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Part 1: Trouble is Brewing! The Big Scare – Sanibel’s 50th Anniversary Stories “The Way We Were”

Molly Eckler Brown Cartoon

November 11, 2024 – The Sanibel Historical Museum & Village is celebrating the City of Sanibel’s 50th anniversary – and its own 40th anniversary – by focusing on “The Way We Were,” which will be the theme of the museum’s February 18 fundraiser.

To start, and to complement the new exhibit showcasing the city’s incorporation, the museum is working on a series of articles outlining how the city came to be.

“The way we are today is because of the way they were,” said SHMV Advisory Board member Gayle Pence. She named Porter Goss, Charles LeBuff, Francis Bailey, Zee Butler, Vernon MacKenzie, Aileen Lotz, and the 1970s island community as key people responsible for the island’s incorporation.

This is Part I, Trouble is Brewing! The Big Scare

After the completion of the Sanibel Causeway in 1963, Lee County Commissioners had their zoning sights set on major high-rise condo and hotel growth, turning Sanibel Island into a tourist amusement playground with a big-city population akin to Miami Beach. The county assumed the island would support nearly 100,000 people. County commissioners regarded people of Sanibel as second-class citizens. (To gain some perspective, consider that in 1952, fewer than 50 families made their home on Sanibel with a total population, including children, of not more than 150.)

The causeway was cause for much consternation among many people on Sanibel, chief among them the late Francis Bailey, the man the first mayor of Sanibel Porter Goss called the “Father of Sanibel.”

“Serious talk about the bridge had been going on for a number of years,” Bailey remembered in his 2013 book, My 92 Years on Sanibel. “Lee County loved the causeway idea, but they loved the idea of development even more.”

Lee County hired an Atlanta-based planning firm to propose a high-density plan with high-rise condos to support that imagined population of 100,000 for Sanibel. The county was looking for Sanibel to be its “tax cash cow.”

Sanibel repeatedly asked for a comprehensive land-use plan from Lee County, but none ever came forward. Such a plan was what many islanders viewed as essential to the control of growth and development on Sanibel.

Next week: 1971-1972 – Alarmed Island Residents

The Sanibel Historical Museum & Village is a 501(c)3 organization that relies on membership fees, admissions, and charitable donations. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Founded in 1984, the Village is excited to welcome visitors during its 42nd year of preserving, sharing, and celebrating Sanibel’s history. The general tour experience includes an orientation video and eight historic buildings displaying numerous artifacts telling engaging stories. Much of the site is handicap accessible. The Rutland House remains closed post-Hurricane Ian.

The Village Gift Shop in Shore Haven is open during the regular schedule. Admission is not required to shop. Much of the merchandise is by local authors, artists and entrepreneurs.

The Village is located on Sanibel Island at 950 Dunlop Road (next to BIG ARTS) and parking is free.

Visit the Village’s website for more information about Sanibel’s history, events and programs during the 2025-2026 Season, and to sign up for our E-Newsletter: www.sanibelmuseum.org. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram!

PUNTA RASSA BEFORE THE BRIDGE

Feb 28, 2026

On Monday, March 9th, the volunteers at the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village will have an opportunity to learn the “real story” of Punta Rassa from the grandchildren of Leon Crumpler and Clyde Riddle.

History of a Florida “Cracker”

Jan 17, 2026

Before tourism, theme parks, and booming cities, there was the Florida Cracker. “Crackers” are named from the sharp crack of long braided whip used by Florida cowmen to drive cattle through dense brush.