25 Years at Collier's Reserve 25 Years at Collier's Reserve | Page 29

Turner Place: W. Harmon Turner was born in Crystal River, Florida, in 1910 and was a resident of Collier Country since 1934. Mr Turner served as County Engineer from 1946 to 1970, and as the City Engineer for the city of Everglades. He was the first County Manager, serving from 1970 to 1975. He worked for the Collier family until 1960 prior to entering public service full time.

Useppa Court: Named after Useppa Island, a private resort retreat northwest of Naples, off the coast of Fort Myers. Useppa was Barron Gift Collier's first purchase of Florida land in 1911. Lured by his business associate, Chicago street-car magnate Joan Roach, he came to Florida on vacation and fell in love with the subtropical paradise. Roach sold his island retreat for $100,000, marking a purchase that forever changed the destiny of the entrepreneurial Collier. Rich in lore and legend, the island was named in the mid-18th century for Joseffa de Mayorga, a favored concubine of the notorious pirate Jose Gaspar.

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Walton Place: After his purchase of Useppa Island in 1911, Barron Gift Collier founded the Isaac Walton Fishing Club which became a popular draw for friends and fellow sportsmen to the

island. Isaac Walton, an

angler's legend, was the

most power preacher of

the art of angling and the

science of conservation

in the 17th century. His

book, The Compleat Angler,

was first published in 1653

and was issued in five

editions within his own

lifetime. By 1935 the book

had appeared in 284

different editions in English, making Walton one of the best-known figures of all in English literature.