Naples, Florida has a history as rich and as vibrant as its beaches. This paradise has seen much of its development and human activity, when pioneers like Baron Gift Collier, General John Stuart Williams and William H. Halderman who fell in love with the beauty of Naples and saw its potential to become a thriving city began investing in this sparsely inhabited piece of land that’s close to the beach. They were the ones who built the first structures here in the form of summer vacation homes, a pier for the delivery of otherwise immovable goods, a general goods store, a post office and a humble hotel. There was not much human activity in those early years but it was considered a refuge from the winter cold by some well-off people at that time.
In time, Naples grew in popularity among vacationers and so businesses flourished and hotels were erected to cater more visitors while some decided to stay in the place for good. From a simple swampy town to a major tourist destination which caters to millions of people per year, Naples, Florida is truly something to behold.
One of the major factors that was key to the rise of Naples was its infrastructure. Of course, as with everything, this city started small. And though this is one of the younger cities in the US, it did not mean that it was not able to catch up with the older cities from other states. One such infrastructure was the Tamiami Trail (US 41). This ambitious project that connected Tampa to Miami is an engineering marvel in that it’s still very much in use almost a hundred years after its construction. Built around 1930, the project was a very ambitious one since there were so many hurdles that blocked its construction, be it the natural barriers such as swamps and other natural dangers as well as other matters such as in funding. However, all the sacrifice that was put in it had been all worth it. Also known as US Route 41, this 275 mile stretch of highway connects Tampa to Miami and has been the source of all manner of traffic that brought people and goods across the southern part of Florida. Another is the Goodland Bridge that opened in 1938. This was then connected to the SS Jolley Bridge that was opened in 1969. This bridge connected Marco island to Naples.
Early Naples was coming along just fine but what is a city without a commercial building? So Ed Frank and his wife built the first commercial building in the city in 1923. They used the upper floor as their residence and below was the business who leased the space. Ed Frank was also credited to own the first car dealership in town and he also invented the famous Swamp Buggy which you’ll get to hear much about once you visit Naples, Florida. Then the first pharmacy store opened in the next decade and this was also the decade where we saw the first golf courses which later became a defining feature of Naples. And in 1949, The Bank of Naples was opened, the first ever bank in the city. The 1940’s was also the decade when the first ever supermarket opened shop.
And with that more and more establishments opened as more hotels catered to more guests arriving from all over the country. Today, the City of Naples stands proud as a city that shows resilience and tenacity, ever developing despite of several hurricanes and other disasters and, most importantly, a city that gives tremendous value to its history.
