The 130th Anniversary of the News-Press

In 130 years, Southwest Florida has grown from a rural, cattle intensive land that it once was. It has since grown into a mecca for tourist activity and luxury living. But 130 years ago there was one event that undeniable changed the history of Fort. Myers: the inauguration of The Fort Myers Press.

On Nov. 22, 1884, the Fort Myers Press released its first issue and has since remained a fixture in the Southwest Florida community.

In the summer of 1884, at the age of 62, an ailing publisher of the Yates County Chronicle of Penn Yan, New York, Stafford Cleveland was given two options by his doctor: head south in search of a warmer, temperate climate or die before the end of the coming winter. He heeded his doctors warning, and after careful research and recommendations, he settled on the growing town of Fort Ogden, Florida as his final destination (currently located between Punta Gorda and Arcadia).

That summer he packed his printing gear and his worldly possessions and boarded a train to Jacksonville, Florida and another train to Cedar Key. From there he boarded the two-masted schooner, the Lily White, which was destined up the Peace River to Fort Odgen.

However Lily White captain and Fort Myers native Henry Roan had different plans for Cleveland after learning of his profession. Roan sailed down the west coast of Florida, passed the Charlotte Harbor, to the Caloosahatchee where Fort Myers locals zealously awaited the arrival of Captain Roan.

Upon arrival, Cleveland was greeted by several of the rough-necked locals and immediately offered sustaining advertisements as well as approximately 300 subscribers (almost the entire population of Fort Myers) should he agree to start his paper in this modest country town. With little hesitation, he agreed and set up his first office on the corner of First and Hendry streets.

On Nov. 22, 1884, Cleveland published the first edition of the Fort Myers Press. Its covered story featured two men how reported a lackluster alligator hunting season in the Okeechobee, a successful leg amputation and the relocation of a saloon among many other local news events.

From then on the Press continued to publish weekly. One notably circumstance in Cleveland’s time as editor-in-chief was a hastily written, three-line article on a “distinguished electrician” that happened to mosey through Fort Myers during the summer of 1885. This electrician being Thomas Edison, who would later buy 13-acres of land along the Caloosahatchee to construct his winter estate.

Cleveland died on Dec. 3, 1885 at the age of 63, just over a year after the Press’ first publication. He died as a result of complications from Bright’s Disease: a chronic kidney disease also associated with diabetes.

Since his death his wife managed the paper until she sold it to an experience columnist by the name of Frank Stout on Mar. 13, 1886. In 1911 the Press became a full-fledged daily paper and from there, the paper changed hands several times until the early 1920s when the paper faced fierce competition from a new rivaling local paper, The Tropical News. The Tropical News was believed to be a more sensationalist paper where the Fort Myers Press had a reputation as more fact based source.

With the downfall of the Roaring 20s and the onset of the depression, funding were running thin, so on June 1, 1931 the Tropical News and the Fort Myers Press merged into on entity that became known henceforth as The News-Press.

In its 130 year the News Press has never missed a single issue. The closest it came to a missed publication was during a hurricane in 1944 that knocked out power to the region. To combat this, Press member burrowed a Jeep from the Buckingham airbase and used it to provided power to the pressroom.

“I don’t know what ever happened to Fort Ogden, but I can say Fort Myers benefited from their loss,” former News-Press staff writer and historian Glenn Miller said.

Who can say for sure whether or not Fort Myers triumphed through history from Fort Odgen’s lost. What is sure is that The News-Press is a staple in the community and is the longest running business in the region’s history.

The Southwest Florida Magical History Tour

Day at the Museum: A review of the Southwest Florida Museum of History

I recently visited the Southwest Florida Museum of History in Fort Myers, Florida, and I was surprised by how thorough it was at walking me through the entirety of the history of Southwest Florida in such a quaintly modest amount of space.

I was admitted under my student discount, which totaled $5.30 and included a hand-held audio tour. General admission is $9.50 plus tax.

The museum begins with a prehistoric exhibit of fossilized mammals that roamed Florida long before man. This depicts a time where Florida resembled the dry grasslands of Sub-Saharan African. Fossils include the massive skeletons of the Giant Sloth, the Saber-toothed Cat and the mammoth. 

As you continue your self-guided tour, you will learn about the early settlement of the Calusa Indians and their reign over the region. On display is a large collection of primitive tools the Calusa used such as shell-hammers and hunting bows. In the same exhibit there is a mural representation of the shell mounts and agricultural development of the Calusa Indians on Pineland, Pine Island, Florida where the natives were known to have flourished.

From there you witness the seamless transition of the landing of the conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon in the early 16^th century, followed by the extinction of the Calusa as a result of the disease brought by the Spanish.

From there, the exhibits begin making leaps and bounds through history as we travel into the Seminole Wars of the early 19^th century, which led to the eventual displacement of the Seminole Indian tribe. We finally reach the development of the fort that served as a stronghold against the Seminoles. This fort would later be named after the young Florida quartermaster, Abraham Myers.

We then make another hastily jump into the fort’s involvement in the Civil War and then into Southwest Florida’s prominent cattle trade to Cuba in the 1870s. This is followed by the transformation of Fort Myers with the introduction of notable figures like Harvie Heitman and Capt. Francis Hendry.

We then witness the boom of the aquacultural industry of Florida followed by a small pocket in the back of the museum dedicated to the civil servants of SW Florida.

The far north hall of the museum is the temporary exhibit gallery. The season, the museum has the work of the Highwaymen on display. The Highwaymen were a troupe of African-American artists from the 1950s what painted realist depictions of the untapped, tropical landscape of Florida. The gallery will be on display until Jan. 3, 2015.

We are then taken into another abrupt transition to the war gallery. This is a collection of war related relics that includes a hodgepodge of World War II and Vietnam War items. These antiquities include uniforms, weaponry and various plane parts such as propellers and hull fragments. Also in this exhibit are a pair of skis and snowshoes that have little labeling to explain their relevance in this particular portion of the museum.

This completes your indoor tour of the museum. From here, you are encouraged to take a look at the outdoor “cracker” house and the refurbished private train car – both of which are definitely worth a quick once-over.

All-in-all, I would say that is a pretty insightful yet general examination of the region. I feel that this experience is a necessity for all permanent Southwest Florida residents to gain a broad understanding of the region to develop a sense of understanding and pride for the place they call home. That being said, I also feel as those there are some pertinent holes between exhibits such from the Calusa extinction to the Seminole Wars as well as Roaring ‘20s and Great Depression era Florida.

The museum is open 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday year round. Private and group tours are also available upon request.