The Two-Toed Tom Festival celebrates one of the South’s most famous legends. Held each year in Esto, Florida, it brings together live music, great food, local vendors, and family-friendly fun.
The festival began in 1987 to honor “Old Tom,” a legendary alligator said to roam the Alabama–Florida line in the early 1900s. Known for the two claws on his front foot, Tom left behind unmistakable tracks—and stories of a fearsome past before settling near Esto.
Today, the festival honors this unique piece of Southern folklore while welcoming visitors from across the region to experience local tradition, storytelling, and community spirit.
Two-Toed Tom was a massive alligator that roamed the lakes and swamps around the Alabama-Florida state line around the turn of the 20th century. “Old Tom” as some called him was known to kill cattle and livestock. According to tales he could never be caught, but farmers always knew his “work” by his distinctive tracks. One of Tom’s feet had been caught in a steel trap removing all but two toes.
According to the 1934 book Stars Fell on Alabama, by Carl Carmer, Tom would regularly eat farmers livestock as well as men and women, the latter of which he was also said to have raped before eating.
Some indicated that Two-Toed Tom was no mere alligator and must surely be demon possessed, explaining that he possessed red glowing eyes, and was immensely powerful being able to tear a horse to shreds in one swift thrash of his teeth.
Carmer tells of multiple failed attempts to kill Tom. At one point a hefty bounty was placed on the alligator drawing a Civil War sharpshooter who spent over a week in a hunting blind, waiting for the canny creature.
Arguably the worst account was of Pap Haines, a farmer who had bought 40 acres of land, despite being told that the infamous alligator claimed the area. Soon Pap discovered his favorite mule torn apart, and a trail of two-toed prints and blood leading to a nearby pond.
Realizing that Tom must’ve been close, he decided to put an end to the monster once and for all. With the help of his sons, Pap filled 15 syrup buckets with dynamite, and began tossing them into the pond. The pond was completely destroyed, leaving it seemingly impossible for anything to survive.
However, screaming was heard from nearby, and the group ran over to come face to face with the grisly remains of Haines’ twelve-year-old granddaughter, who had gone out to see what all of the commotion was about.
In the 1910’s Tom (possibly fleeing a vengeful lynch mob) moved to Esto and set up residence in Sand Hammock, a 75-acre lake near town. In the book Holmesteading : A History of Holmes County Florida by E.W. Carswell citizens of the time reported seeing the gator’s distinctive tracks, as well as many missing animals. Local boys told stories of firing upon the enormous reptile and their bullets bounced off his hide like “dried peas on a tin roof”.
The old saurian was frequently heard to bellow in response to the whistle at the Alabama-Florida Lumber Company sawmill in Noma. Some said he fell in love with the steam mill whistle, and thought it was a similarly large female mate.
Incidents with Two-Toed Tom didn’t occur for many years until the 1980s. A giant alligator path with some two-toed tracks was found on Boynton Island on the Choctawahtchee River, near the community of Red Head, Florida. After years out of the limelight, reports came flooding in once again. Several hunts were organised to find the alligator but without much success.
The Two-Toed Tom Festival first began in 1987. Esto’s residents planned to hold an annual celebration of food, entertainment and story swapping about the legend of the giant swamp lizard.
Is Tom still roaming the Florida Panhandle among the swamps and rivers? Well something that isn’t well known is that alligators don’t die of old age. They just keep eating more and more, getting larger and larger…
