
James Loyd “Barrel Head” House with wife Ethel. Photos courtesy of www.oldfloridafamilys.com
For Mitch House, his family’s past is very much a part of his present life. The 54-year-old Everglades native has a strong sense of the past and an even stronger sense of family. The House clan has occupied the swamplands of the Glades since the late 1800s. Mitch’s roots, like that of the mangrove trees that pervade the area, runs deep. For him, the Everglades is in his blood.
For the past 25 years Mitch House has owned and operated Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours. The popular tourist destination is located about 30 minutes east of Marco Island. Recently, the Coastal Breeze News featured Mitch in a story about the Everglades and its recovery following Hurricane Irma. That story can be found online at www.CoastalBreezeNews.com.

James Loyd catch “Barrel of the Head” day. (right) poses with
For over 150 years, the House family has called the Everglades home. They’ve created businesses, inventions, and through the years have helped shape the cultural landscape of the area. Their impact has not

In 1945 James Loyd “Barrel Head” House created an airboat out of sheets of plywood and a sawed off jet propeller. His airboat wasn’t created with tourism in mind, but rather necessity. The boat could traverse the shallow waters of the swamplands with ease. James Loyd “Barrel Head” House as a young man.

Daniel David House and wife Ida Blanch Borders House. Daniel House settled in the Everglades in 1865.
Around 1865 Samuel’s son, Daniel David House, made his way down to the Florida Everglades. He and his wife, Ida Blanche, lived out in the grasslands in an area known today as House Hammock Bay. There they farmed “anything they could,” including avocado, mango, guava, and sugarcane.

Mitch House’s great grandmother, Ethel Brown House.
Mitch’s great grandfather, James Loyd House, often referred to as Barrel Head House, was just that. He is credited with creating one of the first ever-commercial airboats. Airboat tours now constitute one of the most lucrative businesses out in the Glades. But James Loyd House didn’t create the primitive boat with tourism in mind. He created it out of necessity.

Ted and Mamie House Smallwood. Their famous Smallwood store is located in Chokoloskee.
In 1945 Mitch’s great grandfather created a boat that could traverse the shallow waters with ease. His original airboat was constructed out of sheets of plywood, a slant six tank motor, and a sawed off jet propeller, un-caged.

The Samuel House plantation was located near Athens, Georgia.
As for the nickname Barrel Head, it came from House’s tough attitude when it came to sales. According to Mitch, when you purchased fish from Barrel Head you only used cash.
“If you bought something from him it was cash,”
Mitch said. “There wasn’t no credit.

In terms of Mitch’s adolescent experience he says it was freeing. He grew up in a time when there were “no cops, no stoplights, no nothing.”
“By the time I was 15 I had already built a boat, put a motor on it and rode around fishing and playing.”
Like the Everglades, the House family is unique. Their history is deeply intertwined with the region. Mitch has spent his whole life in the Everglades and he doesn’t plan on leaving.
Captain Mitch’s Airboat Tours is located at 31000 Tamiami Trail E., Naples. They’re open seven days a week from 8:30 AM-5 PM. For more information visit www.captainmitchs.com or call 239-695-3377.
Daniel David House was my great grand father and his son Fred House was my grandfather and finally his son, David Ned House, was my father.
I was adopted at an early age by another family and recently found out that I am originally part of this House family. I would love to learn more.