Ochopee: The Story of the Smallest Post Office

It may be a popular tourist stop, an oddity in our landscape, but the Ochopee Post Office is a symbol of growth in southwest Florida and of the resiliance of its pioneers.

Before the little building became the Smallest Post Office in the United States in 1953, it was a shed in the thriving tomato farm in Ochopee on the Tamiami Trail, the road linking Tampa to Miami which opened in 1928.

This book records the memories of the founding Gaunt family plus their friends and neighbors. There are also reports of more recent times when Evelyn Shealy served the community as postmaster and Jerri Fish drove 123 miles each day to deliver the mail.

The farm is gone now but the Post Office has survived hurricanes from Donna in 1960 to Irma in 2017 when it was the only full-service postal facility in the area.

The stories were recorded by the late Maria Stone and are reprinted with new material in this edition.

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