Page 40 - May-June-July Life In Naples Magazine

by Lois Bolin NAPLES “We whiled the hours
Old Naples Historian away; the skies were
HISTORY MONTH bright, our hearts were

light, in the merry,

”merry month of May.
–Stephen Foster (1862)

T he crown jewel of Southwest Florida attracted NAPLES HOTEL 1958
interest during the Florida land boom of the
late 1880s. By 1887, Civil War General and City and Naples, which began their development in the 1880s, under a new county
U.S. Senator, John S. Williams, along with Walter government. Twenty-six years later, the Florida State Legislature approved a new
N. Haldeman, Publisher of the Louisville Courier, charter for Naples, changing it from a town to a city on May 25, 1949.
formed the Naples Company, with an ambitious
vision based on development at $10 per lot, tourism CITY FEST IN MAY
and future rail and sea commerce.

By the summer of 1888 with a seasonal
population of 80 people in the town, Naples began
to promote its 600-foot pier, a general store, post
office and hotel. The Town of Naples remained a
private winter retreat for well-to-do Kentucky and
Ohio families due to sagging land sales for the next
several decades.

By 1915, with access only via the Pier, a small
road from Naples to Ft. Myers made Naples more
accessible. By 1928, the Tamiami Trail and The
Seaboard Air Line Railway, with its arrival of the
inaugural Orange Blossom Special, brought new
visitors to this “little bend in the road” nestled
between Miami and Tampa. Yet development was
hampered with the onset WWI and the Depression.
It wasn’t until after WWII, when hundreds of
servicemen had their first glimpse of this west coast
paradise, that Naples blossomed.

On May 8, 1923, the Florida State Legislature
partitioned Lee County to create Collier County
placing the towns of Immokalee, Marco, Everglades

Fast-forward to May 2010, the Downtown Old Naples Business Districts
collaborated with the City of Naples to create special “off shoulder season”events in the
months of May and October to showcase the authentic areas of the Town of Naples
called, City Fest. With the assistance of the Convention Visitors Bureau, activities
in each of these five districts: Third Street S., Crayton Cove, Old Naples Waterfront
(north and south of the Gordon River Bridge), 10th Street S. and Fifth Avenue S.,
showcased this authentic area of the “Town of Naples,” that started the magic in this
place we call home. Look for upcoming events.

FAMILY STAYCATIONS

If you are looking for things to do on your summer vacation, why not book a
“Staycation Adventure” available right in your own your own back yard and explore
Naples Heritage Trail, which tells the history of Naples. Your QR Code Reader will
show you the 20 city, state and national markers sites. You can also visit the City of
Naples GIS Map website to find the Bronze Marker Map or use the map listed herein.

Yes, ‘there’s no place like home’ and there’s no time like the present to learn Naples
history - especially in the merry, merry month of May - Naples History Month.

MAYOR JOHN SOREY WITH CAPTAIN JOHNNY MORGAN

40 Life in Naples | May • June • July 2015