Marco Island Seafood Festival 2001

Everglades City Seafood Festival 

A good time was had by all at this years Everglades Seafood Festival with plenty of what made Everglades City famous.  We tried to find out what annual festival this was, and could not get the same number twice.  Not that it's important, but let's just call it somewhere between 22nd and the 27th annual event.

Wesley Neil and his Mother  Cody (pictured left) from Naples enjoy the flavor of the Everglades.

Back in 1923, Barron G. Collier made Everglades City the headquarters for his Tamiami Trail road expansion company and dredged much of the area to make high ground which is most of today's Everglades City.  With the "high ground" to build on, the town expanded and by 1929 there was a hospital, movie theater, library, railroad station and a jail.

When the Tamiami Trail was finished, in 1928, many jobs were lost.  Several of the unemployed road builders started fishing for their food, and thus the "commercial fishing industry was born.  Past Presidents have fished the Everglades City waters casting for Snook and Tarpon.