Earlier this week, we took a field trip to the Fort Myers Beach Historic Cottage, which was truly a step back in time.
Our host was a very nice little old lady, named Jo Hughes.
She and her family had lived in the very cottage that we were visiting.
Jo shared with us some of her experiences growing up on Fort Myers beach and created a great picture of life in the 30’s and 40’s on the beach.
She told us about no electricity and the excessive mosquito problems.
The cottage is now owned by the Estero Island Historic Society and contains old Indian artifacts, sea shells and other items from those earlier times.
I sat in the very back of the room when Jo was talking, and noticed a wooden school chair for a small child that was marked that it was 100 years old.
It made me wonder how many children had sat in the chair over the years.
I will say that it was built very sturdy, which is why it has lasted 100 years.
The cottage itself was the fourth home built on Fort Myers beach and was previously located on the shoreline. Three generations of the family lived in the cottage, before it was converted into the islands first preschool.
After Jo was done speaking, like a grandmother would, she offered us juice, cookies, and some home-made jams.
As I sat there enjoying my refreshments, I looked around the small cottage and thought about what life would have been like back then.
Yes the cottage was small, but even now it still had that feeling of home to it.
After we finished with refreshments, we walked out behind the cottage for a walk along the boardwalk. On my way down I noticed a rain barrel that was built in the 1940’s next to the cottage. The barrel was used to collect rain and be used for drinking water.
Along the boardwalk we walked in out of mangroves.
The boardwalk reminded me of Ponce De Leon Park in Punta Gorda, where I have spent quite a bit time playing, fishing, and walking the boardwalk growing up.
The boardwalk came out to a beautiful opening to the water. This was a very peaceful place where you could sit and enjoy the view for quite some time.
We were also able to see some oysters in the water growing on the mangrove roots.
The next time we head to down Fort Myers beach for the day, I’m going to take the family by to see the cottage and walk along the boardwalk.
We also took time to look up online about many of the historic buildings and areas located here in Punta Gorda so that we can visit them as well.
Earlier this week, we took a field trip to the Fort Myers Beach Historic Cottage, which was truly a step back in time. Our host was a very nice little old lady, named Jo Hughes. She and her family had lived in the very cottage that we were visiting. Jo shared with us some of her experiences growing up on Fort Myers beach and created a great picture of life in the 30’s and 40’s on the beach. She told us about no electricity and the excessive mosquito problems. The cottage is now owned by the Estero Island Historic Society and contains old Indian artifacts, sea shells and other items from those earlier times. I sat in the very back of the room when Jo was talking, and noticed a wooden school chair for a small child that was marked that it was 100 years old. It made me wonder how many children had sat in the chair over the years. I will say that it was built very sturdy, which is why it has lasted 100 years. The cottage itself was the fourth home built on Fort Myers beach and was previously located on the shoreline. Three generations of the family lived in the cottage, before it was converted into the islands first preschool. After Jo was done speaking, like a grandmother would, she offered us juice, cookies, and some home-made jams. As I sat there enjoying my refreshments, I looked around the small cottage and thought about what life would have been like back then. Yes the cottage was small, but even now it still had that feeling of home to it. 
After we finished with refreshments, we walked out behind the cottage for a walk along the boardwalk. On my way down I noticed a rain barrel that was built in the 1940’s next to the cottage. The barrel was used to collect rain and be used for drinking water. Along the boardwalk we walked in out of mangroves. The boardwalk reminded me of Ponce De Leon Park in Punta Gorda, where I have spent quite a bit time playing, fishing, and walking the boardwalk growing up. The boardwalk came out to a beautiful opening to the water. This was a very peaceful place where you could sit and enjoy the view for quite some time. We were also able to see some oysters in the water growing on the mangrove roots. The next time we head to down Fort Myers beach for the day, I’m going to take the family by to see the cottage and walk along the boardwalk. We also took time to look up online about many of the historic buildings and areas located here in Punta Gorda so that we can visit them as well.
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