Today what is geographically Estero
owes much of its development to the surrounding areas of Southwest Florida. Located
between Fort Myers to the north and Bonita Springs just south, Estero’s
history is similar to that of its neighbors. Just like other areas of the Gulf
Coast, Estero was originally home to the Caloosa Indians. When Florida became
a United States territory in 1821, people began to settle and develop the areas
of Naples and Fort Myers.
In the late 1800’s only a small group
of individuals inhabited the Estero area. Unique to the location these settlers
were part of a religious colony known as the Koreshans, formed by a visionary
from New York, Cyrus Reed Teed. Teed’s religion of Koreshanity was based
on the belief that the earth was a hollow sphere with all life (including the
planets and solar system) within it. A Utopian society, a principal belief of
the religion was that God had both male and female aspects equally, therefore
all prayers were to the Mother-Father.
Owning much of the land, the Koreshan faith
and colony began to fade when Teed died in 1908. By the early 1960’s there
were only a handful of Koreshans remaining and they decided to give the land to
the State of Florida. Today people can still visit Koreshan State Park to fish,
picnic, hike and boat. There are also twelve remaining buildings constructed by
the Koreshans and they remain protected within the boundaries of the park.
In the later part of the twentieth
century, Estero remained small and was primarily a community based on agriculture.
In recent years, much like the rest of Southwest Florida, Estero has undergone
a building boom. However, through the efforts of the local government Estero has
maintained its charm and character.
