Collier County, Florida
The story of Marco Island
Everything below is a single verifiable claim with a citation attached. Where the record is a local legend rather than a document, it says so.
- 500Calusa settlement
- 1896Key Marco Cat recovered
- 1965Deltona develops the island
- 1997Reincorporated as a city
founding
How it started
- 1997
The Calusa lived here from about 500 CE. The modern island was made by the Mackle brothers of the Deltona Corporation, who bought the land for $7 million and developed it through the 1960s; Marco Island reincorporated as a city on 28 August 1997.
etymology
How it got its name
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The island's name long predates its development; the Key Marco name attaches to the archaeological site that made it famous.
industry
What it lived on
- 1965
Land development. The Mackles turned a Calusa island into a retirement and tourist destination in a single decade.
claim to fame
What it is known for
- 1896
The Key Marco Cat, a small carved wooden figure recovered in Frank Hamilton Cushing's 1896 expedition, is one of the finest pre-Columbian artworks found in North America. It is displayed at the Marco Island Historical Museum on loan from the Smithsonian.
landmark
What still stands
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The Marco Island Historical Museum, home of the Key Marco Cat.
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Tigertail Beach, one of the island's two public beach accesses with parking and amenities.