Museum of the Everglades

Housed in the 1927 Everglades Laundry — the commercial washhouse built to scrub uniforms for the crews cutting the Tamiami Trail through the swamp — the museum tells how Barron Collier's company town rose in the 1920s to build a highway nobody thought possible. Architect William O. Sparklin drew this building and the Bank of Everglades across the way; the laundry ran until 1942, then cycled through decades as a barber shop, thrift store, and pizza place before the Women's Club rescued it in 1965. Permanent galleries cover Calusa shell mounds, Seminole trade, the 13-year Trail build (1915–1928), and the 1960 hurricane that ended Everglades City's run as county seat. On the National Register since 2001. Admission is free.

What to order

Focus on the Tamiami Trail construction gallery — the story of dragline crews cutting a road across sawgrass and limestone is what the whole town is built on. Ask a docent about the Storter Collection while you're there.

Hours

Tue–Sat 9a–4p · closed Sun–Mon