The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Ave Maria was founded in 2005 by Ave Maria Development, a partnership consisting of Barron Collier Companies and the Ave Maria Foundation led by Tom Monaghan, a Catholic entrepreneur and founder of Domino's Pizza and Ave Maria University. The development of the town was made possible when the Florida legislature created the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District, a limited local government whose purpose is to provide community infrastructure. The town was the first to develop under the Rural Lands Stewardship Area (RLSA) program. 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of Ave Maria's groundbreaking. Since its establishment in 2005, the community of Ave Maria has sold over 5,000 homes, resulting in the emergence of new businesses, including the Midtown Plaza, which will house various retail establishments to support local economic growth.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Ave Maria’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ave Maria’s history is told.
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Ave Maria, decade by decade
2000
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.