MARCO ISLAND’S HIDDEN HISTORY: 30 LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT A TROPICAL PARADISE

MARCO ISLAND, Fla. — Visitors know it for soft sand and postcard sunsets. Residents praise its safety, scenery, and small-town charm. But behind the modern skyline of Marco Island lies a lesser-known story — one of ancient civilizations, vanished landmarks, architectural oddities, abandoned ideas, and the quiet mysteries of an island that has reinvented itself more than once.

Today, the Marco Island Chronicle presents 30 things most people don’t know about Marco Island, drawn from historical archives, development records, museum accounts, and the long memories of old-timers who watched the island transform from wilderness to world-famous destination.

1. Marco Island was once two islands

Before mid-century dredging, a natural waterway called Caxambas Pass split Marco into two separate land masses.

2. Developers planned a Polynesian theme park

The Mackle Brothers envisioned luaus, waterfalls, and tiki attractions—an idea that never made it off the drawing board.

3. America’s most famous Calusa artifact came from Marco

The Key Marco Cat, unearthed in 1896, is considered one of the most remarkable prehistoric finds in North America.

4. A submerged burial ground lies offshore

Barfield Bay contains underwater Calusa-era cemetery sites now lost beneath rising waters.

5. Many homes sit atop ancient shell mounds

Calusa shell structures—some thousands of years old—form the elevated base of parts of Old Marco and Goodland.

6. Early canal digging involved dynamite

Historical records show crews blasting through hard shell and limestone to create today’s canal system.

7. The island once had its own airport

A small landing strip operated off what is now San Marco Road.

8. Street names honor Florida governors

A planned nod to state political history built into the original Deltona layout.

9. A freshwater spring exists offshore

Divers have documented a natural freshwater vent near Cape Romano—an unusual Gulf phenomenon.

10. The Cape Romano domes were prototypes

Designed for an entire self-sustaining eco-community, only the domes were ever completed.

11. Before bridges, residents relied on a ferry

The Jolley Bridge, completed in 1969, finally connected Marco to the mainland by road.

12. Marco Island has one of Florida’s densest eagle populations

The island’s open vistas and tall pines attract multiple nesting pairs.

13. Local dolphins recognize recurring boats

Charter captains insist the pods know them on sight—and often perform accordingly.

14. Tigertail hides a “second beach”

Sand Dollar Spit, reachable only by crossing the lagoon, remains one of the area’s quietest stretches of sand.

15. Bobcats still roam Marco Island

Sightings persist in the Estates and near swaths of protected mangrove.

16. The island is gradually sinking

Subsidence combined with sea rise produces measurable—and visible—changes over decades.

17. Beach renourishment reshaped the shoreline

Sections of today’s beach are the product of large-scale sand augmentation.

18. Marco nearly included a monorail

An early tourism concept proposed a monorail from the south end to Tigertail Beach.

19. The island’s oldest building predates modern development

The Old Marco Inn, built in the 1880s, remains one of the few surviving pre-Deltona structures.

20. Marco has over 100 miles of seawalls

More seawalls per square mile than nearly any other U.S. coastal community.

21. Cape Romano was once a fishing village

A small settlement thrived there until hurricanes erased it.

22. Ice Age fossils turned up during construction

Crews unearthed mammoth bones and ancient remains while digging canals.

23. Manatees frequently enter Marco’s canals

Especially near Snook Inn, Factory Bay, and the Jolly Bridge area.

24. Marco had its own cable TV studio

Local programming in the 1980s was filmed on-island for residents only.

25. Burrowing owls once lived in the Estates

Development forced relocation efforts in the 1990s.

26. Old water and utility lines still run beneath the island

Obsolete “ghost pipes” from early settlement days remain underground.

27. Goodland nearly declared independence

Residents pushed in the 1970s to separate from Marco’s rapid development.

28. Marco was marketed as “The Hawaii of the Gulf”

Vintage brochures featured hula skirts, torches, and over-the-top tropical branding.

29. Wild hogs once roamed the island

They disappeared as development expanded in the mid-20th century.

30. Multiple shipwrecks lie offshore

Unmarked wrecks—some dating to the 1800s—rest in shallow waters near the island.

A Place With More Stories Than Streets

Marco Island may look polished and modern, but beneath its sand, shell, and seawalls lies a story far older—and far stranger—than the average beachgoer suspects.