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Photo Credit: Evan Reinheimer - Kite Aerial Photography
https://evanreinheimer.com/naples-pier-naples-fl

Attitude of Gratitude

by Lois Bolin, Ph.D., Old Naples Historian
h, how grateful we are for The City The Naples Company brochure recommended that travelers
th
of Naples that is coming off its 100 arrive in Jacksonville on a Sunday and board the train at 11:35 a.m.
OAnniversary of being part of Collier on Monday. Seven hours later, they’d get to Orlando, stay overnight,
County but come 2026; she will have her and leave on Tuesday to arrive in Punta Gorda by 8:30 p.m.
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140 Anniversary of her birth. She was At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, they would board the company steamer,
originally part of Monroe County but became “The Fearless,” bound for Naples. Finally, after stops at St. James and
part of Lee County when Lee gained its Punta Rassa, they would arrive at their paradise destination
independence from Monroe County on May 13, 1887. around 3:30 p.m.
(Note: Don’t confuse the City of Naples with Greater Naples.) Did they complain? No, they were grateful for the three days,
Never Say Never five train changes, an all-day boat ride coupled with the travel from
Prior to 1885, the Weeks and the Wiggins were basically the Kentucky, where anyone could own a lot in paradise for only $10.
only families who lived in the area known today as Port Royal to In 1963 Florence Price Haldeman, granddaughter of the founder
Vanderbilt; but that was soon to change. of Naples, Walter Haldeman, stated that after the long journey,
Two Kentuckians, Walter N. Haldeman, owner of the Naples became a ‘never-never land of impossible charm’… it was
Louisville Courier, and General John S. Williams, who were their paradise.
grateful for the ending of the Civil War, chartered a schooner in Rocking Gratitude
Tampa and sailed down the west coast looking for a spot to build This paradise’s growth and charm could not have happened
a resort paradise. It seemed they had been hearing much about the without the generosity of those of significant means and those
Naples Town Improvement Company (1886) and its plans. with considerable grit. It was men like Ed Crayton, who refused
They spied a native tending to his cattle and learned he had to sell to gamblers during the World Wars to Mayor Roy Smith,
5,000 acres in the area we now call Venice. They invited him to who launched the 1948 ‘Makes Naples a Better Place to Live Plan’
come aboard and enjoy some of Kentucky’s finest whiskey and (Naples Plan), who kept the character and identity of the Town
conversation, which led to why the native needed to sell his land. in check and launched a community park (Cambier Park); built
A deal was struck. By the next day at 10 a.m. he’d be a rich man controls for beach erosion; constructed new streets, (enters the
and the Kentucky gentlemen would start their plans. Gratitude Turner Family); and launched a form of “swamp angels” (mosquito)
was as bountiful as the whiskey. control.
st
But when Mr. Haldeman and General Williams went ashore Fast forward to the 21 Century. There have been countless
after lunch, they learned the native’s wife had given instructions residents to whom we are most grateful, and I do believe many of
to beware of “them two that got him drunk and tried to take his them attended the ‘Women Rock Philanthropy’ luncheon at the
land.” So, they gratefully sailed further south, eventually anchoring Ritz-Carlton, where over 600 community stewards honored the
at the mouth of Gordon Pass to launch their plan to gentrify recent Women of Initiative who are making Naples a better place to
paradise. live.
Never-Never Land of Impossible Charm Rock Star, Vicki Tracy, Co-Chair of Women Rock Philanthropy,
Purchasing the land from Port Royal to the Moorings to summed up the essence of community gratitude, “Patty Baker, where
Back Bay (Crayton Cove) to the Gulf proved a difficult task, but would we be without the Baker Center?” Where indeed?
Mr. Halderman eventually acquired the 8,700 acres for a price As of this writing, the past has reached into the present to serve
of $13,050 ($1.50 an acre). It was the full holding of what the us in the future. The Gaynor family, descendents of Naples legacy
Kentucky syndicate now called The Naples Company. The Fort giants Lester and Dellora Norris, has donated $1,000,000 to help
Myers paper wrote that the company proposed … “to push the restore the historic Naples Pier.
How grateful we are.
town of Naples for all it’s worth.” And they did.
18 Life in Naples | January 2024