Digging Deeper

Humidity coaxes curls of steam off Estero Bay along the east side of the Mound House, on Fort Myers Beach, as Adam Knight, the museum’s education coordinator, meets me on the front lawn. “It may seem innocent to pick up a shell,” they say, gesturing across the lawn we’re surveying. “But you’re removing part of human history. That shell was important—a tool to help elevate the village; someone placed it there.”

At first glance, the Mound House might appear simply as a century-old home and museum. But the 3-acre property— which includes a kayak launch, boardwalk and walkable waterside park—encompasses an ancient shell mound, or midden, built up through the centuries by the Calusa, the Indigenous people of Southwest Florida and the Everglades. “The site started its occupation 2,000 years ago, but the Calusa only lived here until around 1,100 A.D.,” Adam says. “Give or take 200 years.”

The former lead site historian at the Edison & Ford Winter Estates—armed with a master’s degree in museology and museum studies from Johns Hopkins University—designs and carries out all aspects of the Mound House’s educational calendar. “There’s a joke in museums that we wear many hats, and that’s especially true of a small museum like the Mound House,”

The Mound House—a historic home-turned-museum—stands atop a 2,000-year-old shell mound. An underground exhibit, Stories Beneath Our Feet , reveals a cross section, or midden, of shells laid over thousands of years.

Adam says. They’re a bridge between the site’s archaeologists and the public, researching the site’s history and recent excavations, and sharing their findings through the many family programs, festivals, late-night events and kayak ecotours that they single-handedly plan and lead. Adam’s research and how they share it with visitors is all the more crucial as the museum doesn’t have a formally designated curator on staff. I can attest to their patience as an educator: When we meet, Adam teaches me how to use an atlatl, or spear-throwing lever favored by the Calusa (though my erratic aim isn’t nearly as precise as Adam’s).

Much of Adam’s programming focuses on filling in the unknown 700 years between the Calusa and the Americans who began flocking to Florida in the 19th century. The Puerto Rican educator is particularly drawn to the Mound House’s rich Hispanic history. “A lot of people think Florida’s Latino history starts with the Mariel boatlift in the 1980s,” they say, noting that Cuban fishers began settling around the Mound House in the 1700s. “The Mound House is also a site of Hispanic heritage, with people here speaking Spanish and trading back and forth with Cuba.” Inside the house, display cases are filled with the fishers’ artifacts, and Adam’s organized a new series of Latino History tours to amplify these lesser-known stories. I make a mental note to bring my mother, who’s from Havana, to the next one.

Adam tells me that by the early 1800s, the fishing trade faded, and the area began seeing an influx of North American settlers. In 1906, New Englander William H. Case acquired the Estero Bay-facing land and built a modest cottage; captain Jack DeLysle, a casino operator, bought the property in 1921 and transformed the home into the arts and crafts house visitors see today. Then, in the 1950s, the Long family moved in and built a pool—to the detriment of much of the midden. “Removing artifacts is like taking a page out of a book,” Adam says. “The swimming pool and equipment used to construct it ripped a page out of that book.”

Adam walks me along a path that arcs below the southwestern corner of the home to Stories Beneath Our Feet , an underground exhibition where a cutaway of the midden reveals its strata, formed over millennia. Exposed when the old pool was removed in the early 2000s, the dynamic gallery is illuminated to identify the layers of uniformly compressed shell fragments. “Archaeologists rarely excavate more than 100 centimeters down, much less to the pool’s depth of 13 feet,” Adam says. “It was a chance to see everything from the origins to the abandonment of the site, but what we’re focused on now is preserving.”

Last September, the Mound House— in partnership with the University of Florida, the University of Georgia, the Florida Public Archaeology Network and the Seminole Tribe of Florida— completed an ambitious conservation effort to stabilize the lower layer of shells and catalog data from the midden. Serendipitously, the project was completed just days before Hurricane Ian struck. The exhibition’s doors miraculously kept out most of the flooding, and Stories Beneath Our Feet experienced minimal damage. Once the archaeologists’ data is available, it’ll be passed along to Adam to integrate its new findings into the museum’s educational programming.

“You can’t talk about a society or people or culture without their interaction with the land,” Adam says. In returning the mound to the natural state the Calusa cultivated, the museum reintroduced native vegetation and drainage to the property. “When storm surge covered the entirety of the mound, the plants were able to sustain being submerged in that salt water for hours. Mangroves surround the entirety of the peninsula and stopped debris from causing further damage,” Adam explains. Though the Mound House’s structures sustained enough damage to necessitate closing the museum for months, the site’s survival—especially given the devastation and total losses surrounding it on Fort Myers Beach—is a testament to the Calusa’s ingenuity.

Adam’s workload hasn’t lightened as a result of the Mound House’s temporary closure; if anything, it’s ramped up. They’re relaunching social media outreach, retraining volunteers, reestablishing a full calendar of programming and hosting Florida Gulf Coast University’s summer colloquium students. “I hope as Southwest Florida recovers, we can look back at sites like this to help build a more sustainable future,” Adam says.

Fort Myers’ artist David Acevedo explores religion through his otherworldly mixed-media works in this month’s Divine Hypocrisy exhibit at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center.

Top Events For May

Fill your calendar with art exhibits, Latin music and days of wonder throughout Southwest Florida. As events may change, we recommend you check with the organizations for the latest information.

