Our programs are ambitious, encompassing meetings with local authors, professors, experts, notables in local history and related fields, and exploring the marvelous history of Southwest Florida.

You are invited to learn more about Bonita Springs at the History Center in the Liles Hotel, located in Riverside Park at 27300 Old US 41 Road.

In August 2006 the Bonita Springs City Council granted permission to the Bonita Springs Historical Society to occupy space at the newly renovated Liles Hotel. History exhibits are now on display in the public areas of the hotel and a first floor room is decorated as a period bedroom representative of the 1930’s. The Society’s two rooms on the second floor are utilized as a history resource center, available for use by the public, with the goal of furthering the study and understanding of our local heritage.

    As a result of visiting the Liles Hotel we hope that visitors will come away with a greater appreciation of the past which helped to create the special place that is Bonita Springs; and in turn, see the value of encouraging preservation of our cultural and historical resources. In addition, the

creation of these facilities will hopefully allow the City of Bonita Springs to join the ranks of other nearby cities offering historical museums to their citizens. It can only help to reinforce the value of our City’s own unique identity as we present a cohesive timeline of local history separate from the

nearby cities such as Fort Myers and Naples. The public is invited to view the exhibits on both floors and the building is normally open for visitors: 9am to 4pm, Monday through Friday. The riverfront park setting, complete with water fountain, walking plaza, boat docks, and local artisans in the historic cottages provide a great family venue in the heart of Old Bonita.

At the renovated 1926 hotel, the Bonita Springs Historical Society also hosts historically-themed artwork from members of the Art League

In addition, to free handouts such as the color booklet, Historical Properties of Bonita Springs - the new history book from Arcadia Press titled, "Images of America" Bonita Springs, is available for purchase at $22. Authors Chris Wadsworth and Allison Fortuna have partnered in writing the pictorial history book of Bonita Springs.

Please call the Society at 239-992-6997 or 239-992-9660 for more information.

Some of the many exciting Member Events scheduled throughout the year: Exhibits at the Liles Hotel in Riverside Park on Old US41., Walking Tour of Historic Bonita/Picnic., Mayor of Survey, 4th of July., Historical Society Tea., Historical Tours., Dinner/Dance.

*Newly updated web photo gallery!*

Local historical images for sale!

For those looking for a unique gift or decoration, the Bonita Springs Historical Society has print and digital historical images for sale. Mostly black and white 8X10's, the photographs look beautiful framed and may have special memories to many. The cost is $10 each for a digital JPG or $35 for a mailed print. For a preview of 910 available images you may access on the web gallery of http://www.explorationsinc.com/historical/bshsphotos/. The internet scans are at a much lower resolution and size than the originals. Call Charlie Strader at 239-992-9660 or email BSHS@ExplorationsInc.com for more information.

Highlights of Bonita History

Bonita Springs has long been inhabited; in fact, since the days of prehistoric man. Recent discoveries place men in Bonita some 8000 years ago. Here are some milestones in our history:

Thousands of Calusa Indians were here when the Spanish came in 1539 looking for the Fountain of Youth. Within a couple of centuries, the once mighty Calusa Chiefdom was decimated by European diseases and slave trading. The few survivors moved to the Florida Keys and on to Cuba. Some may have been assimilated into Seminole tribes taken refuge in South Florida.

In the 1870's, government surveyors in a remote part of Southwest Florida pitched camp near a medicinal spring, which the local Indians believed could heal the sick. After the crew left, the site became know as Survey. The stream became known as Surveyor's Creek.

During the next decade only a few homesteaders moved in the area. In 1887 a small, thatched-roof, log-walled public school was built. In the late 1880's the population of the area more than doubled when Braxton B. Comer bought 6000 acres of land around Survey. In 1888 he imported 50 Negro families from Alabama with mules and equipment to work his large plantation growing pineapples, bananas, coconuts and other kinds of fruit. Once here, they stayed in the old Surveyor's camp and called their new home Survey.

