Barron Collier

Barron Gift Collier was born March 23, 1873, in Memphis, Tennessee. He quit school at age sixteen to go to work for the Illinois Central Railroad. Within four years, he started his own business: The Consolidated Street Railway Advertising Company of New York City. And, by age twenty-six, he was already worth a million dollars.

Related Topics:
March 23 - 1873 - Memphis, Tennessee - Illinois Central Railroad

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Mr. Collier married in 1907 to Miss Juliet Gordon Carnes, also a native of Memphis.

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In 1911, the Colliers visited Fort Myers, Florida, on vacation, and fell in love with the area. So, they bought nearby Useppa Island for the sum of $100,000. The island was reputed to be the place where Spanish pirate Jose Gaspar had held one of his favorite female captives named Useppa a century earlier.

Related Topics:
Fort Myers, Florida - Useppa Island - Jose Gaspar

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Mr. Collier was an avid fisherman and established the Izaak Walton Club at his Useppa Island resort. Named for the 17th Century author of "The Compleat Angler," it was one of the most exclusive sporting clubs in the world.

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Over the next decade, Mr. Collier went on to acquire over a million acres (4000 km²) of land in southwest Florida, making him the largest private land owner in the state. He invested millions of dollars to transform and develop the wilderness including drainage of the Everglades and construction of the Tamiami Trail. For his influence and investment in the state's future, the legislature named the newly-created Collier County, Florida, in his honor on May 8, 1923.

Related Topics:
Florida - Everglades - Tamiami Trail - Collier County, Florida - May 8 - 1923

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Mr. Collier died March 13, 1939, in New York City, survived by his wife and three sons. Though the Great Depression had strained his finances and slowed development of his Florida lands, the next generation of his family would continue his work in subsequent decades.

Related Topics:
March 13 - 1939 - New York City - Great Depress

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The Collier County Public School System named Barron Collier High School in his honor.

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For further reading:

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• Gene M. Burnett, Florida's Past, Volume 3, Pineapple Press, Sarasota, Florida, 1991.