Ashley researcher challenges narrative

After nearly a half century studying the famous crime family, Steve Carr questions common perceptions

BY GREGORY ENNS

Steve Carr’s interest in the Ashley Gang began as a child growing up in Lake Worth, where he would hear his grandfather, William Carr, and friend, Woody Upthegrove, talk about the gang’s exploits.

Woody was the brother of gang member Laura Upthegrove, John Ashley’s girlfriend, and did work on the periphery for the gang such as driving members around. Woody’s tales and the reminiscences of others made Carr realize how central the story of the Ashley Gang was to the history of the region and those living in South Florida in the 1910s and ‘20s.

“It happened here. It’s our story,’’ said the 69-year-old retired Palm Beach County firefighter/paramedic. “So if you live here, it’s your story.’’ 

THE REAL STORY

When Carr returned from service in the Army in the 1980s, his interest in the Ashley Gang led to a search, now in its fifth decade, to go beyond legends and hyperbole to discover the real story of the Ashley Gang. 

Metal detector in hand, Carr spent countless weekends surveying the Ashley land in Fruita on the east side of Old Dixie Highway in southern Martin County. The Ashley property on the west side of Old Dixie Highway, including the family cemetery, had been purchased for the development of the Mariner Sands residential community in 1978. Fruita was part of the original Spanish land grant called Gomez.