Naples Florida
Throughout the 1870's and 188o's,stories telling about the white sandy beaches ,mild climate and abundant
fisn and gamewere described as surpassing the bay
in Naples Italy. Once the only people who walked the
7 miles of
white sandy beaches of Naples were the Caloosa Indians,they were the first settlers of the area.
In 1887, a group of wealthy
Kentuckians, led by Walter N.Haldeman, who owned the Louville
Courier-Journal,
purchased almost the entire town of Naples. The first improvements
he made was to build a pier, 600 feet
linto the Gulf. It was an unusual
"T" shape which allowed ships to dock easilyDespite being destroyed and
rebuilt 3 times, the piers "T" shape remains today.
Naples gained a reputation as a winter resort. The Naples Hotel
played host to many celeberties such as,
Rose Cleveland,Thomas Edison,
Harvy Firestone, Greta Garbo, Hedy Lamarr and Gary Cooper., the
Naples
Hotel was the hub of society.As Naples gained its
reputation as a winter resortso did the price of property.
The cost of
a beachfront lot soon rose to 125.0 per lot.
Page created and copyrighted by Peggy McSwain
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