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Pontoon boat tours Mound Key Saturday

By Staff | Dec 15, 2010

BOB PETCHER The highest point of Mound Key is more than 30 feet above Estero Bay on the 125-acre island and offers a great panoramic view of Estero Bay.

A week before Christmas signals a good time to explore Florida history aboard a pontoon boat for a good cause. The ride can act as a personal holiday gift or one to be shared with a loved one.

The Mound House on Fort Myers Beach is offering a guided tour to the 2,000-year-old Calusa capital of Mound Key. The boat will depart from the Mound House on Saturday, Dec. 18, at 12:30 p.m. and will include a guided tour of Mound Key led by archaeologist Theresa Schober.

According to Schober, the pontoon boat has been rented from Fish Tale Marina at a reasonable rate and will be captained by Jeff Werner, who is volunteering his time.

All proceeds from the trip will benefit restoration efforts at the Mound House, an archaeological and historical site owned and operated by the Town of Fort Myers Beach.

“As we cruise Estero Bay to Mound Key, we will provide some background information on the local environment and the history of the Calusa through accounts of Spanish explorers and the mission attempts on Mound Key,” said Schober. “We will discuss the architecture of the site and how it represents Calusa social structure.”

BOB PETCHER The undulating Eco-Archaeo Trail divides the island in half and wanders through high shell mounds, watercourts and a tropical forest.

Reservations are required for the tour, and only a few spots are left on the pontoon boat. Tickets are $40 per person and are available by calling Mound House at 765-0865. Participants are asked to arrive at Mound House at noon on the tour day.

“Through this guided experience, discover the powerful Calusa chiefdom that maintained control over Southwest Florida for thousands of years,” said Schober. “Mound Key was the capital of the Calusa Indians by the time of Spanish contact and is the most significant archaeological site in Lee County. Due to its relative isolation, accessible only by boat, most of the site remains intact as a representation of the architectural intent of the Calusa when they dominated south Florida.

“As we close upon the 500th anniversary of the naming of Florida and the 1513 encounter of Juan Ponce de Leon with the Calusa near Matanzas Pass, Mound Key takes on additional importance – it may well be the only identifiable location along the Gulf Coast of Florida that Ponce de Leon visited.”

For more information about Mound House, please visit www.moundhouse.org. Contact Barbara Kreamer or Sarah Desquesnes at 765-0865 or email moundhouse@fortmyersbeachfl.gov.

Mound Key: a mound full of history

At the center of the Calusa domain, Mound Key is a significant archaeological site in Estero Bay with a complex of mounds and waterways constructed by the Calusa Indians. In 1567, the first Jesuit mission in the Americas was established on the island. Tensions between the Calusa and the Spanish were high, and the mission failed after three years

Mound Key is in the middle of Estero Bay nestled between the Estero River and Big Carlos Pass. The main trail, known as the Eco-Archaeo Trail, divides the island in half and is a roughly 15-20 minute hike from one end to the other.

The half-mile shell path traverses the island through a tropical hardwood hammock natural community with watercourts as well as three mounds.

The second mound, known as Mound One, is more than 30 feet above Estero Bay and known to be the highest point of the 125-acre island.

Along Mound One’s descent is a private fenced-in property owned by the McGee family since 1914. Goats have roamed on that 9-acre parcel since the beginning of 2009. The trail continues to gradually descend into the tropical vegetative canopy.

On the south end of the island, an old cistern is believed to be evidence of Euro-American occupation during the early part of the 20th Century. Mound Key boasts a vast variety of tress including gumbo-limbos, stoppers, privets, buttonwoods and red, black and white mangroves.

On the north end of the island, keep an eye open for wooden kiosks that are informative on the Calusa culture and a description plaque on their origin as the first people to live in Florida at the end of the Ice Age 12,000 years ago. Fiber technology, dugout canoe making and crafted shell tools such as adze and celt are also highlighted points of interest.