Sanibel Island History

Origins of the Sanibel Island

The original Barrier Island in Southwest Florida was inhabited by The Calusa (Shell) Indians for many generations. This early nation was a relatively large community which by the early 1500’s had reached as much as 50,000 Indians. They lived and prospered right on the beaches of the Island and along the waterways. Their homes were built on stilts, but they didn’t have any walls.

The word Calusa means “War-Like” and they lived up to their name. When the Spanish settlers reached to mainland they often were attacked by the Calusa Indians. As time progressed, the Calusa Indians had to be more on the defensive rather than the offensive side of protecting their land. The Spanish would eventually bring soldiers and other warring tribes they eventually moved into the Calusa land and began raiding them. Besides the raids, the Calusa and everyone else at the time faced an even bigger enemy in measles and smallpox. The last of the Calusa Indians dies around the 1700’s.

Spain stayed owning the land for a long time, trading with the Seminole Indians that had moved to Sanibel Island in place of The Calusa Indians.  For another 100 years Spain stayed, then in 1819 Spain ceded the region to the United States, 300 years after Ponce de Leon had claimed it for the Spanish.

From 1830 to 1884 there was a lot of growth on Sanibel Island. Ships would come in and out quite often to drop and pick supplies, so to prevent shipwrecks the community built the historical Sanibel lighthouse, which was run by the U.S. Coast Guard. During this time, there were many farms being built and the land started to flourish. Crops like avocado, citrus, and eggplant were common on these farms.

In 1892 the first schoolhouse was built. Sanibel Island has remained fairly unscathed by the events in the early days and many of the same traditions have still hung around from the first 15 families on Sanibel Island.

In 1945, the land became official and is now held in trust by The J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Today, the Island has become a wonderful nature drawing sanctuary.