The Florida Historical Marker Program is one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular…read moreand valued public history programs. It raises awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of churches, schools, roads, archaeological sites, battlefields, and historically important buildings. I discovered this historic marker in front of the Raulerson's former cabin near downtown Okeechobee.
Peter Raulerson was born September 1, 1857, in Bartow, Florida. In 1874 when he was 17, his family moved to Basinger where he met and married Louisiana Chandler in 1877. In October 1896 the couple traveled by covered ox cart with their children to a wilderness area three miles north of Lake Okeechobee known called the Bend along Taylor Creek. The area was chosen because it was high and dry, with water nearby and good quality soil. The Raulerson family was the first white settlers in this area where Peter worked as a cattleman. He fenced in 30 miles from Onoshohatchee River all the way to the Kissimmee River. The first building the family erected was a barn to protect there livestock from wild animals and they lived on the second floor for three years.
Later friends arrived from Basinger and helped the family build a log home in three days. Peter and Louisiana lived in the cabin with their children. In 1916, the family built a larger house directly east of here where Peter lived until his death in 1947. Elements of the original log cabin are preserved within the structure of this home that was built for a descendants family in the 1920's. Members of the Raulerson family lived in the home until 2016 when the Okeechobee Historical Society purchased it to preserve it as part of their collection of historic buildings that include the Tantie Schoolhouse and the Primitive Baptist Church.
The Raulerson family were an integral component of the development of early Okeechobee. In April 1902, the Raulersons helped establish the first post office in a suitcase under a bed. At that time the community was known as Tantie, in honor of Tantie Huckabee, a popular school teacher. The Raulersons daughter, Martha, served as the first postmaster followed by Peter in June 1902. Peter established a Star Route, a privately-contracted mail route, between Tantie and Fort Drum. In October 1911 after the railroad arrived it was decided that Tantie was not a proper name of a town and it was renamed Okeechobee.
Peter established the first school in a palmetto shack 1898. In 1909 he helped build the Tantie School, which was School #14 of the St. Lucie County School System. Peter was a trustee of the first brick schoolhouse built in 1916. When the City of Okeechobee was chartered in 1915, he served as the first mayor appointed by Florida Governor Park Trammel. He also served as the first county commissioner from the area in St. Lucie County. He was instrumental in the establishment of Evergreen Cemetery where he and Louisiana are buried and he donated the land for the Primitive Baptist Church.
Peter Raulerson passed away in 1947 at the age of 90 and Louisiana died one year later. The couple were survived by their children Lewis, Adline, Harmon, Melville, Faith, Ada, and Cornelius, 22 grandchildren, 48 great grandchildren, and four great-great-grand-children. Many of the historic buildings in Okeechobee have a Raulerson family connection. In 2000, Peter was designated as a Great Floridian with a plaque in his honor placed at the Okeechobee City Hall.
Historic Marker F-1028 was erected in 2018 by the Okeechobee County Historical Society, Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners, City of Okeechobee Descendants of Peter and Louisiana Chandler Raulerson, Generous Community Members and Businesses, and the Florida Department of State.
