The Mound House on Fort Myers Beach

History buffs can soak up both history and nature on walking tours that will delight as you encounter old Florida at Mound House on Fort Myers Beach.  The stately house perched on a hill is Estero Island’s oldest standing structure located on an ancient Calusa Indian Mound.  Learn about Florida’s history and pre-history through archaeology and historical documents, and over 2,000 years of island life.  A unique adventure to see the site by boat or car, visitors can share a picnic lunch on the park grounds and enjoy the lovely view. The Mound House provides educational programs to the public and trained staff give public tours every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday free of charge throughout the year made possible by funding through the Florida Communities Trust.  New projects include a kayak landing area that brings visitors to the Great Calusa Blueway Kayak Trail in Estero Bay and the Shell Mound Exhibit, allowing visitors to walk inside the ancient Calusa Indian mound and see layers of shells, fish bones, earth and pottery shards.  The educational mission of Mound House further extends to its authentic landscaped grounds where the landscape mimics its historical roots. Local lore has it that as daylight approaches, a ghost can be seen in the second story windows of Mound House.  A figure can be barely seen facing the bay in the windows and then disappears.  The so-called Mound House ghost has been local lore for a long time arising from rumors that Native spirits are angry at the disruption to the site that had been a Calusa Mound shell.  Ghost sightings of a female figure moving along the floors when workers arrive in pre-dawn hours as well as objects having been moved in the Mound House has puzzled workers and volunteers for decades.  Is the house haunted?  Local lore says yes.