In the historical past of Okeechobee County over the past 75 years, some of the names who were an integral part of the county following its earliest days have been well documented. Others achieve prominence or notoriety, or both. These are yet others who made contributions of a substantial nature, but little has been handed down about their contribution to the formation of the county. Smith J. Drawdy was such a man.

He was a big man, literally and figuratively speaking. At the turn of the century, the average height of a man in the United States was five feet, seven inches. This man stood about six feet, four inches and tipped the scales around 225 pounds. He secured his place in the pages of Okeechobee history when he was sworn in as the first sheriff of the newly-formed Okeechobee County on August 7, 1917. One can’t help but wonder if his size alone made him the best candidate for the office. Prior to being named sheriff, he had been active in the community and political affairs and was one of the original municipal officers for the City of Okeechobee when it was incorporated on June 4, 1915. Mr. Drawdy, along with W.L. Coats, Dr. C.R. Darrow, C.L. Hatch and L.M. Raulerson, constituted the first governing body.

Descendants of the family do not have a record of when he and his wife, Rosa, arrived in Okeechobee, but a copy of the St. Lucie County Tribune, dated March 7, 1913 contained an article on the growth of Okeechobee and listed the new buildings in town. "Smith Drawdy will begin to build a nice house in a few Days," the article stated.

His granddaughter, Derita Drawdy Watford said that he also operated the first Coca-Cola Bottling company in the county. The plant was located in the block of stores commonly known as the Daniel’s Buildings. She said a private home fronted the block, and the bottling plant was located in the rear, between S.E. Park Street and Southeast Second Street, about where the Answering Service of Okeechobee is located today. She said that when her grandfather gave up the operation of the bottling company, his son-in-law, Henry Chandler, took over the company.

Because of his interest in politics, he was a member of the committee which employed Otis R. Parker of Fort Pierce to draft a bill setting up a new county, which would include portions of Pal Beach, DeSoto, St. Lucie and Osceola counties. The bill was presented to the state Legislature in the spring of 1917 and both houses of the legislature passed an amended bill after original working taking parts of DeSoto county were removed. The county officially came into existence on May 8, 1917, but the law was not to take effect until August 7, 1917. The land area of the new county was 487,000 acres.

Mr. Drawdy’s term of office was not very long, just a little over a year. He died during the flu epidemic in 1918, as did his wife and child. His badges of office have remained in the family and are now in the possession of Mrs. Watford’s grandson, Greg Gaughan.

One of Okeechobee’s most colorful characters, William "Pogy Bill" Collins. Mr. Collins served as town marshal during the time that Mr. Drawdy was serving on the city council. A family legend tells the tale that the two men had met on occasion with Mr. Drawdy exercising his professional duties. The story goes that during his tenure as sheriff, Mr. Drawdy was called to the scene to help break up a fight. One of the participants was Pogy Bill, and he allegedly arrested him on that particular occasion.