May 1-31

Sunset Clouds at Phil Fisher Gallery, Naples

The internationally recognized Naples artist displays his take on the vibrant hues of Southwest Florida’s skies through watercolor and oil paintings. philfishergallery.com

May 1 – June 11

Mexico as Muse by Isabelle de Borchgrave at the Naples Botanical Garden

See the Belgian artist’s paper creations as part of Naples Art Institute’s Miradas de Mujeres: Isabelle de Borchgrave and The World of Frida Kahlo. naplesgarden.org

May 2-31

Season Closing Group Show at Harmon-Meek Gallery, Naples

The Third Street South gallery wraps its 60th season with a collection of works from its featured artists. harmonmeekgallery.com

May 4 and 5

Latin Infusion at St. Leo Catholic Church, Bonita Springs and Carmelo’s Italian Ristorante, Punta Gorda

The five-piece ensemble plays boleros, zarzuela pop and traditional Latin folk music as part of Gulfshore Opera’s openair series. Watch from St. Leo’s courtyard on May 4 or Carmelo’s Italian Ristorante on May 5. gulfshoreopera.org

May 5-6

Naples Philharmonic Masterworks: Romeo and Juliet at Artis—Naples

The orchestra performs selections from Tchaikovsky’s and Prokofiev’s interpretations of the Shakespearean tragedy. artisnaples.org

May 5-7

Marlon Wayans at Off The Hook Comedy Club, Naples

We know him best from his hilarious roles in White Chicks and Scary Movie

Now, the actor stops in Naples for his stand-up tour. offthehookcomedy.com

May 5-25

Divine Hypocrisy at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, Fort Myers

Longtime Southwest Florida artist David Acevedo examines his relationship to religion and puts forward social commentary in this mixed-media exhibit. sbdac.com

May 6

The Orchestra at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, Fort Myers

Former members of classic rock group Electric Light Orchestra play their hits, backed by the Southwest Florida Symphony. bbmannpah.com

May 8 – July 3

The Artist’s Question … Answered in Fiber at Marco Island Center for the Arts

Studio Art Quilt Associates’ members from around the country exhibit elaborately stitched pieces. marcoislandart.org

May 11-21

Stage It! Ten-Minute Play Festival at Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs

Hundreds of playwrights from around the world submit for the annual juried festival, where no production lasts more than 10 minutes. artcenterbonita.org

May 12-14

ELIVS: In Person at The Bell Theatre, Cape Coral Graceland ranked Florida’s 19-year-old Matt Stone in the top 10 of their 2022 list of Elvis tribute artists. thebelletheatre.com

Classical music shines this month with Naples Philharmonic performing scores for a Shakespearean classic at Artis—Naples and members of the Electric Light Orchestra joining Southwest Florida Symphony on stage.

May 17-21

Fort Myers International Film Festival

Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center and other venues throughout the city roll out the red carpet for indie film screenings, filmmaker panels, performances and parties. fortmyersfilmfestival.com

May 19

Eli Young Band at Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee

The modern country group won Billboard ’s No. 1 Country Song of the Year in 2011 for “Crazy Girl,” and has since earned top chart spots and multiple platinum records. semin oleimmokaleecasino.com

May 25-26

Patriotic Pops at Artis—Naples

Kick off Memorial Day Weekend with the Naples Philharmonic’s annual salute to the red, white and blue, featuring the music of iconic American composers John Philip Sousa and Irving Berlin. artisnaples.org

May 26

Brit Floyd: 50 Years Of The Dark Side Of The Moon at Hertz Arena, Estero

The renowned tribute band returns to the stage to celebrate Pink Floyd’s iconic album, Dark Side of the Moon. VIP tickets gain you backstage access for a meet-and-greet with the band. hertzarena.com

Recurring Events We Love

With live music on the streets, nibbles at local galleries and shops, and other fun diversions, these monthly events keep us coming back.

May 4

Musical Interludes at Marco Island Center for the Arts

Following this season’s Latin theme, Miami Beach-based songwriter Samantha Natalie performs. marcoislandart.org

May 5

Fort Myers Art Walk at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center Downtown Fort Myers’ growing arts scene is on full display the first Friday of the month. Don’t miss the accompanying rooftop party at SBDAC, which hosts the monthly event. sbdac.com

May 11

Evening on Fifth in Old Naples

The shops stay open late, restaurants offer dining specials and live music fills historic Fifth Avenue South on second Thursdays. fifthavenuesouth.com

May 13

Music in the Garden at Naples Botanical Garden

On second Saturdays, Naples Botanical Garden fills with music and artists perform. This month, singer-songwriter and slide guitarist Kraig Kenning performs a mix of folk, blues and rock on the Water Garden stage. naplesgarden.org

May 19

Fort Myers Music Walk in the River District

Enjoy live music by local and regional musicians in the streets of downtown Fort Myers on the third Friday of the month. myriverdistrict.com

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay

As far as waterside locales go, few stand the test of time and foster a sense of community quite like The Dock at Crayton Cove. Opened in 1976 on Naples Bay, the indoor-outdoor restaurant is known for its bountiful bloody mary bar at its convivial brunches on Sundays and the end-of-season canoe race and party for year-round residents, slated to return in 2024, after a two-year hiatus. In our 1983 guide to local restaurants, we celebrated the restaurant’s dock-and-dine culture, which continues today. In 2020, when the pandemic shuttered many local favorites, The Dock kept staff (safely) on to serve to-go meals and pre-mixed cocktails to boaters and masked customers. Last year, its resiliency was tested again when nearly 5 feet of storm surge rushed in during Hurricane Ian. The team reopened with panache just three months later with a revamped space and cocktail list. Now, guests are greeted by lush foliage and a new open-air tiki hut with smart features to fight harsher weather (think heaters in the winter and drop-down screens to shield from summer showers). Happy hour, anyone?