JE #18 - Fort Myers Cottage Field Trip - Part 1

This blog concerns the field trip to the Matanzas Pass Wilderness Preserve and Historic Cottages.

This part of the blog will concern the first portion of the trip that began with the speaker inside the cottage itself.

The cottage is the current site of the Estero Island Historic Society founded by a small group of residents in 1991. "They realized the value of documenting the early social spirit and subsequent development of the island as the beach evolved from a sparse barrier island to a popular tourist destination"

The speaker was a woman who had been on the island since 1931 and basically gave us her living history and I found this ABSOLUTELY fascinating. As a History Major I find nothing more interesting than oral histories told by those who lived them. I am just starting to learn about the area and its history so this could not have been any more geared toward my discipline and by far has been my favorite field trip with this class thus far.

Her recollections of island living, the heartbreaking tales of commercial fishing destruction and that of the hurricanes too were amazing. The pictures and artifacts sprinkled around the cottage really helped to bring the oral history to life.

I have decided to actually become a member of the Estero Island Historic Society because at $10 for individual membership, how could I not aid in the preservation of history in this area. So thank you members for founding this place and keeping it going, I hope my small contribution can help to continue the legacy they have begun.