Remembering Lee County

Where Winter Spends the Summer

Prudy Taylor Board

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2006
• eBook ISBN: 9781625844736
• Edition: 0
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

In this charming retrospective, Lee County native Prudy Taylor Board writes with love, respect, and wry humor as she reveals the true history of Lee County, its communities and some of its most intriguing and prominent pioneers. For example: In 1884, Fort Myers comprised 139 acres at the original site of the town that was platted into a working community. But the burgeoning town that had grown to include about 50 families did not have a newspaper. So when the opportunity to ?kidnap? an editor and his press presented itself, Henry L. Roan, captain of the schooner Lily White, wasted no time. Although a paradise for tourists today, Sanibel was originally noted for its prolific agriculture. By 1896, farmers were shipping a thousand crates of tomatoes a week during their growing season. A few years later, crops included eggplant, beets, squash, green peppers, cucumbers and beans. Unfortunately, the torrential tides of salt water accompanying a disastrous hurricane in 1921 destroyed the groves and arid farms that marked the finish to Sanibel's agricultural prominence. With these delightful historical vignettes, Board presents an interesting and fascinating history of the three cities that presently make up Lee County, Florida. Locals, visitors and newcomers alike are sure to enjoy Board's witty and causal style, and will view the area with a renewed appreciation for its rich past.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Plucky Pioneers: Newspapers Take Root in Southwest Florida
• Southwest Florida Marched Forward in War and Peace
• The Boom That Didn’t Go Bust
• How Summerlin Road Got Its Name
• Punta Rassa: Once Capital of Cow Country, Now of Condos
• Fort Myers: Lee County’s Historic County Seat
• The Sanibel Light: A Beacon for Mariners
• St. James City and a Once Grand Hotel
• The Devastating Fire that Formed Lee County
• And There Was Light in Lee County
• Useppa: Home to Pirates and the Privileged
• The Boulevard Paved with Bones
• The Night They Tore the Courthouse Down
• Children of a Cult
• A Haven for History
• Iona Schoolhouse: Once the Heart of Its Community
• Tice Elementary: Second to None in the State
• Tamiami Trailblazing
• Cape Coral: Water Wonderland
• Sanibel: “We Call It Paradise”
• Bibliography
• About the Author