The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Lee County Islands, also featuring a companion postcard packet. Local author Mary Kaye Stevens collected more than 200 vintage images capturing memories of days gone by.
When Ponce de Leon visited Southwest Florida in 1513, he discovered some of North America’s most pristine tropical islands. Yet it was here where the explorer met his death at the hands of Calusa Indians who had made their home on the islands since 500 BC.
Remaining relatively isolated from mainland society until the mid-1900s, the islands were home to a few hardscrabble pioneers who endured stifling heat, swarming mosquitoes and deadly storms. Famous anglers such as Thomas Edison, Zane Grey and Teddy Roosevelt enjoyed stalking the elusive tarpon in this sports fishing paradise. Likewise, the pervasive solitude inspired writers, including Edna St. Vincent Millay, Mary Roberts Rinehart and Richard Powell. Home to some of the world’s best beaches, it is not surprising visitors and residents find the lifestyles and histories of Lee County’s quaint islands worth preserving.
Author Mary Kaye Stevens is an educator who made Lee County her home in 1972. The vintage photographs in this book appear courtesy of multigenerational island families and local museums. As with her previous Arcadia Publishing book, Pine Island, this book will take readers on a delightful journey through the islands’ unique past.
Highlights of Lee County Islands:
• Lee County’s island beaches are perennially ranked in the world’s top ten beaches.
• Most of Lee County’s islands remained isolated from modern society until bridges were built, connecting them with the mainland.
• Jimmy Buffet wrote his hit song, “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, on Cabbage Key.
Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or
www.arcadiapublishing.com.
Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places. Have we done a book on your town? Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.
