|
The Seminole Wars
Risking death over deportation, vastly outnumbered
Seminole war parties fought the U.S. Army to a stalemate in
the longest, bloodiest and most expensive Indian war in U.S.
history. A chain of forts along the fringes of Collier County
were reactivated when a third and final fight with the
Seminoles broke out in 1855. The few surviving Seminoles found
refuge deep in the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp where they
developed a culture uniquely suited to the climate and terrain
of south Florida.
|
|
|
Life on the Florida Frontier
Southwest Florida remained virtually
uninhabited until after the Civil War when
handfuls of farmers and squatters began making
their way south in mule wagons, ox carts or
sailboats. Early pioneers fished and hunted for a
living, raised crops of cabbage, peppers, tomatoes
and pineapples, dug clams, made charcoal, sold
bird plumes, and trapped otters and alligators for
their pelts and hides. Trading posts started by Ted
Smallwood on Chokoloskee Island and George
Storter at Everglades City became important
gathering places for the few isolated settlers and
Indians. By the late 1880's, Naples and Marco
Island were already gaining popularity as winter
resorts for wealthy Northerners and sportsmen.
|
|
|
The Tropical Range
Cattle ranching is one of Collier County's
oldest industries. By the early 1900's, ranchers
like Bob Roberts, Jehu Whidden and Robert
Carson were grazing herds of scrub cattle on
the open prairies around Immokalee. Railroads
improved the access to market in the 1920's and
helped raise the County's beef cattle industry to
national importance by the end of World War II.
|
|
|
New Directions
Collier County's creation in 1923 and its
early economic growth were closely tied to
Memphis-born millionaire, Barron Gift Collier.
With his fortune from streetcar advertising,
Collier introduced paved roads, electric power,
telegraphs and countless new businesses and
homeowners to Florida's last frontier. The
completion of the Tamiami Trail in 1928 also
unlocked the region's enormous agricultural and
resort potential. Florida's first commercial oil
well was brought in at Sunniland in 1943, and
Collier County's cypress logging industry
flourished at Copeland well into the 1950's.
|
|
|
Only Yesterday
World War II introduced hundreds of aircraft
servicemen to Naples and Collier County when the
U.S. Army Air Field (now Naples Airport) was
activated in 1943 to train combat pilots. At one
point, several hundred men and 53 aircraft were
assigned to the Naples base. Many veterans returned
after the war as prospective home buyers and
businessmen. A direct hit by Hurricane Donna in
1960, actually stimulated Naples' growth with an
infusion of insurance money and loans.
|
|
|
|
Modern
Collier County
In the short span of thirty years, number of
County residents swelled from 6,488 in 1950, to a
phenomenal 85,000 by 1980. The County seat was
transferred from Everglades City to East Naples in
1962, and signaled a new era of sustained growth
in agriculture, tourism, and real estate that have
made Collier County one of the fastest developing
areas in the to nation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Celebrate
Florida's colorful past the first weekend in
November
|
|
