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Florida
Public Archaeology Network
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Collier
County Page
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Immokalee
Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch |
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Immokalee
- translates to “our home”
in the Seminole language. Built in 1914, this was the first
ranch in the county. It is located on the southeast corner of Roberts
Avenue and SR 29 (turn at the Popeyes restaurant). Home to an annual
reenactment of the Civil War Battle of Gopher Ridge, fought while
Confederate soldiers sought to acquire cattle from the Seminole Indians;
has many historic buildings, including a pioneer homestead and several
outbuildings, on its grounds - Managed by Collier County however,
these websites are not at all current. colliermuseum.com/main/index
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Everglades
City and Chokoloskee |
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An
unofficial website providing historical information for tourists:Chokoloskee
means “big house.” This 150 acre island south of Everglades
City is home to numerous large shell mounds, constructed thousands
of years ago by native people. Limited archaeology has been done here,
but visitors to Chokoloskee can clearly spot the remnants of mounds
amid and underneath many extant structures.
floridahistory.org/westcoastfla/everglad
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Otter
Mound |
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Marco
Island, 1831 Addison Court, on the south end; The only archaeological
preserve in Collier County; this site was saved due to its native
plant communities, but it also contains significant shell mounds;
historic outhouse, native plants, interpretive signs, and a shell
wall built in the twentieth century also are part of this site.
This property was originally owned by the James and Tommie Barfield
family. The Barfield House is adjacent to the property.
floridahistory.org/westcoastfla/naples
An unofficial website providing information for historical tourists,
especially those interested in architecture:
Click here for Map |
Rookery
Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve |
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Naples
-Historical exhibits at the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center
focus on 3,000 years of human use of the Rookery Bay estuary. The
second floor of the Center is dedicated to providing a glimpse into
the world of ancient shell mounds, pioneer homesteads, and the 1960's
grass roots movement that led to the preservation of the slice of
paradise called Rookery Bay. The Reserve hosts the Southwest Florida
History & Archaeology Festival in March,
providing guided shell mound walks, guest lecturers, reenactments
and other
activities. rookerybay.org
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Bank
of the Everglades Lodge |
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210
West Broadway, Everglades City, FL 34139 - Now operated
as a hotel and spa, this used to house a bank as well as the office
of Barron Collier, who used his company to try to shape this region
of Florida during the 1920s. During that time, the town was
known simply as Everglades (this would change in 1953). Many
artifacts from those days remain and are housed here. For example
the original bank safe is downstairs in the spa room.
evergladeslodge.com
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Depot
Restaurant |
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Everglades City - This building once housed the train
depot for this city. The rail lines are long gone, and the large
space in this building is now used as a restaurant. Check out the
cases in the front of the restaurant, which contain historic artifacts
dating to first use of this town in the 1920s. |
Everglades
City |
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Once
called simply Everglades, this small town contains many examples of
classic cracker architecture, including some homes built by the Storter
family which are still in use. The riverfront is still used for stone
crabbing, a dominant industry in this area, and many still see this
town as the gateway to the Everglades, as it was originally promoted.
Everglades City is a great deal more peaceful than the town founders
might have envisioned, when they planned their vision of combining
the rail line with the Tamiami Trail prior to the days of interstates
and RVs. Many call that a blessing, and call this town a slice of
“Old Florida.” Historic biking tours of the area are available
here throughout the year. When the Barron Collier Company ran
the town, life was dictated by alarms telling people when to get to
work, when to lunch, and when to break for the day. Also, the company
looked after homes and lawns, even whitewashing tree trunks and paining
houses on a regular basis. www.evergladesevents.com,
When in town, check out the local papers, “What’s Happening
Around Town,” and “The Mullet Rapper”—add
(* These papers recently have been combined and are now available
as one weekly paper, available at many locations in town.) |
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Thanks
to M. C. Bob Leonard, Professor of History, Hillsborough Community
College for information from unofficial websites. |
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