Will, Thomas E. (Thomas Elmer), 1861-1937

Professor economic science, 1894-1897, and president, 1897-1899, Kansas State Agricultural College; active in preserving Florida Everglades, 1914-1937; editor of magazine Conservation, American Forestry Association, 1906-1937.

From the description of Thomas E. Will papers. 1896-1910. (K-State Libraries). WorldCat record id: 11426032

Educator, author, and developer of the Florida Everglades. Born in Illinois on November 11, 1861. Graduated from Harvard in 1890, and earned a M.A. from Harvard in 1891. He worked as a professor of history and political science at Kansas State Agricultural College from 1894-1897, and served as president at Kansas State from 1897-1899. He worked in various cities as an educator, lecturer, free-lance writer, and as an employee of the U.S. Census Office from 1900-1905. He took a position with the U.S. Forest Service in 1906, and served as secretary of the American Forestry Association and editor of its journal, Conservation, for the next three years.

In 1910 Will visited the Everglades for the first time, and he became so excited about the prospects for development there that he quit his Forestry positions to dedicate himself to the Everglades. Between 1910 and 1914, he spent most of his time working in Washington, D.C., promoting drainage and development of the Everglades, and primarily working as a real estate agent associated with the Everglades Land Sales Company and the Florida Everglades Homebuilders Association. He also spent a great deal of time writing articles and making speeches in order to promote further land purchases. In 1911 he was the principal compiler of Senate Document 89, which included treaties, acts, legislative reports, drainage reports, and other materials pertaining to the Everglades.

Between 1912 and 1914, Will purchased several tracts of land near Lake Okeechobee. Between 1913 and 1914, Will began the development and settlement of the region's first planned townsite, Okeelanta. As one of the pioneers, he spent considerable effort experimenting with agricultural crops and practices suitable for the land. He sold plots to other settlers, and tried to make a living by selling farm products. Will's efforts suffered a serious setback between 1920 and 1930 when the drainage program proved to be insufficient. He was forced to live in Ft. Lauderdale from 1921-1931, focusing his efforts on coastal land sales. Throughout that decade Okeelanta deteriorated rapidly, but Will continued to promote development of the Everglades through drainage, flood control, and improved navigation and highway transportation. Throughout the 1930s he refocused his energies on developing Okeelanta, continuing to write and speak on the merits of the Everglades. He died on March 5, 1937.

Source: Dovell, J.E. "Thomas Elmer Will, Twentieth Century Pioneer," Tequesta (1949), p. 21-55.

From the guide to the Thomas E. Will Papers, 1893-1938, (Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida)