The May issue of The Villager included a short history of The Villager itself. With the knowledge that we have many new members, the Villager staff will continue a look back at where we came from by reprinting over the next few months some of the articles from “A Short History of the Villages at Country Creek” compiled in 2013 by Mary Ann Moyer and others. This year a celebration of VCC’s 35th birthday is scheduled for December 12. Details will be forthcoming, but the event will include Glow Golf and activities at the clubhouse.
And so, we begin . . .
THE EARLY YEARS–1900–1987
In the early 1900s, cattleman millionaire, Daniel Augustus Green Floweree, came to Fort Myers from Montana and bought land in Alva and in Estero to grow citrus crops.
At one time his Estero and Alva groves, combined, were the largest individually owned citrus grove operation in Florida—some say in the whole United States. The story of Villages at Country Creek begins on property that was once Floweree’s Estero citrus grove.
Floweree’s home was not on the Estero property. While his mansion was being built on First Street in Fort Myers next to the Burrough’s house, he rented the Thomas Edison home. The Floweree mansion was torn down in the 60s. Among the structures Floweree built in Estero in 1902 were a hunting lodge on the north branch of the Estero River and a packinghouse on the south branch. The north branch runs behind Blacksmith Forge. The south branch runs by the clubhouse and first tee. The women workers lived on the second floor of the packinghouse. (Pilings remain at the site.) The location on the river was chosen since fruit was shipped out by boat. Even though the river was sometimes difficult because of sandbars along the way, boats were still a better means of shipping because roads were impassable in those days. The lodge became the on-site supervisor’s house and remained until the 1970s.
Forbes Horne was the last on-site manager of the Floweree Grove. Other members of his family preceded him as managers. Dorothy Horne Evrard, the daughter of Forbes and Helen Horne was born there and still lives today on River Ranch Road.
The Floweree citrus operation was the largest, but there were other smaller citrus groves in the area. They, too, would become part of VCC. One grove was the 30-acre “Joy Farm” that was situated in the area of the present entrance to the Villages at Country Creek. It was owned by R.G. Collier, who served as a Lee County commissioner from 1909 to 1914. He was involved in a major issue in those days—the need for a good hard road from Naples to Fort Myers to replace the existing sandy two-track road. For financial reasons, Lee County was not able to complete its portion of the Tamiami Trail. (The Fort Myers to Naples section of the Trail was completed in late 1926 and the entire Tamiami Trail in 1928.)
In early 1953, the Floweree property and other small groves were acquired by the Winter Park Land Company headed by the influential heiress Jeannette Genius McKean. In the 70s the land company rented the Estero property to a group of investors from Alva who cleared the land and tried to raise avocado trees but failed.
In March 1985 Weiner Homes, a New Jersey company, purchased 283 acres in Estero. After zoning approval and a tree survey were completed, Lee County granted the final development order. In May 1987 Weiner Homes finally took title to the site and began construction on a new community infrastructure and golf course, soon to be called the Village at Country Creek.
NEXT MONTH: THE NEW COMMUNITY 1987-1990
