Bill McCoy the Real McCoy Exhibit August 29, 2008

One of the most colorful characters to live in the Halifax area was the dashing and adventurous Bill McCoy, the famous rumrunner and "King of Rum Row". The rumrunners of Prohibition said that "Bill never cut his liquor," and his fair dealing perpetuated the phrase, "It's the real McCoy". He moved to Florida in 1900 with his family, and he and his brother Ben began building boats on the banks of the Halifax River in Holly Hill. Their boat, the Uncle Sam which they built in 1903, was used as an excursion boat on the Tomoka River, and they also operated freight and passenger boats between Daytona and St. Augustine and to West Palm Beach. In 1908, they purchased Charles Burgoyne's The Sweetheart, and made weekly runs to West Palm Beach. They built several more boats including the Republic, The Beach Comber and the Hibiscus which were built for Fred Vanderbilt in 1915 and John Wannamaker in 1918. In 1920, business was poor, and Bill was approached by a rumrunner with a phenomenal salary to captain his boat. He declined the offer, however he and his brother decided to go into business for themselves. Bill purchased the Henry Marshall in Massachusetts. It was a 90-foot fishing schooner built of white oak. The boat could carry 1,500 cases of liquor in crates, or 3,000 cases in burlap bags. Bill sold all his first cargo offshore in New York. This was the largest cargo brought into New York to that time and Bill founded the notorious "Rum Row". With the money made from the first sale, he purchased the love of his life, a beautiful fishing schooner, the Arethusa. Nassau became his home port for the next four years, and the Arethusa sailed many times from there loaded with liquor headed for Rum Row. He claimed he landed more than 170,000 cases of liquor during his rum-running days. He was closely watched by the Coast Guard, and the canny Bill renamed the Arethusa, the Tomoka and placed her under British registry. He also named her the Marie Celeste and registered her with the French. Eventually in 1921, the Henry Marshall was taken into custody by the Revenue Service when its drunken captain went ashore and left the ship in incompetent hands. Revenue agents boarded the Tomoka, but Bill claimed he was beyond the three mile limit and tried to make a run for freedom while some of the agents were on board. When the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca fired on the Tomoka, Bill surrendered. So went the rum-running days of Bill McCoy with his 130' vessel leading the Coast Guard on a merry chase. He died aboard his boat the Blue Lagoon at Stuart, Florida at the age of 71 on December 30, 1948.