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.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ESTERO BAY CELEBRATED DURING NATIONAL ESTUARIES WEEK
Free community event features WGCU documentary, expert discussion and guided preserve walk
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — The Estero Island Historic Society and Ostego Bay will celebrate National Estuaries Week with a special community program, “Estero Bay: Our History, Our Water, Our Future,” on Saturday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to noon at 161 Bay Road, Fort Myers Beach.
Estero Bay has shaped the history, environment and character of Fort Myers Beach for generations. It is also home to the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, established in 1966 as Florida’s first aquatic preserve.
The morning will begin with a screening of the WGCU documentary Preserving Our Waters. The film explores the history of the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, the people who fought to protect it and the challenges the bay continues to face. The effort to protect Estero Bay later helped provide a model for Florida’s statewide aquatic preserve system.
Following the film, local historians, environmental experts and community representatives will take part in a question-and-answer session. Guests will have an opportunity to learn more about the bay’s history, wildlife, water quality and importance to the Fort Myers Beach community.
The program will also include a guided walk in Matanzas Pass Preserve, subject to weather conditions and preserve access. Participants will experience the island’s mangrove ecosystem and learn how estuaries provide vital habitat for fish, shrimp, birds and other wildlife while helping protect coastal communities from flooding and erosion.
Whether you have lived on the island for decades or are just beginning to discover its natural history, this program offers a chance to better understand the waters that surround and sustain our community.
The event is free and open to the public.
EVENT DETAILS
What: “Estero Bay: Our History, Our Water, Our Future”
When: Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon
Where: Estero Island Historic Society, 161 Bay Road, Fort Myers Beach
Admission: Free
The program is presented by the Estero Island Historic Society and Ostego Bay in recognition of National Estuaries Week.
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.
Estero Island Historic Society Board
President and Treasurer
Ellie Bunting
Ellie Bunting has served on the Board of Directors of EIHS for the past 20 years, and became President of the EIHS in 2020.
Ellie came to Fort Myers Beach as a young child in the early 1950s. For the first 14 years of her life, she lived at Red Coconut Trailer Park. Ellie attended Fort Myers Beach Elementary School and Cypress Lake Junior and Senior High School before moving to Tampa to study English and Reading at the University of South Florida. After graduating from USF, Ellie moved back to FMB and has lived here ever since. She has taught English at Florida SouthWestern State College since 1980.
Vice-President
Janet Gottlieb
Janet Gottlieb has spent time on Fort Myers Beach since her Chicagoan parents bought a Gulf-front vacation home here in the 1950s. Janet’s worked in communications and marketing to advance educational institutions and associations. Since 2009, she has been a resident of FMB, and has served on the Board of the EIHS since 2014.
Secretary
Karen Santos
Karen Santos has family roots on FMB dating back to the 1930s, and this continues to be a special place for her. When not in Florida, she lives in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Karen attended Northwestern University and the University of Virginia, and is a retired professor from James Madison University.
Members at Large
Terry Cain
Terry Cain was a Conservation Lands Coordinator for Lee County Parks and Recreation Conservation 2020 program for 15 years. She previously served on Fort Myers Beach Town Council, Marine Resources Task Force, and Cultural and Environmental Learning Center Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Board of the Friends of Matanzas Pass Preserve and the EIHS. Terry is a retired certified Arborist, Pesticide Applicator, and Wild Land Fire Fighter with a degree in Marine Science.
Deborah Groll
Deborah Groll, originally from Ohio, has been a resident of Fort Myers Beach since 1981. Like many residents, Deborah and her family vacationed on FMB before purchasing their home. Both of Deborah’s daughters attended the local FMB Elementary School. Deborah is also President of Beach Kids Foundation.
Judy Haatja
Margaret McCloskey
Margaret (Peg) McCloskey, a retired Consumer Services teacher from Boyertown, PA, has been a member of the EIHS Board for over a decade. Peg has enjoyed learning about and helping to preserve the history of Fort Myers Beach, and is also active in historic preservation in her hometown in Pennsylvania.
Joanne Semmer
Karyn Slomski
Karyn Slomski, a resident of FMB since 2010, is a retired Vice-President of Operations. Married for 42 years, Karyn and Steve Slomski have three daughters and four grandchildren.
Jessica Titus
Jessie moved from Middletown, Ohio to Fort Myers Beach in 1980 with her husband Vince, after graduating from Miami University (Ohio) as a Registered Nurse. She started a new career in real estate, and after a few years, purchased Lahaina Realty and two other real estate firms. She is now Broker/Owner of Fort Myers Beach Realty. Jessie has served as the President of the Board of REALTORS; was appointed to the Local Planning Agency; Director of the South Florida Marine Institute; and is also President of "Friends of the Arts".
MEMBERSHIP NOTICE
While the EIHS lost many records in Hurricane Ian, we have rebuilt and updated our membership list using a robust electronic membership database. If you are an EIHS member, we are very grateful for your support and patience as we rebuild our museum and systems.
If you were previously a member and have changed address, please let the EIHS know by filling out the contact form below.
While the EIHS no longer offers new Lifetime memberships, we will continue to honor existing Lifetime memberships. To review membership options — all of which include automatic annual rebilling — simply click on
this link and you will be directed to our Membership Options page.
