FMBGN-ROXIE-The Mound House-The Oldest Building On Fort Myers Beach Sits On Ancient Calusa History

A 120-year-old house is impressive. A 120-year-old house built on a 2,000-year-old Calusa shell mound is something else entirely. We meet Brianna from the Mound House on Fort Myers Beach to dig into the layered history hiding in plain sight, from Indigenous life in the estuary to the pioneers who built on the same high ground for the same practical reasons. 

We talk through what the Mound House actually is today: a historic house museum, a Florida archaeology site, and a wildlife reservation all in one. Brianna explains how the Calusa created massive shell middens over centuries, how those mounds provided flood protection and livable space, and how this site connected to Mound Key, the Calusa capital across the bay. We also trace the property’s early 1900s chapters, including the Case family’s original build, later expansions, and why the house was restored to its 1921 look to align with historic preservation standards. 

Then we get into what makes a visit unforgettable right now: the first and only public archaeology lab in Southwest Florida, where guests can see collections work up close on guided tours. We also reflect on hurricane resilience, including what Hurricane Ian damaged and what the building’s elevation helped protect. If you’re searching for meaningful things to do on Fort Myers Beach, care about local history, or love behind-the-scenes museum work, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves Southwest Florida, and leave a quick review so more people can find the story under their feet.

Mound House
Breanna Vaccaro
451 Connecticut St Ft Myers Beach, FL 33931
239-765-0865
bvaccaro@fmbgov.com
moundhouse.org

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Transcript

Intro/Close 0:15

Here's your host, Cabo Jim Sheller.

"Cabo" Jim 0:18

Oh, totally different.

Breanna Vaccaro 0:19

Yeah, I can't do this too. I'm not a fan of technology, believe it or not.

"Cabo" Jim 0:23

All right, there we go. I know, right?

unknown 0:26

Yeah.

"Cabo" Jim 0:27

Welcome, Fort Myers Beach, good neighbors, to another episode of uh Roxie Power Hour here in Times Square. Today we have Breanna from the Mound house here locally.

Breanna Vaccaro 0:36

Hi.

"Cabo" Jim 0:37

Pleasure to have you here today.

Breanna Vaccaro 0:39

Thank you for having us. We're so excited to be here.

"Cabo" Jim 0:42

And for those that aren't aware, what is the Mound house, right?

Breanna Vaccaro 0:46

The Mound House is actually the oldest standing structure on Fort Myers Beach. It was originally built in 1906 by the Case family, but the property is actually a part of the original Homestead Act from 1862. Some of the very first pioneers that came to the island in the 1880s originally settled on the abandoned Calusa Shell Mound that the house is standing on. So it's not only a historic house museum, but it's also an archaeological site and a wildlife reservation as well. So you're getting very many layers of history there. So while the house is 120 years old, the property itself is over 2,000 years old. And it's really unique because the house is settled directly on top of a 2,000-year-old Calusa shell mound. It's really incredible. So if you haven't come out to see Mount House yet, I highly recommend it. There's so much to do there, there's so much to see, so much to learn. Every day is just a new learning experience for us.

How Calusa Shell Mounds Formed

"Cabo" Jim 1:40

So a mound of shells. Amount of shells. How does that come about?

Breanna Vaccaro 1:43

So the Calusa were complex hunter, fisher, gatherers, meaning that they got a majority of their diet from right out in the estuary. They would eat the shellfish that they fished, drop it where they stood, and eventually that started to create a growing trash pile or a midnight, as we archaeologists call it. So the Calusa settled on the Mount House property between 400 AD and 1650. And during that time, they started to harness the growing pile of shells and take advantage of its growing height. And so they kept building it up over 1,500 years. And they they developed their satellite village on top of that property. We were just a satellite village in connection with Mount Key, which is the Calusa capital, located about four miles in the bay away. And we probably had about 550 people at one time settling in this village. And it's just a very unique situation. The mound provided protection from flood waters. It provided space for their growing population. And it provided them with a nice cool breeze because it's in southwest Florida. We're all very hot. We all have to have our hair up. So imagine what it was like 2,000 years ago when the Calusa were here. Oh, yeah. And the Mound House just shows us that Calusa were not much different from us these days. You know, we still want to have our hair up, we still want to fish, we still need to provide for ourselves. And that shell mound gave them everything that they needed to survive for 2,000 years, right there.

