Clewiston

Clewiston is a small city located on the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee in Hendry County, Florida, positioned roughly midway between Palm Beach and Fort Myers along the state's interior corridor. Accessible from both the east and west coasts of southern Florida, the city sits approximately 90 miles from the Atlantic coastline and serves as a regional hub for agriculture, fishing, and commerce in the Everglades basin. With a water system serving over 10,000 residents and a history shaped by the rhythms of Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston occupies a distinctive place in the geography and culture of South Florida. Its proximity to the lake has defined its character — from the early sugar industry that gave it an economic foundation to the environmental challenges that have tested its resilience in more recent decades.

Geography and Location

Clewiston's position along the southern rim of Lake Okeechobee makes it a natural crossroads of South Florida's interior. The city lies approximately 60 miles east of Fort Myers and about 90 miles from the Palm Beach coastline, placing it within convenient driving distance of Florida's two major southern population corridors.

The lake itself dominates the physical and environmental reality of the city. Lake Okeechobee, the largest freshwater lake in Florida, shapes the local climate, economy, and ecology. The terrain surrounding Clewiston is largely flat, characterized by the low-lying agricultural lands and wetlands typical of the greater Everglades region. The Herbert Hoover Dike, constructed following catastrophic flooding events in the early twentieth century, runs along the lake's edge and has long been a defining feature of the landscape near Clewiston.

The surrounding region is part of the broader Everglades watershed, and Clewiston sits at a critical juncture where agricultural runoff, water management decisions, and ecological pressures converge. The city's geographic position has made it both a beneficiary of the lake's resources and a community directly affected by the lake's environmental troubles.

History

Clewiston's development as a modern town took root in the early twentieth century. A general plan of the city dating to 1925 survives in the Florida Memory archive, indicating that formal urban planning was already underway during Florida's broader land boom era of the 1920s. This period, sometimes called the Florida Boom and Progressive Era, saw rapid development and speculation across South Florida, and Clewiston was part of that wave of growth.

The community was shaped significantly by the sugar industry, which found fertile ground in the muck soils south of Lake Okeechobee. The sugarcane operations that took root in the region around Clewiston grew into a substantial industrial enterprise, with the local mill eventually becoming the largest of its kind in the nation. This dominance of the sugar industry earned the city a reputation as a company town, with the local economy tightly tied to the fortunes of sugarcane cultivation and processing.

The 1947 hurricane left a lasting mark on the community. Phillip Roland, who served as mayor of Clewiston, recalled witnessing the lake's rise during that storm and the devastation that followed, a reminder of the ever-present vulnerability of living alongside such a large and powerful body of water. These flood events influenced the large-scale water management infrastructure that would come to define the region's relationship with the lake.

By the mid-twentieth century, Clewiston had settled into a stable pattern of life centered on agriculture and small-town community institutions. Historical photographs from 1955 document the streetscapes of the era, offering a window into daily life in the city during a period of post-war Florida growth. Community institutions such as Clewiston High School were central to local life; records indicate that educators such as Bob Bird began teaching mathematics and science at the school in 1953, reflecting the town's investment in its public education system.

Population and Community

Clewiston is a relatively small city, with its mayor describing the population as approximately 7,000 residents in the context of discussions about Lake Okeechobee's environmental challenges. The city's public water system serves a broader service population of 10,728 people, encompassing residents and users beyond the immediate municipal boundaries.

The local economy has historically revolved around the sugar industry, which has provided employment and shaped the social fabric of the community for generations. At the same time, Clewiston's position near Lake Okeechobee has made fishing and water-based recreation important parts of local identity and commerce. The city's character reflects a working agricultural community with deep roots in the Florida interior, distinct from the coastal resort cities that define much of the state's public image.

Like many small cities in Florida, Clewiston has faced economic headwinds tied to broader national and state trends. The global financial difficulties of the late 2000s struck Florida particularly hard, and Clewiston's economic situation was influenced by the challenges extending well beyond its borders during that period.

Lake Okeechobee and Environmental Issues

Clewiston's relationship with Lake Okeechobee is central to understanding the city's history and its ongoing challenges. The lake has provided the community with water resources, fishing opportunities, and a defining sense of place, but it has also been a source of recurring environmental and public health concerns.

Agricultural runoff from the sugarcane fields and other farming operations surrounding the lake has contributed to a significant pollution problem. High nutrient loads, particularly phosphorus from fertilizers, have accumulated in the lake over decades, creating what environmental observers have characterized as a serious ecological threat to the broader South Florida water system. When water managers are forced to release lake water to prevent flooding, the nutrient-laden discharges flow into coastal estuaries and the Everglades, causing widespread ecological damage.

The Everglades restoration effort, among the most ambitious environmental remediation projects in American history, has had complex implications for Clewiston and its surrounding communities. While the goal of restoring the natural water flow of South Florida has garnered broad scientific and public support, the process of acquiring agricultural land and restructuring water management has generated tension among local stakeholders, including farmers and community members whose livelihoods depend on the existing system.

Flooding has been a persistent concern for residents of Clewiston throughout the city's history. The 1947 hurricane demonstrated the catastrophic potential of the lake when its water levels rise unchecked, and the memory of that event has informed local attitudes toward water management infrastructure ever since.

Water Quality

An analysis of Clewiston's municipal water system, conducted using data gathered by the Environmental Working Group and reported by The New York Times, identified contaminants in the city's water supply. The city's water system serves 10,728 people and was found to have two contaminants present at levels below legal limits established by the Safe Drinking Water Act but above the typically stricter health guidelines used by researchers and public health advocates.

The contaminants identified as exceeding health guidelines were Radium-226 and Radium-228, both naturally occurring radioactive substances found in groundwater across parts of Florida. While the detected levels fell within the legal standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they exceeded the more conservative health benchmarks applied in the assessment. Five additional contaminants, including nitrate, nitrite, total haloacetic acids, total trihalomethanes, and total xylenes, were detected within both health guidelines and legal limits.

Recreation and Tourism

Despite its primarily agricultural character, Clewiston draws visitors for outdoor recreation, particularly fishing. Lake Okeechobee is a destination for bass fishing tournaments, and Clewiston has served as a launching point for competitive angling events. The lake hosted the Walmart FLW Tour bass-fishing tournament, which launched its 21st season with events on the lake.

The region also holds cultural and historical significance related to the Seminole Tribe of Florida. While Clewiston is not a Seminole town itself, its geographical and historical proximity to lands associated with the Seminole people gives the area a connection to that heritage. The Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, located in the region, provides a cultural resource for those interested in Seminole history and traditions.