John of John’s Island?

For several days John LaRoche and his brother Daniel had sailed through an endless maze of mangroves on a southerly course down the Indian River. The winter of 1877 had been unusually harsh for Florida, and the chilly temperatures reminded the LaRoches of days gone by in their native South Carolina.  The recent freeze had also taken its toll on the family citrus groves in Merritt Island, and the brothers had decided to look for a more suitable piece of property further south.

Sixty miles downriver John and Daniel came to an island where the river narrowed to little more than a hundred yards in width. (This site would later become known as the Narrows and have its own post office from 1896 to 1913). Quick to recognize the advantages of such a location, the LaRoches waded ashore. Despite the dense underbrush and swarms of mosquitoes, the brothers were satisfied that they had at last found what they had been searching for.

Read the entire article in the March 2000 issue