Cattle Drive & Jamboree
Event Guide
March 10, 2018 l 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch
The Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch is one of five free Collier County Museums. Originally home to cattleman Robert Roberts and his family, this 13-acre historic site and museum provides visitors with a rare opportunity to experience daily working life on a Southwest Florida pioneer homestead and citrus grove from the early 1900s. Exhibits, programs, and fifteen carefully preserved original buildings and features tell the story of the cow hunters, ranchers and pioneer-spirited families who struggled to tame this vast wilderness prairie on the edge of the Big Cypress Swamp. The Museum offers individual self-guided tours and group educational programs for children and adults.
Tuesday – Saturday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
1215 Roberts Avenue West, Immokalee, FL 34142239-252-2611 • CollierMuseums.com
Florida Cattle Industry Historic Timeline1521 Juan Ponce de León abandons Spanish cattle on Florida’s west coast after his settlement attempt fails
1565 Organized ranching begins in support of St. Augustine and Spanish missions across northern Florida
1600 20,000 head of wild cattle (descendants of abandoned Spanish cattle) roam Florida
1700s Seminoles are the major cattle producers in Florida
1800-1850 American pioneers establish free-range cattle ranches; cow-hunters (known as Florida Crackers) manage cattle
1860s As the Civil War progresses, beef supplies in most Southern States dry up. Florida becomes the only beef supply available to the Confederates. Union forces on the Florida coast continually battle Confederates for cattle herds.
1897 Early settlers rename the growing community Immokalee, a Seminole word meaning “my home.”
1914 Roberts family moves to Immokalee from Ona, Florida in three ox-carts.
1949 Florida Fence Law signed into law ending free-range ranching and cow-hunting
1952 Red Cattle Company growth peaks at 107,000 acres
1980 Red Cattle Company dissolves
1994 Roberts Family Trust donates the family farmstead to Collier County Museums
Thank you to our sponsors and supporters!
11:00 am Welcome & Introductions
11:30 am Cowboy Poetry by Clint Raulerson & Cattle History by Dallas Townsend
12:00 pm Rekindled Bluegrass Band
1:00 pm Roping & Whip Cracking Demonstration by Aubrey & Calvert Lee and Blake Crawford
1:30 pm Seminole Cattle History and Operations
2:00 pm Seminole Storytelling by Ollie Wareham
2:30 pm Alligator Wrestling by Billy Walker
3:00 pm Announcement of Little Mr. and Ms. Immokalee
3:30 pm BETA Club Skit
3:45 pm Dancing Horses of Labelle
4:30 pm Country Rock by Crossfire
ROBERTS AVENUE WEST
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1 4H Pancake Breakfast (8:00 am - 9:30 am)2 Petting Zoo3 Historical Reenactors • Whip Cracking • Blacksmith • Branding • Soap Making • Rawhide Production • Honey Bees • Swamp Cabbage • Cracker Cast Net Making4 Beer Tent5 Stage6 Food Vendors7 Exhibitors & Crafts8 Antique Tractors9 Cow Pasture10 Horses
Shuttle Bus Stop
Restrooms
MAIN STAGE SCHEDULE
EVENT MAP
Main stage sound generously provided by Ruben & Sons DJ EXPRESS