History of Bonita Springs
History of Bonita Springs
Today, Bonita Springs is situated in one of the fastest growing areas in Florida.
The 2000 census determined that 32,797 people called Bonita home. In 2005, that number had grown to more than 37,000. Today, the area continues to boom, thanks to an exploding economy that draws in new workers and residents daily. But until recently, it roots were rural, situated as it is between Fort Myers and Naples.
Folklore has it that the area was named Survey after the engineers who camped on Surveyors Creek to make early maps. That creek today is named the Imperial River and provides a backdrop for some of the most expensive real estate in Florida. Even further back, in the late 1800s, promoters interested in selling Florida real estate discovered the Bonita area. Early industries included pineapple and citrus farms, according to the Bonita Springs Historical Society.
Historians disagree on how the city got its name. Some say it was named after the daughter of Tennessee developer J.H. Ragsdale. One historical book says it also got its name from a natural spring in the Shangri-La Health Resort located on US 41.
As the area began to see permanent residents, the first elementary was built in 1921 and enlarged six years later. The Tamiami Trail from Tampa to Miami was blazed in the late 1920s. Today, it¹s known as Old 41 — ³new² four-lane Highway 41 was not built until the late 1970s while Interstate 75 finally came through in the early 1980s. Volunteer fire and ambulance service arrived in the 1950s and a fire taxing district was approved in the mid-1960s. The first Lee County Sheriff¹s Office substation was built in the 1970s. Today, Bonita Springs is home to the sheriff¹s office south district.
Bonita has been home to a number of well-known establishments, notably the first Shell Factory built on the northwest corner of Terry Street in the late 1930s to provide shells and trinkets for a growing tourist trade. The Shell Factory burned in 1952 and was moved to North Fort Myers, where it is today.
On December 31, 1999, Bonita Springs became a city for the second time. It had been incorporated in the 1920s, but facing a $7,000 bill from FPL for street lights, city fathers surrendered the charter as a swap for Lee County¹s paying the tab.