TANTIE

NAME: Tantie
COUNTY: Okeechobee
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 3
CLIMATE: hot during the summer, warm to cool otherwise
BEST TIME TO VISIT: anytime
COMMENTS: located on the north side of Lake Okeechobee, where SR70 meets 441(Parrott Ave). Older section is a few blocks west of Parrott Ave, Tantie Schoolhouse is now across from the airport on US98.
REMAINS: Tantie wooden schoolhouse, brick school, bank and storefronts, 1928 Gilbert Oil Company building, various old houses
The town of Tantie began in 1896, when Peter Raulerson moved to an area known as "The Bend", unsettled wilderness along Taylor Creek a few miles north of Lake Okeechobee. Other early settlers included Dr SL Hubbard, Henry Hancock, and Sam Grey. The area was a prime location for fishing and hunting. The first school was a palmetto shack, and the second school term was taught in a barn. As the population increased, a schoolteacher was brought down from South Carolina, an energetic redhead named Tantie Huckabee. The Post Office was established in 1902, and a sawmill and several stores started up in the years following. In 1909 a new wooden schoolhouse was built. As a testament to the energy and enthusiasm Ms Huckabee brought to the community, the town and post office were named Tantie in her honor. In late 1910 it was announced that Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad would be extended to Tantie. FEC Vice President J. Ingraham envisioned the town becoming a great metropolis, and deemed the name Tantie inappropriate for such a big future city. The town was renamed Okeechobee and laid out by the railroad company to be a model city. Flagler railroad officials took over control of the town, platting and selling land, replacing the wooden buildings of Tantie with a city of concrete and brick. Submitted by: Jim Pike


Tantie School, in operation from 1910-1917
Courtesy Jim Pike


Tantie School, now a museum
Courtesy Jim Pike


Interior of Tantie Schoolhouse
Courtesy Jim Pike


Original Tantie Post Office, able to be slid under bed at night
Courtesy Jim Pike


Early Okeechobee Bank and Pharmacy building
Courtesy Jim Pike


Gilbert Oil Company, next to Okeechobee Bank
Courtesy Jim Pike


An old building from the early Okeechobee days
Courtesy Jim Pike


First official Okeechobee Elementary School, now the School Board offices
Courtesy Jim Pike


Tantie Schoolhouse, 1908,
Courtesy of LaMartin.com


Raulerson's Store, 1905,
Courtesy of LaMartin.com


First Tantie school, a palmetto hut. 
Courtesy of Tommymarkham.com


Okeechobee Railroad Depot, signaling the end of Tantie. 
Courtesy of LaMartin.com


First official Okeechobee Elementary School, 1918. 
Courtesy of Tommymarkham.com


Bank of Okeechobee and Pharmacy, 1924.  Courtesy of LaMartin.com

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