What people ask about history
Select a question to open the answer. Each one links to the organization that keeps the details current.
HistoryWhat does "Estero" mean?
Estero is Spanish for estuary, the place where the river meets the sea. Until the 1970s, most settlement in Estero was near the Estero River, then called Estero Creek. Estero Bay became Florida's first aquatic preserve in 1966.
Reviewed November 2026
HistoryWho were the Calusa, and why does Mound Key matter?
The Calusa were a non-agricultural hunting and gathering chiefdom that dominated the coast of southwest Florida for over 2,000 years. Mound Key in Estero Bay is believed to have been their capital and ceremonial center; its shell mounds rise more than 30 feet above the water. Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon made the first recorded contact in 1513. In 1566 Spain's first governor of Florida was appointed at the site, which was also the first Jesuit mission in the New World. Disease and warfare ended Calusa society by around 1750.
Mound House on Fort Myers Beach sits on another Calusa shell mound and has Calusa artifacts on display; see Mound House.
Reviewed November 2026
HistoryWho were Estero's first settlers?
The first homesteader is reported to be Gustave Damkohler, who farmed citrus along the Estero River in 1882 and shipped his harvests north by river and Gulf. Frank and Mary Johnson registered Mound Key as their homestead in 1891, and Portuguese and Spanish fishermen settled on Mound Key in the 1890s before moving to homes on Highlands Avenue around 1919 so their children could attend school. In the early days Estero was a major citrus producing area.
Reviewed November 2026
HistoryWho were the Koreshans?
The Koreshan Unity was a utopian community led by Cyrus Teed, who taught that the universe existed inside a giant hollow sphere. He and his followers began settling along the Estero River in 1894, after Gustave Damkohler joined and donated his 320 acres. In 1904 the Koreshans incorporated 110 square miles as the Town of Estero, stretching across today's Lovers Key State Park and the Town of Fort Myers Beach; the town was abolished in 1907. The group opened a post office, store, blacksmith and saw mill, ran schools, and was the first to provide electric power to Estero. It survived until the early '60s.
Eleven historic Koreshan structures are preserved at Koreshan State Park.
Reviewed November 2026
HistoryWhat happened to Estero's old schoolhouses?
A one-room Estero Creek School opened in 1904 and ran until 1927, closing only for a year after the 1910 hurricane. The schoolhouse now stands in Estero Community Park next to a restored 1902 house first owned by Frank Hall, a trustee of the school, and the Estero Historical Society uses both as a museum. In 1921 a four-room Broadway Estero School with indoor plumbing and Mediterranean Revival styling was built for 100 students; it operated until 1949 and still stands next to the old post office on Broadway.
Reviewed November 2026
HistoryWhen did Estero become a village?
In 2001-02, as Estero grew quickly, residents formed the Estero Council of Community Leaders (ECCL), which with local planning groups set the architectural and landscaping guidelines that shape Estero today. The ECCL started the incorporation effort in 2013, and residents signed 10,238 petitions for a vote. In the 2014 referendum, 86 percent voted to incorporate, and the community, then 20 square miles, became the Village of Estero on December 31, 2014. The Village moved into permanent offices at 9401 Corkscrew Palms Circle in 2016.
Reviewed November 2026
HistoryHow did Lovers Key get its name?
In the early 1900s the islands could only be reached by boat, and it was said that only lovers made the effort, so the name stuck. A road to the island was built in 1965. Local legend says Black Island is named for Black Augustus, a pirate who was captured, escaped and lived there for the rest of his life. In the 1960s and 1970s the four barrier islands were slated for development; the state acquired them in 1983 and in 1996 merged them with adjacent Carl E. Johnson County Park.
Reviewed November 2026
HistoryHow did hockey come to Estero?
Hertz Arena opened in 1998, and the Junior Everblades youth program started that same year along with the Florida Everblades, as part of team president Craig Brush's plan to bring hockey to Southwest Florida. The youth program began with four teams. The arena has also hosted NHL, NBA, USBL and Arena Football games.
Reviewed November 2026
HistoryWhy did the Village buy the Estero RiverPark land?
In January 2019 the Village of Estero bought the 62.5-acre riverfront property for $24.5 million, about three times its annual revenue at the time. The site had been approved for 530 housing units and 300,000 square feet of commercial space. The Village rezoned about 35 acres as open space and permanent preserve, and the historic Happehatchee Center, founded by environmentalist Ellen Peterson, was donated to the Village in December 2019 to become part of the park.
Reviewed November 2026
Spot something wrong or out of date? Let us know and we will check it against the source.