The next ten years saw a boom in the planting of citrus groves. And within a few years, Survey developed from a scattering of homesteaders into a community. In 1901, a Post Office was opened in the town of Survey, in 1910 the frame two story, Eagle Hotel was in business catering to visitors attracted to the unspoiled area's bounty of hunting and fishing. By 1912, there were 70 students from 20 families enrolled in public schools.

Also in 1912, a Tennessean named Ragsdale (a land developer and a group of investors) purchased 2400 acres around Survey. He and his associate, Dan Farnsworth, surveyed the area and laid out a small town with streets and avenues named for potential buyers. The developers decided that the name, Survey, lacked sales appeal, so the town was renamed Bonita Springs; Indian Spring Branch became the Oak River; and Surveyor's Creek was renamed to the Imperial River.

At this time, transportation was still mainly by Boat. In 1917, a barely passable road was completed between Fort Myers and Bonita Springs. In the early 1920's, Barron Collier, wanting to expand his empire, had extended his Fort Myers-Southern Railroad south to include Bonita Springs in 1925. This along with the completion of the new Tamiami Trail in 1928, brought another land boom to the area. Also one more pioneer disappeared when Fiddler-ville, so called for its millions of tiny fiddler crabs became Bonita Beach. During this same period, Bonita Springs was briefly incorporated, churches were built, saw mills flourished, there were two hotels and the Banyan tree on old 41 was planted.

Attractions also helped bring more visitors to Bonita Springs. In 1936, the Piper brothers, Bill and Lester, built an attraction displaying alligators, cougars, other wild animals and native plants. The attraction was called the Everglades Wonder Gardens. Today the gardens are one of Bonita's largest attractions. A Canadian, Harold Crant, saw the millions of shells lying, free for the taking, knee-deep in brilliantly colored windrows along the beaches and opened the Shell Factory in 1938. The factory burned down in the early 40's but was later rebuilt in North Fort Myers.

Bonita remained a quiet small town for the next three decades. But, as the years passed, the rush to build was about to start. With the development of air conditioning and the opening of I-75 and the US 41 bypass, access to the area brought shopping malls, modern office facilities and golf courses into the area. Today, Bonita Springs is an attractive affluent area with beautiful beaches, find restaurants, excellent recreational facilities and beautiful homes. It's hard to realize that, a little more then three generations ago, the roots of this thriving community were a scattering of homesteaders' shacks by a creek in the back of nowhere - a place called Survey.

Click here for a 2mb PDF slide show of images from Bonita Springs' past!

Individual & Family Membership Application

Membership Levels & Annual Dues

( ) Individual $20 ( ) Family $35 ( ) Supporter $50

( ) Patron $500 ( ) Lifetime $1000

Name __________________________________________________ Spouse _____________________

Street address ________________________________________________________ Unit # _________

City ______________________________________________ State_______ Zip___________________

Phone ______________________________ E-Mail ________________________________________

Residential Community _________________________________________________________________

Notes: Membership and annual dues are tax deductible. The dues year starts and ends January 1st.

Please make checks payable to Bonita Springs Historical Society Inc. and mail check and application to Bonita Springs Historical Society, P.O. Box 3015, Bonita Springs, FL. 34133.

Business Membership Application

Membership Levels & Annual Dues

Note: An ad will be placed in the Historical Society's business journal for distribution at Society events and places where the Society's is represented. Please include your business card when returning this form, we will place an ad for your business in the Historical Society's commercial and business partners ad journal.

( ) Business $100 ( ) Business Patron $500

Business Name _________________________________________________________________________

Street address ________________________________________________________ Unit # _________

City ______________________________________________ State_______ Zip___________________

Phone ______________________________ E-Mail _________________________________________

* Please include your business card when returning this form. We will place an ad for your business in the Historical Society's commercial and business partners ad journal.

Note: Membership fees and annual dues are tax deductible.  The dues year starts and ends January 1st.

