In Bartow, FL, you’ll find the grave of Charlie Smith among the other gravestones at Wildwood Cemetery. What’s so special about Charlie? Aside from his eventful life, he’s believed to be “America’s Oldest Man.” His birthday is recorded as July 4, 1842 and he lived until Oct. 5, 1979, dying at the age of 137.
That means he presumably lived in two different centuries, witnessed 25+ US presidents come and go, and watched the first moon landing. Charlie would have also been around when the dishwasher, the safety pin, the zipper, the car radio, the first computer, zip codes, and lava lamps were all invented.
How exactly did Charlie end up in Bartow? At the age of 12, Charlie (then, named Mitchell Watkins) was lured from his home in Liberia and brought to the US with the promise of seeing “fritter trees.” Later, he was sold into slavery to a rancher named Charlie Smith, who changed Mitchell’s name to his own and gave him the birthday July 4, 1842.
Throughout Charlie’s long life, he was part of the Union Army, an expert gambler, a bounty hunter with the Jesse James Gang (where he chased Billy the Kid), a father, a husband, and a member of the circus. In his later years, he convinced nursing home staff to allow him to take his vitamins with a shot of rum, despite his health conditions.
Although Charlie’s age and story haven’t ever been completely confirmed, researchers believe he lived to be at least 100 years old. After his death, Bartow residents chipped in to pay for a tombstone, which was engraved with the phrase “America’s Oldest Man.”
You can find Charlie’s tombstone in Row 28 of Wildwood Cemetery (800 S. Woodlawn Ave., Bartow), near a big tree. Listen to this 1975 interview with Charlie himself to learn more about his life.
