There are some interesting historic facts Naples Florida visitors often don't know. Although there are several nice museums in this town, most people simply don't visit such places. If you would like to find out more about Naples Florida history, here are some interesting things you might want to know. So, the founders of this lovely place were John S. Williams and Walter N. Haldeman, back there in 1880s.
The entire area where this town is built on was occupied by the Caloosa tribe. The first white settlers were Roger Gordon and Joe Wiggins. They came here in 1960, but back then there were only swamps on this area. In any case, the coast is so lovely, especially the bay, that some people soon realized the value of this territory. Comparing this bay with the one in Naples, Italy, they concluded that this one is more beautiful.
One of the city founders, Kentucky U. S. Senator John S. Williams, was former Confederate general. His partner Walter N. Haldeman was businessman and the owner of Louisville Courier Journal. They formed the Naples Company and designed and launched their town building program. Their idea was to build the town that will become a tourist destination on the coast.
Thanks to these two visionaries, six hundred feet long T-shaped pier was built, and that was the beginning of tourism in this area. Wealthy tourists started to come. For the next thirty years or so, only a few families used this area as their winter resort. The problem was in very poor roads leading there, as well as in the fact that there was no railway.
Another visionary, Barron Collier, made the next important step. He bought over million acres of swampland and spent great deal of money in building the paved highway called Tamiami Trail. It was called so because it connected two cities, Tampa and Miami. Collier understood the importance of good roads and trains, and the whole county was named after him.
The first passenger train came here in 1927, in January 7. The train was called the Orange Blossom Special. The last train left this area in 1971. The Depot is now restored and used by numerous community organizations. Every day at noon, the train whistle can still be heard, just as it was for years.
The town got its first bank back in 1949. It was placed on 5th Ave. They got their library in 1932, and phone company in 1929. It is known that there were seventeen phones there in 1945. Numerous celebrities of that time visited this place, including Gary Cooper and Thomas Edison, as well as Greta Garbo.
Some other famous people spent their time here as well. For example, Charles Lindbergh. He and his wife Ann landed here in 1932, and bought supplies in the store. They were spending their holiday nearby. The first airport was military one, because pilots were trained here during the war. Civil airport was built in 1953.
Today, you can say that this town is an example of really impressive growth and development. This is the fastest growing town in Collier County. Constructing, tourism, banking and real estate are the major industries in this area, and today this is one of the wealthiest communities in this county.
The entire area where this town is built on was occupied by the Caloosa tribe. The first white settlers were Roger Gordon and Joe Wiggins. They came here in 1960, but back then there were only swamps on this area. In any case, the coast is so lovely, especially the bay, that some people soon realized the value of this territory. Comparing this bay with the one in Naples, Italy, they concluded that this one is more beautiful.
One of the city founders, Kentucky U. S. Senator John S. Williams, was former Confederate general. His partner Walter N. Haldeman was businessman and the owner of Louisville Courier Journal. They formed the Naples Company and designed and launched their town building program. Their idea was to build the town that will become a tourist destination on the coast.
Thanks to these two visionaries, six hundred feet long T-shaped pier was built, and that was the beginning of tourism in this area. Wealthy tourists started to come. For the next thirty years or so, only a few families used this area as their winter resort. The problem was in very poor roads leading there, as well as in the fact that there was no railway.
Another visionary, Barron Collier, made the next important step. He bought over million acres of swampland and spent great deal of money in building the paved highway called Tamiami Trail. It was called so because it connected two cities, Tampa and Miami. Collier understood the importance of good roads and trains, and the whole county was named after him.
The first passenger train came here in 1927, in January 7. The train was called the Orange Blossom Special. The last train left this area in 1971. The Depot is now restored and used by numerous community organizations. Every day at noon, the train whistle can still be heard, just as it was for years.
The town got its first bank back in 1949. It was placed on 5th Ave. They got their library in 1932, and phone company in 1929. It is known that there were seventeen phones there in 1945. Numerous celebrities of that time visited this place, including Gary Cooper and Thomas Edison, as well as Greta Garbo.
Some other famous people spent their time here as well. For example, Charles Lindbergh. He and his wife Ann landed here in 1932, and bought supplies in the store. They were spending their holiday nearby. The first airport was military one, because pilots were trained here during the war. Civil airport was built in 1953.
Today, you can say that this town is an example of really impressive growth and development. This is the fastest growing town in Collier County. Constructing, tourism, banking and real estate are the major industries in this area, and today this is one of the wealthiest communities in this county.
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