First opened in 1927 as a commercial laundry, today's Museum of the Everglades dates back to a time when construction of the famous Tamiami Trail was well underway and the tiny settlement of Everglades served as the first County seat. The museum's permanent and rotating exhibits provide visitors with an in-depth look at over 2,000 years of human history in the area and tell the story of the adventurous early settlers of the "River of Grass." Faithfully restored to its original, 1920s Collier-era appearance, the museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located 35 miles east of downtown Naples.
Exhibitions include The Storter Collection, which is a unique glimpse of Southwest Florida’s earliest accounts of history recorded in words, pictures and artifacts. George Storter moved from northern Florida in 1881, to what is now Everglades City where he farmed on the banks of the Barron River. He was joined in 1887 by his sons Robert Bembery and George, Jr., who bought the homestead that later became the Rod and Gun Lodge. The original farmhouse was enlarged to include a trading post which served the native Indians as well as local population. He also accommodated sports fishermen and at times used the rooms in his house for school and church activities. The family was prominent in this sparsely settled “last frontier” of Southern Florida, until leaving in 1921, when Barron Collier began buying up the town of Everglades to serve as his headquarters for the construction of the Tamiami Trail.