History

The park was originally created by Barron Gift Collier to preserve the royal palm trees and later the park was donated to the county. The park then served as a memorial to Barron Collier and those who fought on both sides of the Seminole Wars. In 1947, the county donated the land which became Collier-Seminole State Park.

In the 1700s, Seminole Indians emigrated from the Creek Confederacy to Florida. Three Seminole Wars took place to remove the Seminoles from Florida and send them to reservations. During the Third Seminole War, the Seminoles resisted and retreated to the swamps of southwest Florida. Soldiers searching for the Indians drew maps. One crude 1857 military map illustrates the Blackwater River and an area labeled “palm grove.” That area, now part of the park, contains the beautiful royal palm trees. 

In the 1920s, advertising tycoon and pioneer developer, Barron Collier purchased nearly a million acres in southwest Florida. In 1923, it became Collier County.  Barron Collier was a major investor in developing the Collier County section of the Tampa-to-Miami highway, the Tamiami Trail.