captain Percy Cook's Fishing Lodge!

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Local historians of the Florida Keys tell us fascinating stories about early pioneering settlers. We’ve all heard bits and pieces about the Flagler Railroad and have seen the Bogie and Bacall film "Key Largo," but the adventurous men and women who settled there with sparse fresh water sources and access to supplies were pioneers in the truest sense of the word. One such couple, Charles and Ada Munson from Connecticut, discovered a chain of four islands off of Big Pine Key and purchased all four in 1923. One they gave to Charles’ secretary, Ruth Ellison, and sold another to an acquaintance, Captain Percy Cook. From that day to the present, the island has been known as Cook Island. Since fishing camps were all the rage for northerners seeking tropical refuge from frigid winters, these three islands were used as vacation camps for the tourist trade but there is no record of how the Munson’s passed on their fourth island. Captain Cook built a fishing lodge on his island that was a popular vacation destination for generations of families.

The lodge and its cabins are located on over one and a half acres of beachfront with a long pier extending out over the shallows. The structures are pure Old Florida as though time has stood still. Other than maintenance, the old resort has not changed from the time it was built. It’s hard to find buildings like these in the Keys today, though a few families have held on through multiple generations, still using and treasuring them today. They were built with big windows on all sides so sea breezes could pass through unobstructed and were of simple, functional design. Cook Island can only be accessed by boat and is well located just off Coupon Bight Aquatic Preserve with access to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean fishing grounds. Next door Munson Island was the set for the Warner Brothers movie "PT-109" in 1962, the story of Lt. Jg. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, USNR, played by Cliff Robertson. It was also enjoyed as a retreat by President Harry Truman, John Foster Dulles and Governor George Wallace. For more information.

Own one of the last pieces of Old Florida history. Captain Percy Cook’s Fishing Lodge off of Big Pine Key will be auctioned online only. Bidding begins December 2nd and ends December 5th with a reserve of $250,000.

Source: www.fisherauction.com