Gangs of Palm Beach
Behind the Palms, Episode 8
How did the Ashley Gang become one of the most notorious gangs of Florida?
The Ashley Gang became legends of the swamps, robbing banks, running rum, and outwitting lawmen from the Keys to the Everglades. This episode explores how Florida’s most notorious outlaws rose to power during a time when the law was just another obstacle.
Historians told us that the early pioneers of the Everglades were outlaws and hid in the wilderness to be lost from civilization. Sometimes when filling out a birth certificate and I asked where the parents were born, the answer would be to write “unknown” and not to ask any more questions. I was called upon to take care of the Ashleys, the Mobleys, the Rice gang, and the Upthegroves. Leland Rice had his lower jaw shot off and was carried to our house in the middle of the night. … When I treated Laura Upthegrove, who lived on the ridge near Pahokee, I didn't know that she was in with the outlaws.