With familiar names like Collier, Gordon, Wiggins, Crayton and Osceola floating around Naples, who are these people who have given shape and history to our city?

Joe Wiggins and Roger Gordon were the first frontier settlers to venture to Naples in the 1860s. There are two inlets and a river bearing their names.

Walter N. Haldeman was the first businessman to see Naples as the popular and resource-rich area it has come to be. In 1887 he bought most of the town of Naples, built the Naples Pier, and promoted Naples as a winter haven. Beachfront lots were $125 back then. In 1914 his business, the Naples Company, was bought by Ed Crayton. Most of the property was held until the 1950s when Naples began to take-off and become the social mecca it is today. Heard of Crayton Cove?

Barron G. Collier brought his money earned from streetcar advertising to Naples where he purchased over one million acres of swampland not so long ago in 1911. He helped build Tamiami Trail, which at the time was the only paved highway connecting Miami and Tampa, contributing $1 million of his own money. He probably earned having the county named after him.

Cory Osceola, a Seminole leader, helped keep the Seminoles from being removed from the Everglades in the 1930s. His family were some of the early merchants downtown on Fifth Avenue. The Osceolas have gone on to be world-renown builders of Chickees, and the Osceola name is well known throughout Naples.

Collier, Wiggins, and Gordon might have been some of the first founders of our present day Naples, but the Calusa Indians, were the first residents and the first commercial "fishermen" in the area, drawing the first surveyors to our coast, and eventually the first Napoleons like Collier and friends.

So, I think that if "fish" ultimately brought people to Naples, then I, too, have a claim-to-fame. Well, that might be a stretch, but every time you hear Fish, just like Collier, know there is a story behind the name that makes Naples great!

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For more information on Naples / Bonita Springs real estate, community information, current listings, relocation and more, search at http://www.kenfishsells.com/ or contact Ken Fish at: (239) 860-6521 or RealEstate@KenFishSells.com.

Ken Fish, REALTOR
RE/MAX Realty Select
3349 Tamiami Trail N
Naples, FL 34103