A look at Chekika in Miami, Florida.

Chekika started out as a land holding owned by Mark Grossman. Mark Grossman was attempting to drill oil on this land of his. However an attempt drilling for oil yielded an artesian well from a high-sulfur source of underground water, flooding the site and immediately creating an artificial lake. So all oil drilling operations had ceased.

Chekika was opened as a private park with swimming facilities on land owned by Mark Grossman in the 1940s. The high sulfur content in the water had good healing properties to the skin. Mark Grossman sold his land to the State of Florida in 1970 which led Chekika to become an Everglades National Park for which National Park Service operates and maintains. The State of Florida operated Chekika as a state park until it was eventually given to the National Park Service.

However sulfur was getting mixed into drinking water. Residents began complaining about the sulfur in their drinking water. Health concerns were raised. So the well was capped. The park reopened in 2010 and continues to operate today.

Chekika is located at 24200 SW 160 Street, Miami, Florida, US 33187.