"Cabo" Jim 3:00

Really amazing. It's kind of ingenious, making it all an island, right? Absolutely is pretty much what they did.

Pioneers And Early Fort Myers Beach

The House Restored To 1921

Breanna Vaccaro 3:05

Absolutely. They really did. And it was so amazing. They were not the only satellite village in the area. I believe there were two or three more of surrounding Mount Key. Um, but when the pioneers decided to start coming to uh Fort Myers, they decided to take advantage of the Calusa Shell Mounds as well, and for the same exact reasons that the Calusa built them, protection from the flood waters higher up. Um, and it was just a really great opportunity for them to start afresh. And the Case family was the very first ones to build on this mound. They were actually uh potentially a part of the Carreshian Unity. And if you've never heard of the Carreshian unity, they were a religious utopian society who settled in the area, and they owned the property from about 1904 to 1909. So then they deeded the property over to the Case family, and the Case family was currently living on a houseboat right out there in the estuary. And Mrs. Case said, I'm tired of cooking on this house boat, build me a kitchen. So Mr. Case said yes, dear, uh, not unlike my own husband. And so where our beautiful gift shop is, is the site of that original Tudor style kitchen that they built in 1906. In 1909, they decided they decided to settle just a little bit further, um, and they bumped it out to accommodate a living room. And so it became the bungalow by the banyan. Uh, there was this big beautiful banyan tree there at one time, which has now been replaced by a strangler fig tree. Strangler fig tree, but you didn't hear that. Um and they decided to stay there until 1918 or so. Mr. Case actually served as the very first postmaster from 1914 to 1918, uh, because it was one of the only places on the island that actually had a boat dock. So he was able to deliver everyone's mail and take care of that. It's crazy. I know. Oh my gosh. Um, and so, but the house that you see standing today is currently standing at its 1921 version because we are on the National Register of Historic Places. And so at the time of the town of Fort Myers Beach acquisition of the property in 2000, the house itself was not eligible to go on that register. So the state of Florida recommended that it be restored back to its last historic time period, which in this case was 1921.

"Cabo" Jim 5:09

It was a big year on Fort Myers Beach because there were four, I just talked with Ellie over at the Estero Historic Society. They had four houses that were from the 1921 house.

Breanna Vaccaro 5:18

Absolutely. It's a beautiful arts and crafts style um time period. And Captain Jack Delisle actually, uh, who who renovated the house the way it looks like right now, uh, he did not legally own the house at the time. So he illegally renovated the house to accommodate a uh second story wraparound porch, a 300 square foot bathroom, and a north room in there. So the house is quite large and you know it's it's perfect for our needs as a museum. Um, but it was actually lived in until 1994. Wow. And the town of Fort Myers Beach, it was one of the very first things that the newly incorporated town of Fort Myers Beach purchased with the help of state grants and private funds in 2000. But it didn't become the museum that we know and love today until 2015. So we're still fairly regular in a new museum, um, still working at the kinks, but we have so much to share and so many opportunities for people to learn about both the Calusa and the pioneers and the residents who lived in Mount House over the last century.

"Cabo" Jim 6:12

So you're saying even back then they were doing things without permits.

