Prior to the Marco Island of today (and like
most of Southwest Florida) Marco Island was inhabited by the Calusa Indians. The
rich land and sea provided the Calusa with an abundant supply of all the necessities
for their existence to flourish. From food and shelter to clothing, the Calusa
made use of all the resources around them.
In 1513 Ponce de Leon made landfall around Caxambas
at the southern end of Marco Island. The Spaniards are credited with originally
naming the island “Caxymbas”. It then became known as “La Isla
de San Marco”, followed by San Marco Island and finally today’s Marco
Island. With the arrival of the Spaniards and the slave hunters from Europe, the
Calusa were eventually destroyed partly due to the diseases spread by foreigners
and partly by the slave traders.
As with most of Florida at the time, there needed
to be a visionary ready to invest the time and money into the development of the
area. Prior to the Civil War, there were very few living in the area. Strong pioneers
began to move south and live on the north end of Marco Island, today known as
Old Marco Village.
By the 1920’s Barron G. Collier arrived
in Southwest Florida and purchased over one million acres of land, including 90
percent of Marco Island, which he planned to develop.
In 1962 the Mackle Brothers arrived on the scene and began to develop a plan for
the island. The plan would call for 125 miles of paved roadways and over 90 miles
of navigable waterways. Land would be set aside for 12,000 homes, as well as acreage
for resort hotels, apartment construction, commercial property, schools, churches
and medical facilities. By 1968 the islands population grew to over 1,000 people
and in the beginning years of the 1970’s it jumped to an estimated 5,000
full and part-time residents.
Today Marco Island is known for its casual yet
elegant lifestyle and is full of exquisite art galleries, fine restaurants and
high-end shops. The island offers residents and vacationers a varied cultural
scene year-round including the annual Marco Island Film Festival. The festival
is a weeklong celebration of both national and international independent filmmakers
and is a frequent stop on the American independent film festival circuit.
The Art League of Marco Island is the center of the art world on the island and
is very active in the community offering varied events, field trips, classes and
exhibits.