Please make checks payable to Bonita Springs Historical Society Inc. and mail check and application to Bonita Springs Historical Society, P.O. Box 3015, Bonita Springs, FL. 34133

Below are links to other sites that may be of interest.

1. •Link to the City of Bonita Springs government website
   

2. •Click for a .pdf of The City's Historic Preservation Ordinance
   

3. •Click for a .pdf of The City's Historic Preservation Grant Asisstance program.
   

4. •Within Florida, the governmental body for historic preservation is the Florida Division of Historical Resources. Their web site is: www.flheritage.com. This is the primary state agency responsible for promoting the historical, archaeological, museum, and folk culture resources in Florida.
   

5. •For an interesting analysis of what monetary benefits come from historic preservation actions, read the "Economic Impacts of Historic Preservation in Florida at http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/pdf/historic_report.pdf
   

6. •A good resourse on historic homes: http://www.floridahistorichomes.com
   

7. •The not-for-profit organization for Florida, similar to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. For their web site, information and programs connect to:  www.floridatrust.org.
   

8. • 
   

9. •Lee County
   

10. •Interesting site regarding the Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita http://sanybel.com/everglades_wonder_gardens.htm
    

11. •Link to the Southwest Florida Pioneers Society, Lee County - Past to Present (great links page)
    

12. •Link to the historical Cemetary of Bonita Springs website
    

13. •Click for a .pdf of Bonita Springs Cemetary, sorted by name.
    

14. •Click for a .pdf of Bonita Springs Cemetary, sorted section and row.
    

15. •Southwest Florida Archaeological Society
    

16. •The Mound House, Fort Myers Beach
    

17. •Barrier Island Parks Society (BIPS) www.barrierislandparkssociety.org
    

18. •Burroughs Home www.cityftmyers.com/attractions/burroughs.htm
    

19. •Cape Coral Historical Museum www.capecoralhistoricalmuseum.org
    

20. •Edison and Ford Winter Estates www.edison-ford-estate.com/
    

21. •Koreshan State Historic Site and Mound Key Archaeological Start Park www.koreshanshs.tripod.com
    

22. •Mound Key Archaeological State Park www.floridastateparks.org/moundkey
    

23. •Museum of the Islands, Pine Island www.museumoftheislands.com
    

24. •Southwest Florida Museum of History www.cityftmyers.com/
    

25. • 
    

26. •Collier County
    

27. •Collier County Historical Society www.cchistoricalsociety.com
    

28. •Collier County Museum and Museum of the Everglades www.colliermuseum.com
    

29. •Marco Island Historical Society www.theMIHS.org
    

30. •Smallwood's, Ted Store www.florida-everglades.com/chokol/smallw.htm
    

31. • 
    

32. •Building restoration
    

33. •A good resourse on historic homes including renovation and maintenance tips: http://www.floridahistorichomes.com
    

34. •A resourse for renovation, products and more: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/
    

35. •A resourse for renovation, products and more: http://www.oldhousejournal.com/index.shtml
    

Links below via courtesy of the Florida Museum of Natural History website:

Links by Time Period

1. •Paleoindian
   

2. •Aucilla River Prehistory Project- FLMNH webpage
   

3. •Aucilla River Prehistory Project- FSU webpage
   

4. •Little Salt Spring Underwater Archaeology Project- RSMAS webpage
   

5. •Little Salt Spring- FSU webpage
   

6. •Archaic
   

7. •Windover Archaeolgical Research Project
   

8. •Post-Archaic Regional Cultures
   

9. •Bernath Site
   

10. •Crystal River
    

11. •Randell Research Center - Pineland
    

12. •Late Precolumbian
    

13. •Lake Jackson Mounds State Archaeological Site- Florida Parks
    

14. •Lake Jackson Mounds State Archaeological Site- Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board
    

15. •Hickory Ridge
    

16. •Miami Circle
    

17. •Letchworth Mounds State Archaeological Park
    

18. •Spanish Colonial
    

19. •Mission San Luis de Apalachee- Division of Historical Resources
    

20. •Mission San Luis de Apalachee- Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board
    

