For many years, Estero Island was home to Calusa Indians, Cuban Fishermen, Spanish Missionaries, and some say, pirates. It was not until the mid-1870s that the first family settled on Fort Myers Beach. Sam Ellis, his wife, and his son, George Underhill, settled at the end of Connecticut Street where the Mound House now sits. […]
Early Settlers on Estero Island Read More »
Over 5,000 years ago, the Calusa Indians made their home on the sandy shores of Estero Island. In fact, carbon dating suggests that southwest Florida was the cultural center of the Calusas. Perhaps the most impressive historical proof of the Calusa can be found in the shell mounds on many barrier islands in southwest Florida.
The Calusa Indians and Mound Key Read More »
Mound Key is well known as the capital of the Calusa Indians. However, recently archaeologists from Florida and Georgia have discovered that this small island in the middle of Estero Bay was also the location of one of the first Jesuit missions in North America. The Spanish fort, known as Fort San Anton de Carlos
Spanish Fort Discovered on Mound Key Read More »
One of the oldest buildings on the beach is now home to Junkanoos and the Fresh Catch Bistro. Back in the day, this building housed the Pelican Hotel and Restaurant which was originally a honeymoon houseboat operated by “Ma” Turner. The houseboat was rolled up to the present site on logs in 1933. During the
Long before Disney World, Silver Springs was one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions. In its heyday, the crystal clear waters of Silver Springs attracted more than one million visitors a year. In the 1860s, Samuel Howse bought 242 acres that surrounded the headwaters of the Silver River. Tourists came up the Silver River
Before Disney, There Was Silver Springs Read More »