San Carlos Park

San Carlos Park of Southwest Florida

Jules Freeman

The emergence of the San Carlos Park community was compelled by an extraordinary pair of brothers named Jules and Jack Freeman. Originally from New York, the Freeman Brothers were raised in the era of The Great Depression and toiled in a variety of jobs to help support their family.  Upon graduation from City College, these brothers professionally excelled in the fields of accounting and financial advising. They went on to assist Aviation Pioneer Ed Daly in the founding of World Airways, a company credited with establishing the first, coast-to-coast, non-scheduled air service in America. Jules and Jack would later go on to create American Agronomics, a corporation that helped bolster development of Southwest Florida’s citrus industry. They purchased and planted more than 30,000 acres of citrus, including the famed “Joshua Grove” of Arcadia. Larger than the City of Manhatten, the grove was once recognized by National Geographic Magazine as the world’s largest. The brothers also helped launch California’s pistachio industry in what was the state’s first commercially successful cultivation of crops. They would later do the same in Israel. Yet, with respect for land development, in 1953, Jules Freeman paid $9,600 to acquire 240 acres of property. He believed the land could be used to develop affordable, single-family homes, crucial to the needs of the working-class. This not only marked the very beginning of San Carlos Park, but the earliest in a series of affordable neighborhoods the Freeman Brothers developed for working class families. While there has been much growth in-and-around this area of Southwest Florida, San Carlos Park (which now encompasses more than 2,000 acres) has remained one of the region’s best resources for securing affordable, single-family homes.

San Carlos Park Features

San Carlos Park Springs

While it often seems wide attention is lavished upon matters occurring in the larger metropolitan communities of Naples and Fort Myers, San Carlos Park does have its own allure and intriguing points of interest. One of the more fascinating is an artesian spring of hot mineral water some believe to possess powers-of-healing, especially for those afflicted with skin or arthritic conditions. According to local accounts, the spring resulted from prospectors searching for oil back in the 1960s. After drilling down some 1,000 feet, they stumbled upon a pool of hot mineral water which today is pumped to the surface and collected in two pools located beside the Days Inn Springs Resort. Despite its pungent aroma of sulfur, people have traveled from far and wide to immerse within the warm mineral water which some claim helps detoxify the body and mitigate against psoriasis or other inflammatory disorders. These assertions are dismissed by most healthcare practitioners, but the artesian spring remains one of San Carlos Park’s more interesting landmarks. In more modern times, San Carlos Park has gained notoriety among travelers for being home to an eclectic lodging venue comprised by pyramid-type chalets. Yet, while these man-man landmarks have emerged among the intriguing elements of San Carlos Park, it is the natural features in sunny weather and waterways which add to the allure.

Mullock Creek

Mullock Creek

San Carlos Park is positioned along the headwaters of Mullock Creek, a tributary of Estero Bay which leads directly to the Gulf of Mexico. “Estero” is a Spanish term for “Estuary” and as such, Estero Bay serves as a basin fed by inland streams and rivers as well as Gulf waters. Estero Bay was the first body of water to be officially designated as an Aquatic Preserve by the State of Florida, a move that enacted measures to help ensure its ecological quality through protection and preservation standards. With its dense system of mangroves, Estero Bay is a vital habitat to a vast variety of avian species, manatees as well as other critters, fisherman included. The waters here rival anywhere in the world for redfish and snook, but also serve as a great place for kayaking or escaping from distractions of the modern world. It is a nature setting quite like none other. The area is also an essential part of The Great Calusa Blueway, a 190 miles canoe and kayak trail that winds among the coastal waters of Southwest Florida. Mullock Creek offers convenient access to all of it. The Creek is also home to the historic Mullock Creek Marina. The marina is so nestled amidst the mangroves and back waters that most might be unaware of its existence if not for the experiences shared by local fisherman. Mullock Creek Marina has nearly two dozen wet slips and more than 50 dry slips. Visitors can rent small boats from here or enjoy a cold beverage at the Creek Shack. For those who enjoy fishing and boating, life in Southwest Florida never disappoints. San Carlos Park is minutes from a range of fishing, beaching and boating destinations, but Mollock Creek remains a near legendary location in the immediate vicinity.

Moscow Ballet at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Center

San Carlos Park is also conveniently close to major performance centers such as the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. In addition to serving as a home to Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, the B.B. Mann routinely hosts concerts by comedians and legendary recording artists. It also stages lavish productions by some of the top touring acts in the country. Concerts and other cultural events are also conducted at nearby Germain Arena, from shows on-ice and circus acts to rodeos, monster truck shows and more; there’s much in the way of entertainment appreciably close to San Carlos Park.