21. •Nuestra Senora del Rosario Shipwreck
    

22. •Hernando de Soto State Archaeological Site
    

23. •De Soto National Memorial
    

24. •Fort Picolata
    

25. •Emmanuel Point Shipwreck- DHR webpage
    

26. •Emmanuel Point Shipwreck- UWF webpage
    

27. •Presidio Santa Maria de Gavle
    

28. •Urca De Lima Shipwreck
    

29. •Santa Rosa Island Shipwreck
    

30. •Indian Pond Archaeological Project
    

31. •Spanish Florida.net
    

32. •Seminole and Miccosukee
    

33. •Seminole Tribe of Florida
    

34. •Miccosukee Seminole Nation
    

35. •Florida Territory during the Seminole Wars
    

36. •British
    

37. •Fort of Pensacola
    

38. •HMS Fowey
    

39. •Deadman's Island Shipwreck
    

40. •European
    

41. •San Pedro Shipwreck- DHR
    

42. •San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve
    

43. •American
    

44. •U.S. Navy and Confederate Shipwreck Project
    

45. •Black Creek Shipwreck Survey
    

46. •Conferderate Ironclad Phoenix
    

47. •Civil War Blockade Runner Ivanhoe
    

48. •FSU shipwreck
    

49. •Arcadia Mill Site
    

50. •African/African-American
    

51. •Fort Mose: Free African Settlement
    

52. •Fort Mose Historic Site
    

53. •Multiple Periods
    

54. •Florida Archaeology: An Overview
    

55. •Clovis Underwater
    

56. •Hawkshaw Site
    

57. •Everglades National Park
    

58. •Newnans Lake Canoes
    

59. •Florida Anthropological Society
    

60. •Florida Anthropological Society
    

61. •Archaeological Society of Southern Florida
    

62. •Broward County Archaeological Society
    

63. •Central Florida Archaeological Society
    

64. •Central Gulf Coast Archaeological Society
    

65. •Indian River Anthropological Society
    

66. •Kissimmee Valley Archaeological and Historical Conservancy
    

67. •Panhandle Archaeological Society
    

68. •Pensacola Archaeological Society
    

69. •Southeast Florida Archaeological Society
    

70. •Southwest Florida Archaeological Society
    

71. •Time Sifters Archaeological Society
    

72. •Museums
    

73. •Florida Association of Museums
    

74. •Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum
    

75. •Museum of Florida History
    

76. •Graves Museum of Archaeology and Natural History
    

77. •Historical Museum of Southern Florida
    

78. •Safety Harbor Museum
    

79. •Silver River Museum
    

80. •South Florida Archaeology Virtual Exhibits- HMSF
    

81. •Anthropology Departments
    

82. •University of Florida
    

83. •Florida State University
    

84. •Florida State's Underwater Archaeology Program
    

85. •University of Miami
    

86. •University of South Florida
    

87. •University of West Florida
    

88. •UWF-Archaeology Institute
    

89. •University of Central Florida
    

90. •Florida Atlantic University
    

91. •Florida International University
    

92. •State Organizations
    

93. •Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research
    

94. •Florida Master Site File
    

95. •Florida Archaeology Month
    

96. •Florida Underwater Archaeologial Preserves
    

97. •Florida Humanities Council
    

98. •Florida State Parks
    

99. •Miscellaneous
    

100. •Florida Archaeological Council
     

101. •Archaeological and Historical Conservancy
     

102. •Exploring Florida
     

103. •Prehistory and History in the Southeastern U.S.
     

104. •Pioneers of Southeastern Archaeology: Gordon R. Willey
     

105. •True Natives: The Prehistory of Volusia County
     

106. •Charles H. Fairbanks Armadillo Roast
     

107. •
     

Please Email us with any bad links or sites that should be included. - THANKS!

To contact, email: BSHS@ExplorationsInc.com

Wepage provided courtesy of the travel company, Explorations Inc.