Up until the 1860s, the only people who ever enjoyed the miles of white beach that Naples is famous for were the Caloosa Indian tribe. The first non-indigenous settlers in the area were a couple of guys by the names of Roger Gordon and Joe Wiggins. Their names are synonymous with Naples as they have river and a pair of inlets that bear their names. Tours Naples FL will pass by these areas.
During the 1870s and into the 1880s, there were numerous articles written in newspapers and magazines of the day expounding on the temperate climate and the abundance of game and fish. It was often likened to the Italian peninsula, and the name Naples stuck after it was repeatedly described as being “better than the bay in Naples, Italy.”
In the late 1880s, the owner of the Louisville Courier-Journal and a group of equally wealthy Kentuckians virtually bought the entire town. To allow for the docking of large ships in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the first things the group did was to construct a pier that jutted 600 feet into the gulf. Although the original pier is long gone, the T shape of today’s pier mimics the original.
With the wonderful weather, it did not take long for Naples to gain a reputation as being an ideal winter resort. Many people from the Northern US and Canada take their tours in Naples FL during the cold and miserable winters in the north. As the town gained in reputation, it soon began to attract notables such as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Gary Cooper, Hedy Lamar and may more. It did not take long for property prices to rise. Many of the homes of these early visitors are still beautifully maintained and are on the route taken by tours in Naples FL.
Early in the twentieth century, Mr. Barron Collier, who had made a fortune in advertising, visited the area. He was immediately impressed with what he saw and realized the potential of the area. He bought over 1 million acres of swampland, including the city of Naples. He was of the opinion that the west coast of Florida could be just as attractive as the east coast, but before this could happen, an infrastructure of trains and roads needed to be constructed.
In 1923, Naples became the seat of Collier County. In his lifetime, Collier spent over 1 million dollars of his personal fortune to construct the Tamiami Trail. The road opened in 1926 and up to this day is the only paved highway that links Tampa on the west coast with Miami on the east coast.
Today, the unrivaled sports fishing, boating, hunting and beaches bring thousands of visitors annually to the region.
To walk back into the past of Naples, the Extreme Family Fun Spot will guide you to the pier, the waterfront, the marketplace and many other destinations, tours in Naples FL will take you on a narrated trip on a Segway allowing you to keep the sun and sea breeze in your face.
