Collier County Museums
Posted on October 22nd, 2006 by Rick Bethem
I went to an Expo the other day and picked up some information on the various museums in Collier County. Here are a few that might be of interest to you when your in town.
The Immokalee Pioneer Museum was originally home to cattleman Robert Roberts and his family. This 15 acre living history museum offers a rare glimpse of daily life on an actual Southwest Florida ranch from the early 1900’s. The displays and nineteen preserved buildings tell the story of those who struggled to tame a sprawling wilderness on the edge of the Big Cypress Swamp at the turn of the last century. Located in Immokalee, just off Main Street and Roberts Ave. West. Call 239-658-2466 for more information.
At the County’s Courthouse complex you can journey back over more than a million years at the Collier County Museum. From pre-historic saber cat skeletons and Calusa Indians, to Spanish explorers and Seminole warriors, newly created exhibits and dioramas capture the panorama of local history. Nestled on five acres of native Florida gardens, the museum also offers two historic cottages, a working archaeology lab, Seminole village, tropical orchid house, wildlife displays, a 1910 steam logging locomotive, recreated Seminole War fort and a fully restored Sherman tank from World War II. Located 5 miles from downtown Naples in the Government Complex near U.S. 41 and Airport Road. 3301 Tamiami Trail East Naples. Call 239-774-8476 for more information.
Naples Depot, set in Naples’ first passenger train station, is our newest museum bringing visitors to the railroading days of the Roaring Twenties and shows how generations of Southwest Floridians used technology and transportation to conquer a vast and seemingly impenetrable frontier. Fascinating exhibits and artifacts tell how trade and travel transformed Naples from a napping village of 300 residents to today’s glittering Gulf Coast resort. The museum also offers an area Visitor’s Center, a model railroad layout and miniature train rides for children. Located at 1051 5th Avenue South between 9th Street and Goodlette Road. Call 239-262-6525 for more information.
Museum of the Everglades first opened in 1927 as a commercial laundry, the building dates back to when construction of the Tamiami Trail was underway and the tiny settlement of Everglades served as both a frontier trading town and the County seat. Permanent and traveling exhibits provide visitors with an in-depth look at over 2,000 years of human history in the area and tell the story of adventurers stubborn enough to settle Southwest Florida’s lush “River of Grass.” Carefully restored to its 1920’s appearance, the museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located at 105 West Broadway in Everglades City, 3 miles South of U.S. 41 and SR29. Call 239-695-0008.
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