AN INVITATION TO THE PAST
Take a stroll through yesteryear with a visit to the Sanibel Historical Museum & Village
Imagine farmers plowing with mules. Imagine prairie land as far as the eye can see—no trees, no bushes, just scrub. Imagine only dirt roads, and imagine swarms of mosquitoes so thick you couldn’t see out your window in the morning. Sanibel’s past seems far removed from its present. Today we welcome tourists and snowbirds to live the good life on the beaches, in the sunshine, in comfort. Those things wouldn’t be possible without the people who came before.
Sanibel started as a farming community and was, in fact, well known for its wonderful tomatoes. The long southern growing season and fertile soil allowed Sanibel to ship high-quality tomatoes north, where they were prized even in high-class establishments like The Waldorf in New York City.
A hurricane that sent salt water to cover the island, combined with the railroad’s arrival (allowing Fort Myers and other farmers to ship north) just about killed farming on the island. Slowly, Sanibel became a tourist destination, known for fishing, for seashells, and for quiet relative isolation.
Growth continued slowly, until Hugo Lindgren built a causeway in 1963, resulting in a development boom that rightfully frightened Sanibel residents. They rallied and succeeded in their bid to become a city with its own land development code and the ability to determine their own destiny.
And the rest is history.
The Sanibel Historical Museum & Village was founded in 1984 when the home of Clarence and Ruth Rutland was moved to the village property to become a single-room museum. Over the years, other buildings joined the Rutland house: Bailey’s General Store (1927), Miss Charlotta’s Tea Room (1927), the Old Post Office (1926), and the Old Schoolhouse for White Children (1896). Added to the village was the Burnap Cottage (1898), Morning Glories Cottage (1924), and a Caretakers’ Cottage (exact date unknown). In 2012, Shore Haven (1926) joined the village as its second Sears Catalog Kit Home. There is one replica, a Packing House, representing the one that sat out on the wharf when the original Bailey Store was there.
Visitors to the village can stroll along its path, exploring the buildings on their own. There are buttons in every building providing audio with information of interest. Docent-led tours are given twice a day at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., at no additional charge. Admission is $10 for adults (over 18); children are admitted free. The village is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed holidays.
Emilie Alfino is the executive director at the Sanibel Historical Village.