Upthegrove Beach is an
unincorporated community in
Okeechobee County,
Florida, United States. It is located on
US 441
U.S. Route 441 (US 441) is a auxiliary route of U.S. Route 41. It extends from US 41 in Miami, Florida to US 25W in Rocky Top, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 travels through the states of Florida, Georgia, North ...
/
US 98
U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola and Apalachicola, Florida, and has sinc ...
, on the northeastern shore of
Lake Okeechobee.
History
Upthegrove Beach was named for the Upthegrove (originally
Op Den Graef) family, including Union Army Captain William Hendry Upthegrove and others. Robert Upthegrove, later one of the inaugural
Okeechobee County commissioners, settled in the area ''circa'' 1912. His son, Clarence Dewitt Upthegrove (Dewitt), at one time worked for
Thomas Edison in Fort Myers, and later owned a heavy equipment operation that helped build the
Herbert Hoover Dike
The Herbert Hoover Dike is a dike around the waters of Lake Okeechobee in Florida.
History
In the 1910s, a small earthen dike was constructed. This containment was breached by the storm surge from the Great Miami Hurricane in 1926 and the 1 ...
around Lake Okeechobee and was the Supervisor of Elections for Palm Beach County.
Another family member,
Laura Upthegrove, also known as The Queen of the Everglades, was a member of the notorious
Ashley Gang, and was the subject of the 1973 movie ''
Little Laura and Big John
''Little Laura and Big John'' is a 1973 American feature film about the exploits of the John Ashley (bandit), Ashley gang in the Florida everglades in the 1910s and 1920s.
Plot
Loosely based on the true story about Laura Upthegrove and John Ashle ...
''.
Geography
References
External links
Unincorporated communities in Okeechobee County, Florida
Unincorporated communities in Florida
Populated places on Lake Okeechobee
{{OkeechobeeCountyFL-geo-stub