Estero Island Historic Society
Where the Past Comes Alive
The Estero Island Historic Society Museum and Nature Center are located in the Davison Cottage (seen above), built in 1921 on the beachfront, and now relocated to 161 Bay Road., Fort Myers Beach.
Important Information
This has been a quiet summer. We have taken down our exhibits and have packed our artifacts in preparation for hurricane season. Liz Rhodes, from the FMB library, has offered us a closet to store our important items from June to November. This has been done. We will remain closed until we begin our new season on October 29 with a Halloween Social sponsored by the Women’s Club. Save this date as this will be a fun evening filled with great food, drinks, conversation, and haunted stories of island mysteries.
We will be closing our online store from September 20 to October 20 to update our products. We will have some exciting new products to offer this year so stay tuned. Lost Icons is still available at the Islander Gift Shop and Annettes Book Nook both in Santini Plaza. The Islander also has Afghans available.
Betty Simpson: You Will Be Missed
Betty Davis Simpson was a board member of the EIHS since its inception. Her knowledge of local history and her support of every non-profit organization on the island is legendary. Betty was a hero to many of us on the board as she never wavered in her involvement, as you can see if you read the following article that was written by our Vice-President, Janet Gottlieb, and published in the Sand Paper. The article captures Betty's personality beautifully. She will be missed. Any donations to the Historic Society in Betty’s memory should be sent to Estero Island Historic Society, PO Box 2815, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931.
Preserving Our History
The Estero Island Historic Society (EIHS) museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of our island. Although we lost many archives and artifacts during Hurricane Ian in September 2022, the EIHS has reopened with exhibits that portray the evolution of Fort Myers Beach from a Calusa settlement to a fishing village to a tourist destination.
Teaching Others About Our History
Our docents offer free tours of the EIHS museum to visitors, currently on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. The tours lead the visitors through the 100+ years of our island's modern history and thousands of years of pre-settler history. The EIHS also works with Beach Elementary School and Florida Gulf Coast University by offering presentations on our local history to interested students and teachers. In the past, the EIHS has offered boat tours and trolley tours highlighting the historic sites on the island, which we plan to revive. Public meetings from January through April each year bring in speakers who give presentations on local and regional history and ecology.
Enjoying and Preserving our Environment
The Matanzas Pass Preserve is located next to the EIHS museum. This 60-acre preserve is one of the few undeveloped, protected areas on the island. This natural treasure offers visitors an opportunity to experience the island as it was before it became a popular beach resort. Matanzas Pass Preserve has 1.25 miles of trails through four different natural plant communities: maritime hammock, tidal swamp, Black Mangrove Forest, and coastal grassland.
MEMBERSHIP NOTICE
The EIHS lost many records in Hurricane Ian, so we are rebuilding and updating our membership list. If you are an EIHS member, we are very grateful for your support!
Starting in Fall 2022, we have sent quarterly newsletters to everyone who was an EIHS member prior to the hurricane. Many of these newsletters were returned with no forwarding address, and after three letters were returned, we removed that address from our mailing list. If you were previously a member and have changed address, please let the EIHS know by filling out the contact form below.
Members who received a newsletter in summer 2024 can see their membership status, according to our records. Lifetime members do not need to take any action to retain their membership. If your membership has expired, the EIHS encourages you to renew it. To do this, simply click on
this link and you will be directed to our Shopify store, where you can renew your membership.
