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Collier County,through time.

6 eras · 1845–2026 · every fact sourced · compiled from the sources shown, not yet reviewed by a historian

Start in 1845
Populationfrom 1930

—

Monroe and Lee County Frontier

1845–1922: Monroe and Lee County Frontier

Era 1 · 1845–1922

Monroe and Lee County Frontier

When Florida became a state in 1845, the land that is now Collier County was part of Monroe County, governed from Key West, and from 1887 part of the new Lee County. Permanent settlement of the towns that became Everglades City, Marco Island, Immokalee and Naples began in the 1870s, and the southern communities were reachable mostly by boat.

Image shown for this era: A motor rail car carrying passengers on the narrow-gauge line through the Deep Lake townsite, with a water tower, cabbage palms and frame buildings behind it.. 1920 · Unknown photographer, Collier County Museums (via Wikimedia Commons) · Public domain · Source

Sources

  1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Monroe and Lee County Frontier

Era 2 · 1923–1942

Barron Collier's County and the Tamiami Trail

Barron Collier offered to fund the Tamiami Trail through the Everglades in exchange for a new county named for him, and Collier County was split from Lee County in 1923 with Everglades as its seat. The Trail opened in 1928, giving the region its first paved highway between Tampa and Miami.

Image shown for this era: Two-masted freight schooner tied up beside the covered wooden dock of the Marco clam cannery, from a printed 1924 government fisheries report.. 1924 · William C. Schroeder, U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (1924), via Freshwater and Marine Image Bank, University of Washington / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Key moments

  1. Collier County is created from Lee County

    The Florida Legislature split Lee County to create Collier County, the state's 62nd county, named for landowner Barron Collier. The town of Everglades (now Everglades City) was the first county seat.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Tamiami Trail opens

    The Tamiami Trail opened to traffic at Everglades, completing the first paved highway between Tampa and Miami.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Barron Collier's County and the Tamiami Trail

Era 3 · 1943–1958

Oil, Timber and the Everglades Park

Florida's first commercial oil well was drilled near Sunniland in 1943, and cypress logging was heavy through the 1940s and 1950s. President Truman dedicated Everglades National Park in Everglades City in 1947, and the state farmers market opened in Immokalee in 1951.

Image shown for this era: President Harry Truman standing with Governor Millard Caldwell, Senator Spessard Holland, Congressman Joe Hendricks and others on his arrival in Naples in December 1947.. 1947 · State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory (unknown photographer), via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Key moments

  1. Florida's first commercial oil well

    Florida's first commercial oil well was drilled near Sunniland in eastern Collier County.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Land deeded for Collier-Seminole State Park

    A 5,600-acre tract was deeded to the state to be preserved as Collier-Seminole State Park.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. Truman dedicates Everglades National Park

    President Harry S. Truman dedicated Everglades National Park at Everglades City.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
2 more from this era

  1. State Farmers Market opens in Immokalee

    The State Farmers Market opened in Immokalee, the county's farming center.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Corkscrew cypress rookery protected

    After heavy logging, the Corkscrew Cypress Rookery Association formed to buy and protect the last mature bald cypress stand in South Florida, which became Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Oil, Timber and the Everglades Park

Era 4 · 1959–1973

New County Seat and the Development Boom

Voters chose in 1959 to move the county seat from Everglades City to East Naples, and the move took place in 1962, after Hurricane Donna hit Naples in 1960. Large planned developments followed at Golden Gate Estates and Marco Island, and Alligator Alley opened in 1968.

Image shown for this era: Aerial photograph of Marco Island in June 1973 showing newly dredged canals and cleared lots of the land development.. 1973 · Flip Schulke, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (DOCUMERICA), U.S. National Archives, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Key moments

  1. Voters choose to move the county seat

    Collier County voters chose to move the county seat from Everglades City to East Naples, by 641 votes.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Hurricane Donna hits Naples

    Hurricane Donna, with sustained winds over 160 mph, made a direct hit on Naples and Collier County, causing over $25 million in property damage in Naples alone.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. County seat moves to East Naples

    The county seat moved from Everglades City to East Naples, then the only county seat in an unincorporated area.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
2 more from this era

  1. Deltona unveils Marco Island community

    The Deltona Corporation, led by the Mackle brothers, unveiled its $4.5 million planned community on Marco Island.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Alligator Alley opens

    The Everglades Parkway, known as Alligator Alley, opened to traffic in Collier County.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: New County Seat and the Development Boom

Era 5 · 1974–1999

Conservation and Coastal Growth

Congress created Big Cypress National Preserve in 1974 to protect the swamp from further degradation. The coast kept growing, and Marco Island incorporated as a city in 1997 after five failed attempts.

Image shown for this era: Black-and-white USGS aerial photograph of the Immokalee airport runways surrounded by scrubland, cypress ponds and fenced field plots, 14 February 1999.. 1999 · U.S. Geological Survey, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Key moments

  1. Congress approves Big Cypress National Preserve

    The 93rd U.S. Congress approved the establishment of Big Cypress National Preserve.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Marco Island becomes a city

    After five failed attempts, Marco Island incorporated as Florida's 398th city.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. History & Culture - Big Cypress National Preserve, National Park Service (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Conservation and Coastal Growth

Era 6 · 2000–2026

Ave Maria and the Major Hurricanes

Construction of Ave Maria University and its surrounding town began in 2005. Hurricanes Wilma (2005), Irma (2017) and Ian (2022) all struck the county, with Ian destroying 33 buildings and badly damaging more than 3,500.

Image shown for this era: Piles of flood-ruined belongings lining a street in Everglades City after Hurricane Irma's storm surge, September 2017.. 2017 · Phil Kloer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Key moments

  1. Hurricane Wilma makes landfall near Cape Romano

    Hurricane Wilma made landfall in southwestern Florida near Cape Romano as a Category 3 storm, with a 4 to 8 foot storm surge reported on the Collier County coast.

    Source

    1. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Wilma (AL252005), NOAA National Hurricane Center (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Hurricane Irma makes landfall at Marco Island

    Hurricane Irma made its final landfall near Marco Island with estimated maximum winds of 100 knots.

    Source

    1. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma (AL112017), NOAA National Hurricane Center (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. Hurricane Ian damages thousands of buildings

    Hurricane Ian destroyed 33 buildings in Collier County and caused major damage to more than 3,500.

    Source

    1. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Ian (AL092022), NOAA National Hurricane Center (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County Government, Communications, Government & Public Affairs (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Ian (AL092022), NOAA National Hurricane Center (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Ave Maria and the Major Hurricanes

Then & Now

Collier County, 1923 to 2026

Collier County is created from Lee County · drag to compare

A Seaboard Air Line steam locomotive carrying an 'Orange Blossom Special' emblem stands at the Naples station while a crowd of passengers and onlookers gathers beside the train.
A row of low white gallery storefronts with awnings, steel sculptures and flower beds along Broad Avenue South in downtown Naples, with tall palms against a blue sky in warm late-day light.
19232026

Then image1927 · State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory (via Wikimedia Commons) · Public domain · Source

Now image2020 · Carol M. Highsmith, Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division · Public domain · Source

Help us get it right

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This timeline is compiled from the public records cited on each era and event. Every quote is checked against its source automatically, and items marked Reviewed have also been checked by a person. Images are public domain or openly licensed, each with its credit. If you know something we’ve missed or got wrong, or you hold records of your own, we’d like to hear from you.

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