Back in 1885, two visitors from up North sailed along the Gulf until they found a pristine stretch of beach near the southwest tip of Florida. They called it Naples, and, not unlike many visitors today, they thought they had stumbled into paradise.

Sen. John S. Williams and newspaperman Walter N. Haldeman had made their way down from Kentucky after hearing about Southwest Florida’s picturesque beaches and sunny environs — and real estate up for grabs. In 1886, they started The Naples Town Improvement Company (later shortened to The Naples Company) and purchased about 3,700 acres for about $3 an acre.

Pictured above circa 1888 is the thatched building that served as a temporary office for The Naples Company. (Writing on the original photo described it as the first residence in Naples, but Indigenous tribes had long lived in the area before it was called Naples.) Seated in the center is Williams. On the right is French engineer Major Champney, and on the left is a man only identified as Griswold.

The Naples Company fueled the development of the small town. The Naples Pier was built in 1888. Its presence was purely practical; the only way in and out of the town was by sea. The 16-room Naples Hotel was built in 1889 about two blocks from the shore.

Only a year later, The Naples Company ran into financial trouble. But Haldeman couldn’t let go of his slice of paradise — he bought out the rest of the investors in the company and continued to run the business himself until he sold to St. Petersburg developer Ed Crayton in 1914.