Sanibel’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Sanibel. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Sanibel and Captiva formed as one island about 6,000 years ago. The first known humans in the area were the Calusa, who arrived about 2,500 years ago. The Calusa were a powerful Indian nation who came to dominate most of Southwest Florida through trade via their elaborate system of canals and waterways. Sanibel remained an important Calusa settlement until the collapse of their empire, soon after the arrival of the Europeans.
During the 1700s, Cuban fishermen seasonally traveled from their homes and set up fishing camps along the Gulf Coast, called ranchos, including on Sanibel Island.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Sanibel’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sanibel’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewSanibel Island ferry, 1900: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Sanibel
See all 1 →Sanibel, decade by decade
1990s
2 historic places in Sanibel
2 places in Sanibel are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Sanibel Island ferry (1900) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories 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.