An Insider’s Look at Ted Smallwood

When you visit the Museum of the Everglades, you are invariably greeted by an amiable bearded gentleman named Matthew Anderson. Anderson isn’t quiet, but he’s not extroverted. He's helpful and he’s interested in introducing you to the history of Everglades City and its surroundings. And as attendees found out during his Third Thursday lecture on September 18, “Ted Smallwood: The Man Behind the Store,’ Anderson’s also a member of the well-known Smallwood family.

Even the most casual visitor to the Everglades City area knows about the fabled Smallwood Store in neighboring Chokoloskee, an Everglades institution opened by Ted Smallwood in 1906 as a trading post, post office, and general store. Today, the Smallwood Store operates as a museum, filled with genuine artifacts that have been part of the store’s history for decades.

Several members of the Smallwood family were in attendance on Thursday to listen to one of their own deliver his very first speech. And you could tell the entire audience was rooting for Anderson to do Ted Smallwood’s memory proud.

“It was my first lecture ever,” Anderson said ingeniously, "so I was nervous. I didn't really know exactly how it was going to go. But I think it went okay.”

It helped that when he glanced into the crowd, he saw Ted Smallwood’s ancestors seated near the back of the room.

“It was nice to have family here,” Anderson said, "because I can speak to them on a personal note and be comfortable. That helped. At the end, they let me know I did really well. I thought it went a little quick because when I looked at the clock, it was only 2:30.”

While Anderson’s prepared material didn’t fill the one-hour time slot, his question-and-answer session did. It was obvious that he researched his subject thoroughly as he was able to answer every question.

At one point during his presentation, Anderson appeared to get choked up. It was while he was discussing Ted Smallwood’s legacy. As he looked into the audience his eyes locked on his father-in-law, Ted’s great-grandson, Terry Smallwood.

“It got emotional right there,” Anderson said. “At the time, I was talking about the family. I was thinking about family and who might take after Ted the most. And that is Terry Smallwood, my father-in-law. He really takes care of his family. He's there for his grandkids, his kids. At the drop of a hat, he's there to help you build something or do something. He’s a good, calm, steady force in the family.”

For Anderson, Ted Smallwood’s legacy is more than the famous store that bears his name; it’s the family that is carrying on his legacy.

"You really want to learn who Ted was,” Anderson said. "Not just what he did, where he went. We talk about his relationship with other store owners and how, 53 years later, he made a point to go to the other coast to see a friend of his. And how he took care of Mr. Watson’s family. That doesn’t give you an insight to his personality. When I met my wife and came into the Smallwood family, they had been here for six generations. It's remarkable to see how close my wife and her sisters are, and how they fought through a lot of trials in their lives, and how they support each other. They didn't have to stand on their own two feet all the time. They had each other. And generationally, that's how their family's been. They’ve grown up being influenced by all their family members. The kids are so close. That's where it's at, right? That's how the Smallwood family is to me. They are a tight-knit, we can do anything together family. That’s Ted Smallwood’s legacy.”

Anderson said there is still one family member who remembers Ted Smallwood.

"Uncle Curt was ten years old when Ted passed away,” Anderson said. "He remembers having dinners with them at the Smallwood Store when he was a child. He would have been born in 1941. A lot of the photos I used in the presentation are from his collection.”

The Smallwood Store has an anniversary coming up in 2026.

"Next year will be 100 years of the Smallwood Store on stilts,” Anderson said. "Ted worked out of his store from 1906 until 1917, when he built the store that currently is there now on the waterfront. That store stayed on the ground until the hurricane of 1924 scared Ted. There was four feet of water in the store. He finished raising it by the hurricane of 1926. He also dredged so boats could get right up to the store."