From the Archives: Historic! Five things to know around Collier County

1. Immokalee means "your home" in the Mikasuki language, 2. The first National Preserve established by the National Park Service was Big Cypress National Preserve, 3. The Everglades is the only place where alligators and crocodiles coexist, 4. Marco Island is the largest of the Ten Thousand Islands, 5. Everglades City is the Stone Crab Capital of the World

1. Immokalee means "your home" in the Mikasuki language

The Mikasuki, Hitchiti-Mikasuki, or Hitchiti language is a language that belongs to the Muskogean language family. As of 2014, Mikasuki was spoken by around 290 people in southern Florida.

1. Immokalee means "your home" in the Mikasuki language, 2. The first National Preserve established by the National Park Service was Big Cypress National Preserve, 3. The Everglades is the only place where alligators and crocodiles coexist, 4. Marco Island is the largest of the Ten Thousand Islands, 5. Everglades City is the Stone Crab Capital of the World

Undated photo of a Seminole Indian girl in Immokalee.

According to historians, the region was first settled by the Calusa people. It was later inhabited by Seminoles centuries later after they moved down from northern Florida. Initially, the settlement was known as Gopher Ridge by the Seminole and Miccosukee nations.

1. Immokalee means "your home" in the Mikasuki language, 2. The first National Preserve established by the National Park Service was Big Cypress National Preserve, 3. The Everglades is the only place where alligators and crocodiles coexist, 4. Marco Island is the largest of the Ten Thousand Islands, 5. Everglades City is the Stone Crab Capital of the World

Signs at the entrance of the Big Cypress Reservation, 1980.

2. The first National Preserve established by the National Park Service was Big Cypress National Preserve

Sitting in the incorporated community of Ochopee, Big Cypress National Preserve is larger than the entire state of Rhode Island and hosts an array of flora and fauna.

3. The Everglades is the only place where alligators and crocodiles coexist

Crocodilian enthusiasts will enjoy the ability to spot both reptiles in their natural habitats.

Want to know how to tell the difference? Alligators have a broad, rounded snout while crocodiles have a “narrow, tapered, triangular snout,” according to SeaWorld’s website.

1. Immokalee means "your home" in the Mikasuki language, 2. The first National Preserve established by the National Park Service was Big Cypress National Preserve, 3. The Everglades is the only place where alligators and crocodiles coexist, 4. Marco Island is the largest of the Ten Thousand Islands, 5. Everglades City is the Stone Crab Capital of the World

Marco Beach Hotel and Villas (before 1976), Marco Island.

4. Marco Island is the largest of the Ten Thousand Islands

In Collier County, residents can find a chain of islands and mangrove islets between Cape Romano and the mouth of the Lostmans River. Marco Island is the largest with six miles of beach and over 100 miles of waterways within its 24 square miles.

1. Immokalee means "your home" in the Mikasuki language, 2. The first National Preserve established by the National Park Service was Big Cypress National Preserve, 3. The Everglades is the only place where alligators and crocodiles coexist, 4. Marco Island is the largest of the Ten Thousand Islands, 5. Everglades City is the Stone Crab Capital of the World

Accompanying note to this undated post card, “Sawgrass and Palmetto clumps stretch to the horizon.”

5. Everglades City is the Stone Crab Capital of the World

Stone crabs are harvested from October 15 to May 15, with Everglades City celebrating the start of the season each year with its annual Stone Crab Festival in October. Fishermen typically remove the claw and return the crabs to the ocean to regenerate new ones.

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