CIHS commemorates opening of The Island Store
By CIHS - | Dec 23, 2020
PHOTO PROVIDED
Captiva Island Historical Society Board President Tom Libonate speaks during a dedication ceremony held for The Island Store on Dec. 10.
On Dec. 10, the Captiva Island Historical Society commemorated the 105-year history of Captiva’s iconic The Island Store, as part of the Bailey family reopening ceremony.
CIHS Board President Tom Libonate opened the ceremony with remarks featuring highlights of the various roles the building has played in the island’s colorful history since it first appeared on the county tax role in 1915.
“Starting as Mrs. Miller’s boarding house, the building has been a beauty parlor, a dormitory for younger classmen of the Snyder School for Boys, a general store, a restaurant, hurricane shelter, architect’s office, polling precinct and rumored at one point to even feature a brothel,” he said.