Cape Coral History

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Cape Coral history began in 1957 when two brothers from Baltimore, Leonard and Jack Rosen, flew over the peninsula known as Redfish Point, across the Caloosahatchee River near Ft. Myers.

Flying over what would become Cape Coral, Leonard tossed some coins out of the window of the plane, he had decided to fix up Redfish Point "so it won't know what hit it!"

And that he did, changing the wilderness into a waterfront paradise, a place for selling and buying dreams.

Cape Coral was to become the largest master-planned community in the US.

Redfish Point

Cape Coral History - Before Gulf American

In 1821, Spain deeded the land of Redfish Point to the United States. In return, the United States forgave the $5 million debt that Spain owed our country.

In 1822, Florida became an organized territory and settlers poured in along with runaway slaves who were harbored by Seminoles. Inevitably, there were clashes between Seminoles and whites.

The Harney Point Massacre became part of Cape Coral History during one of the Seminole Wars, where Seminoles fought against new settlers and the military, to try to keep their land. The Seminoles lost and were moved to reservations.

Later on, the land was patented to Florida, when Florida became a state in 1845. The state sold much of its land to railroad companies which in turn sold the land to various companies, such as the Matlacha Cattle Company, and to individuals.

One of these individuals was Franklin Miles of Miles Laboratories and of Alka Seltzer fame, who bought some of the land in 1910.

He used it mainly for hunting and the hunting quite good. There were plenty of wild hogs, deer, wild turkeys and ducks; which were usually hunted on horseback with dogs.

It was a hard place to live, wild and desolate, as you can see from the photo on the right, which was taken on Pine Island Rd. in 1925.

That was the land the Rosens bought for $678,000 from Franklin Miles, Ogden Phipps, and Granville Keller; with their newly formed company, Gulf Guaranty Land & Title Company, later known as Gulf American Land Corporation, and Cape Coral history was about to change.

In 1958, the ground was broken for the first home, but first, the land had to be prepared.

Cape Coral History - Selling the Dream

The heat was brutal; there were salt marshes, muddy pools, and thick, hard limestone to cut through.

A crack team of hotshot salesmen used a fleet of planes for free rides as a very effective selling method. Sacks of flour were dropped over the lots that customers bought from the air!

The Yacht Club was built with beach, pool, pier, and clubhouse. It had a popular teen club and no adults were allowed unless accompanied by a child.

To make the community even more desirable, the Rosens had a country club and golf course built, it was considered to be luxuriously appointed at the time.

There was a lot of hype, promotion and advertising. Celebrities like Bob Hope, Anita Bryant, and Hugh Downs were brought in. A movie with Phyllis Diller, The Fat Spy, was filmed in Cape Coral and so were episodes of the TV show, Route 66.

There was even an "amphibicar", a car that could drive off the beach and right into the water, to take buyers on property tours.

Salesmen were sent overseas to sell land, mainly to Americans in Italy, England, Japan, and Germany. Many Germans bought land as well, and that is why we have a large German community in Cape Coral.

Cape Coral History - Buying the Dream

In the first five months, land sales soared to $5 million!

Model homes had to be built, a motel and restaurant were needed to accommodate buyers - it was hard to keep up the demand for the good life of swimming, lounging, fishing, boating and golfing.

Back in 1959, a waterview site cost $990, a waterfront site cost $1990, and a riverfront site cost $3390. You could purchase a site for $20 down and $20 per month.

A two bedroom/one bath house cost $10,990, and a three bedroom/three bath house cost $26,250.

Homes were given away as prizes on game shows such as The Price is Right, Queen for a Day, and Concentration.

Before these businesses were built, it was a 20-mile ride to Ft. Myers to get a loaf of bread or medical care.

In 1960, Hurricane Donna slammed through. Some of the residents went to a shelter in Ft. Myers and the rest stuck it out at the Surfside or the Nautilus. Donna caused some damage, but no one was hurt or killed.

The Cape Coral bridge was built in 1964. Some of the residents were against the idea, they liked the quiet and isolation; but others welcomed the bridge.

Cape Coral History - Living the Dream

There was fishing, crabbing,fort building and King of the Mountain on construction dirt piles. Kids could watch rockets launching from Cape Canaveral, look for "sea monsters", and go on hayrides.

Gulf American provided a boat and gasoline every Sunday afternoon for waterskiing. The company went out of its way to keep the early residents happy and to help with their promotions.

Another way the Rosens drew crowds to Cape Coral was with the famous Rose Gardens, which opened in 1964.

That was because the Rosens decided to sell Gulf American in 1970 to GAC (General Acceptance), a finance firm from Pennsylvania.

The brothers had been accused of dirty sales practices in Cape Coral, history may show that the accusations were politically motivated.

That same year, the community incorporated and became the City of Cape Coral.

GAC did not have the vision that the Rosen brothers had and had rising costs, declining land sale and other problems. They eventually filed for bankruptcy in 1975.

Cape Coral History - After Gulf American

However, you can find great values in homes and properties that are unbelievable. Another reason to move here or invest are the future plans for Cape Coral.

Cape Coral plans to turn a section of Cape Coral Parkway into a beautiful and elegant downtown area with canal, parks, and fountains.

It is called Village Square and development should start later on in 2010.

UPDATE FEB 2011: The developer of Village Square has received approvals from the city and is still working on the best arrangements for the project to move forward.

The walking community will have shops, restaurants, businesses, offices, and luxury apartments will have a Mediterranean style, making it look like Venice, Italy.

Many thanks to the Cape Coral Historical Museum for the photographs and books, and the permission to use them on my Cape Coral History page.

For more history of Cape Coral, go to the Historical Museum's website.

You can also read more about Cape Coral history in my free ebook Weird Cape Coral, which has lots of funny and interesting stories ..... and a treasure hunt!

To get Weird Cape Coral, sign up for my monthly newsletter Gator Bites. Gator Bites keeps you posted on all the fun things we're doing in Cape Coral.

Cape Coral, 1966

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