The Mound House: A Fort Myers Beach “Must-Do”!

What can you do when the Beach is not beckoning? I know! How is that possible?
Well one suggestion for the traveler weary of sun and sand is Fort Myers Beach’s own Mound House!

Besides being one of Florida’s most popular, fun and exciting beach destinations, Fort Myers Beach (Estero Island) is home to a long rich history that starts back 12,000 years ago during a time when the Ice Age melted the Earth’s ice so much so that our western boundary reached out at least 100 miles. The inhabitants at that time were called the Paleo-Indians. As the ice caps thawed and the shoreline moved to current day boundaries the Native Calusa Tribe settled on Fort Myers Beach. These hunters and agricultural workers created a great nation, but what is left of this civilization long vanished? They created mounds of shells which they then used as structures such as temples, some of which could hold up to 2000 people. One of these mounds still exists here on the island and you can explore this today!

The Mound House offers you a glimpse into the past life on our island. The property’s many inhabitants built, modified, remodeled and restored the structure many times in the last 100 years. Many and varied owners all left their stamp on the property, house and the island as a whole. Archaeological activity has been an on-going process of the years, but a unique experience is served up on this site. As an in-ground swimming pool had been added in the 1950’s and then removed at a later date, this gave archaeologists a fantastic opportunity to get a look at the layers of the mound itself and research the life and times of our Native communities from long ago.

So come join us at the Mound House on Fort Myers Beach, the historic site is located just 2.6 miles away from our front doors. Guided tours are available every Tuesday, Wednesday & Saturday from 10 am until 1:30pm.