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Everglades City,through time.

6 eras · 1873–2026 · every fact sourced · compiled from the sources shown, not yet reviewed by a historian

Start in 1873
Populationfrom 1990

—

Allen's farm on Potato Creek

1873–1888: Allen's farm on Potato Creek

Era 1 · 1873–1888

Allen's farm on Potato Creek

American settlement began after the Civil War, when Union sympathizers who had farmed on Cape Sable moved up the coast. William Smith Allen settled on Potato Creek in 1873 and farmed there until he retired to Key West in 1889.

Key moments

  1. William Smith Allen settles on Potato Creek

    The first permanent settler, William Smith Allen, arrived on the banks of Potato Creek, later renamed the Allen River, after earlier American settlement in the region began following the Civil War.

    Source

    1. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Allen's farm on Potato Creek

Era 2 · 1889–1922

Storter's Everglade

George W. Storter Jr. bought the townsite from Allen in 1889 and became the principal landowner, growing sugar cane, opening a trading post and a post office called Everglade. Wealthy northern sportsmen came by yacht to hunt and fish, and Storter's home grew to house them.

Key moments

  1. Storter buys the townsite for $800

    After working land owned by William Smith Allen, George Storter Jr. bought the townsite from him for $800.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Storter opens a trading post

    George W. Storter Jr., known for his sugar cane crops, opened a trading post.

    Source

    1. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)
  3. Everglades City: Past & Present, Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau (Paradise Coast) (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Storter's Everglade

Era 3 · 1923–1940

Collier's county seat

In 1923 Collier County was created with Everglades as its county seat, and the town became the base for building the Tamiami Trail. It quickly added a bank, department store, laundry and a streetcar, and the courthouse was finished in 1928.

Image shown for this era: Black-and-white photograph of a group of Miccosukee visitors, including Charlie Cypress and Lee Cypress, outside the Glade Cross Mission in Everglades City in 1937.. 1937 · State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory (Bedell Collection, BD006), via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Key moments

  1. County seat and incorporation

    The Florida Legislature created Collier County from Lee County with its seat at Everglade, and the town incorporated the same year as "Everglades".

    Source

    1. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Bank of Everglades building built

    The Bank of Everglades building was built for Barron Collier; the bank stayed there until 1962.

    Source

    1. Everglades Society for Historic Preservation: Bank of Everglades building, Everglades Society for Historic Preservation (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. Railroad reaches Everglades City

    The Atlantic Coast Line began service to Everglades City, the southernmost point the line ever reached; the railroad was removed in 1957.

    Source

    1. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)
2 more from this era

  1. Tamiami Trail opens at Everglades

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

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Harriet Bedell opens the Glade Cross Mission

    Episcopal missionary deaconess Harriet Bedell opened the Glade Cross Mission to work with the Seminole people of Collier County.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Museum of the Everglades, Collier County Museums (accessed 2026-11-09)
  3. Old Collier County Courthouse (1928-1962) or Everglades City Hall (1962-Present), Clio (Marshall University project) (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Collier's county seat

Era 4 · 1941–1961

Lean years and a national park gateway

The town survived the Depression but struggled through the 1940s and 1950s. President Truman dedicated Everglades National Park in Everglades City in 1947, and Hurricane Donna hit the town hard in 1960.

Image shown for this era: Black-and-white photograph of August Burghard handing Ernest F. Coe a plaque at the December 1947 dedication ceremony for Everglades National Park.. 1947 · State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory (call no. c008537), via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Key moments

  1. Truman dedicates Everglades National Park

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

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Town becomes the City of Everglades

    By act of the Florida Legislature, the town of Everglades officially became the city of Everglades.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. Hurricane Donna

    Donna's winds and coastal flooding destroyed 153 homes in Collier County and badly damaged hundreds more; Everglades was hard hit.

    Source

    1. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  3. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Lean years and a national park gateway

Era 5 · 1962–2004

Everglades City after the county seat

In 1962 the bank moved to Immokalee and the county seat to Naples, and in 1965 the town was renamed Everglades City. It became known as the stone crab capital of the world and the western gateway to Everglades National Park.

Image shown for this era: Color slide, about 1995, of the two-story Bank of the Everglades building on West Broadway in Everglades City, framed by tall palms under a blue sky.. 1995 · State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory (Department of Commerce Collection), via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Key moments

  1. County seat and bank leave

    With population and business declining, the Bank of Everglades moved to Immokalee and the county seat to Naples.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Renamed Everglades City

    The state legislature changed the town's name to Everglades City.

    Source

    1. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. First Everglades Seafood Festival

    The Everglades Seafood Festival began as a "little fish fry" to raise money for a children's park.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. About the City: A Brief History, City of Everglades (accessed 2026-11-09)
  3. Everglades City: Past & Present, Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau (Paradise Coast) (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Everglades City after the county seat

Era 6 · 2005–2026

Storms and restoration

Hurricane Wilma left City Hall unusable in 2005; it reopened restored in 2007. Hurricane Irma's surge damaged most of the town's buildings in 2017, Hurricane Ian destroyed the park's temporary visitor station in 2022, and a new national park visitor center opened in 2026.

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. Restored City Hall reopens

    Everglades City Hall, Collier County's original courthouse, reopened after restoration; it had been condemned after Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Hurricane Irma's storm surge

    Everglades City and Chokoloskee were submerged under a storm surge of up to 8-10 feet for more than 15 hours.

    Source

    1. Collier County Centennial: History, Collier County (official centennial history website) (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. New national park visitor center opens

    The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center opened, replacing the Gulf Coast visitor facilities destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Ian.

    Source

    1. Gulf Coast Area directions and information, National Park Service, Everglades National Park (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Old Collier County Courthouse (1928-1962) or Everglades City Hall (1962-Present), Clio (Marshall University project) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma, NOAA National Hurricane Center (accessed 2026-11-09)
  3. Gulf Coast Area directions and information, National Park Service, Everglades National Park (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Storms and restoration

Then & Now

Everglades City, 1873 to 2026

William Smith Allen settles on Potato Creek · drag to compare

Color slide, about 1995, of the two-story Bank of the Everglades building on West Broadway in Everglades City, framed by tall palms under a blue sky.
Entrance of Everglades City Hall, the former Collier County courthouse from the years when Everglades was the county seat, photographed in 2018.
18732026

Then image1995 · State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory (Department of Commerce Collection), via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Now image2018 · GGuvrow, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA · Source

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