Page 18 - LIN November 2022 Issue

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DESIGNED

LOIS BOLIN, Ph.D., Old Naples Historian

Centennial

CHARM

" Nature was lavish in supplying Collier County with many unusual
physical characteristics and natural resources, but so much of the county
was remote and inaccessible… nature made Collier County a part of America’s last frontier."
— DR. CHARLES TEBEAU, author of Florida’s Last Frontier: The History of Collier County

OH, WHAT A HISTORY IT HAS.

r. Tebeau, noted Florida historian and one of Florida’s 50 most
influential people of the 20th century, believed that history
Dwas where you found it, and all history begins with local his-
tory. When we think of the history of Collier County it is important
to note that the modern version of the city of Naples’ history began in
the mid-1800s, as did her surrounding areas we now call Marco Island,
Everglades City, and Immokalee. Collier County’s history has a definite
beginning on May 8, 1923, when a portion of Lee County was parceled
off to advertising tycoon Baron Gift Collier in exchange for completing a
portion of the Tamiami Trail.
Since most residents and visitors are unaware of the boundaries of
the city and county, much less its respective histories, each with its own
unique characteristics and socio-political cultures, we will be explor-
ing a series of articles in 2023 on This Land (and County) of Impossible
Charm, the name given to the Town of Naples by Florence Henderson
Price, granddaughter of the founder of Naples, Walter Haldeman. Won’t
that be fun?
President, Jefferson Davis, who built the famous Rod and Gun Club.
CHARMING CONNECTIONS The name change came after the purchase by Mr. Collier.
It is hard to imagine that this land of impossible charm was once The township of Immokalee (Seminole name meaning ‘my home’)
America’s final frontier along with her sister townships. Marco Island, also grew after the Civil War when many former Cow Calvary, both
once called Collier City after Confederate General William Thomas Confederate and Union soldiers, were sent to the area to round up scrub
Collier (no relation to our county’s namesake), is perhaps best known cattle for food during the war. They later returned to build the area into
for the most important archaeological sites in the Southeastern United a productive cattle and farming community.
States, when in 1896, Frank Hamilton Cushing discovered the Calusa Naples, Marco, and Everglades City were connected by water while
culture artifacts, including the infamous Marco Cat. Its clamming indus- Immokalee, the highest elevation in the county, was connected to
try was the underpinning of their local economy until the late 1940s. Everglades City via HWY 29, the area some say was the birthplace of
Everglades City, which was originally named Everglade, was founded Collier County. Eventually the entire county was connected when the
by George Washington Storter, the former valet of the Confederacy Tamiami Trail was completed in 1928.

In honor of our home’s upcoming Centennial, the city of Naples 2022
Charming Christmases Christmas Parade theme will pay tribute to 100 years of Christmas
in Paradise. Each entry may pick their own period, theme, or story,
which will no doubt showcase the magic in this place we call home
and its unparalleled charm.

18 Life in Naples November 2022