Our Historical Society

When did we organize, and why? What is our mission? What have we done for our community and what are our plans for the future?

The Everglades Society for Historical Preservation (ESHP) was organized in 2004 to “Save City Hall”. The first board members were Karen Cabral, Carol Moseman, April Breton, Marya Repko, Jean Schultz, and me. Our purpose was to restore our original county courthouse whose foundation had deteriorated over time. However, Hurricane Wilma hit in 2005, and FEMA stepped in to cover the renovations. So, we focused on other community matters.

Our mission statement at that time was “to preserve historic sites, structures, documents, artifacts, and memories within the Everglades area.” Now, under our current Board of Directors (Helen Bryan, Hydie Friend, Hannah Ineson, Don Kim, Elaine Middelstaedt, Tony Pernas, and me), we expanded our mission to say: “Through advocacy, education, and stewardship, ESHP connects the Everglades area to its rich past, celebrating its diverse heritage, inspiring future generations by preserving its shared history, arts, and culture.” We intend to look forward to the next generation to inspire them to preserve what is so unique in Florida. Everglades City is a very special place, full of culture and charm. We know that if we advocate for historic preservation and teach our children about our past, this community will continue to be all that our founder Barron Gift Collier envisioned in 1923.

To reach our initial goals, 22 years ago, we started raising awareness and funds by asking residents to “sponsor” the bricks in the walkway in front of City Hall and the banners depicting historic figures, places, and events. We installed historical markers in front of various buildings and sites around town and provided plaques to homeowners to highlight the original Collier era homes.

In 2020, after the 2017 Hurricane Irma destroyed our very popular Welcome Center in Carnestown and the Chamber of Commerce was dissolved, we took on the role of greeting visitors from around the world by opening the Everglades Area Welcome Center in the Glades Building at 207 West Broadway. This has been a very successful project. In season, we have 11 volunteers who work seven hours a day, seven days a week. Over the past 12 months, we have welcomed 4,871 visitors. It’s a lot of fun talking to people from all over this country and around the world, but more importantly, we are supporting the businesses in our community with our recommendations and educating the public about the wonders of our natural resources and opportunities to explore southwest Florida. In addition to providing maps and brochures, our Welcome Center also supports our local artists by providing them with the space to display and sell their crafts.

A few of our other projects are 1) Informational kiosk on CR29; 2) Welcome canvas bag of information for new homeowners; 3) Guided walking tours; and 4) Social gatherings in the historic bar at the Rod and Gun Club.

Our most challenging project to date is the rehabilitation of the historic Bank of Everglades Building. We have raised over $3 million which has paid for repairs to the roof, termite and asbestos abatement, demolition of the non-historic rear building and selected interior sections, architectural and engineering services, removal and storage of the original Dade County heart pine floor, installation of new pilings and complete foundation repair, and construction of new stairs leading up to a second-floor balcony overlooking our town. It has been an incredible journey, and it is not over. We still must raise funds to complete the entire project which, we believe, will be the focal point of Everglades City. It will not only be a Welcome Center and Trail Town Headquarters but also an arts and cultural center to introduce local and outside artists, to host events and performances, special parties (a venue for weddings), and small gatherings. It will be the home of our Marya Repko Historical Library with hundreds of books about our area. We will have special programs highlighting our cultural heritage and our fishing industry which has been the mainstay of this community since the time of the Storters and early pioneers. We are so excited about this project coming to fruition.

We would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to the hundreds of donors who have generously supported our Bank of Everglades Building project to date. While most of our funds were received from our federal grant and our state matching grant of $53,000, ESHP has been the recipient of an additional $307,037 from our fundraisers, music festivals, guided tours, and private donations. The Colliers (the Barron Collier Jr. Foundation, the Barron Collier Companies, and individual Collier family members) have been our largest benefactor to date over the past four years. In addition, there have been several other significant donations from locals who wish to remain anonymous. We appreciate all donations! Every dollar brings us closer to completing this important project of bringing back an iconic historic building.