Public Archaeology Lab And Tours

Breanna Vaccaro 6:15

Yes, exactly. They really were. It was uncommon, nothing has changed. People have not changed much over time, and you know, we're very grateful for it because we get to learn new things every single day. And it's just a wonderful place to be. It's beautiful grounds, um, very well maintained. We're very, very, very proud of it. And as of last April, we are now the home of the very first and only public archaeology lab in all of Southwest Florida. Yeah, that's great. It's amazing. In that 1921 bathroom that Captain Jack Delisle built, I stole it when I joined the staff in July of 2024. We have brought back the archaeological collection back to Mount House's site for the very first time since 2002 when it was originally excavated during the house's restoration. Those artifacts have not been on site since the day they were plucked from the ground. And we have risk we have retrofitted that bathroom into being a permanent collection storage facility. And so visitors can now come to Mount House, look through the plexiglass window in the door, or take a tour with me on my um tours that I take on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Um they get to go into the Artifact Preservation Center, get their hands on the collection, see how what the cataloging process looks like, and see everything that we're doing in there because it's really important work that we do. We're very proud of it, and I can't wait to see the future of Mount House because we're keeping going.

"Cabo" Jim 7:33

That is awesome. So you talked, they built it to withstand floods. Yes. Obviously, they built it to withstand hurricanes because we've been through a lot and it's still around.

Breanna Vaccaro 7:41

It's still there. I think we definitely need to take a page out of their architecture book because Mr. Case himself built the bricks in 1909, and clearly he did something right because it's still standing. Um, in Hurricane Ian. Unfortunately, our walk-in shell mound exhibit where visitors could see the exposed cross mitten of the shell mound uh was destroyed during Hurricane Ian. Um, but the only the house itself only got an inch of water in it. So I think it's really amazing. That's just how high up we are. So not only is it the oldest structure on a Cerro Island, but it's also the highest point on a Cerro Island, standing at 13 feet above sea level.

"Cabo" Jim 8:15

And that's crazy. I mean, you think mountains, but it's a big makes a big difference.

How To Visit Tours And Hours

Breanna Vaccaro 8:19

Exactly, really, really does. So we're very proud of it.

"Cabo" Jim 8:22

So if any of our listeners wanted to come out and visit, what's the best way to do so?

Breanna Vaccaro 8:26

We are open Wednesdays to Saturdays from nine o'clock to four. The grounds are open seven days a week from sun up to sundown. Um, but I highly recommend taking a guided tour with me or one of our lovely docents who've been here since the very beginning in 2000. Uh, everyone there is extremely knowledgeable about both the Calusa history and the house's history, so you're gonna get a very well-rounded education while you're there. But we have daily tours offered throughout the day. So whenever you come, just ask for availability and we'll be happy to accommodate your group. We have indoor tours that go throughout each of the exhibits before you get to explore on your own. And then we have an outdoor tour in which visitors get to put their hands on replica artifacts and even throw an adulatal spear, which was the ancient hunting tool of the Calusa. Really fun. And then, like I said, on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11 o'clock, I offer a tour called Archaeology and Archives. Half of the tour takes place outside, learning about the field of archaeology, the tools that we use in the field, and learning more about the excavations that took place on property between 2002 and 2011. Um, and then going inside the APC and getting your hands on the collection artifacts and seeing the inner workings of collections management field.

"Cabo" Jim 9:36

Very nice. Very nice. We all love Fort Myers Beach for the beach, but there is more to do.

Breanna Vaccaro 9:41

It's always more advanced.

"Cabo" Jim 9:45

It's it's great. I appreciate everything you do for the Moundhouse and for Fort Myers Beach. And thank you for being here today.

Breanna Vaccaro 9:51

Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor. Thank you so much.

"Cabo" Jim 9:54

Yep. We'll see you out at the Mound House soon.

Closing And Listener Request

Breanna Vaccaro 9:56

Yes, absolutely.

Intro/Close 9:57

Thanks for setting up a little sunshine with Roxie and the Fort Myers Beach Chamber. If you loved today’s local scoop, share this episode, leave a quick review, and follow for more island stories and come join us every Friday at the Roxie in Times Square on beautiful Fort Myers Beach