MUSEUM OF THE EVERGLADES

By  Mike Miller May 8, 2025

The Museum of the Everglades sits in Everglades City, Florida. It occupies a historic 1927 laundry building. The museum explores 2,000 years of local history.

Exhibits cover Native Americans, pioneers, and the Tamiami Trail’s construction. It’s part of the Collier County Museums system. Visitors can learn about the region’s past in a restored setting.

Museum of the Everglades

Everglades City, once reachable only by boat, became a hub in 1923. Barron Collier, a county founder, used it as headquarters for building the Tamiami Trail (US 41).

Completed in 1928, the trail linked Tampa to Miami. The town served as Collier County’s first seat until 1962. The museum building, originally a laundry, supported Collier’s workers.

Exhibits highlight the Calusa and Seminole tribes, early settlers, and plume hunting. Hurricane Donna in 1960 devastated the town, shifting the county seat to Naples.

The museum, opened in 1998, preserves this story. It joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. 

Located at 105 W Broadway, Everglades City, FL 34139, the museum is 35 miles east of Naples. It’s open Tuesday–Saturday, 9 AM–4 PM.

Admission is free; donations are appreciated. Self-guided tours take about an hour. Volunteers answer questions. Park on-site or nearby streets.

Bring water and sun protection; the area lacks shade. Check their website for events or closures. Combine visits with nearby airboat tours or the Gulf Coast Visitor Center. The museum is ADA-accessible with restrooms.

• The laundry building served as a general store, ice cream shop, and church in the 1970s–1980s.  

• A 1920s Model T Ford replica displays outside.  

• The museum covers illegal trades like moonshine and alligator hides during Prohibition. 

• George Storter’s family ran a trading post here in the 1880s, now the Everglades Rod and Gun Lodge. 

• The Tamiami Trail’s construction faced swampy terrain, hard limestone, and mosquito swarms.  

• A 1940s naval base exhibit includes WWII coastguard patrols.  

• The museum’s pink exterior mimics its 1920s look.  

• Local volunteers, including descendants of pioneers, share oral histories. 

COLLIER COUNTY MUSEUM OF THE EVERGLADES WEBSITE