Sanibel is more than shells, sandy beaches and beautiful sunsets. Visitors can trace the footsteps from the island’s past as they meander along the Village trails that skirt a mangrove bordered by a pond.

In 1974, the City of Sanibel was incorporated to control the unbridled development on the island. Troubled by the destruction of Sanibel’s past, Elinore Dormer helped form the Historical Preservation Committee. Land was set aside for the Historical Village, and the committee raised the $3500 needed to move the donated Clarence Rutland House to its present site.

In 1984, the Rutland House became a museum. It was open one day a week, eight months of the year and staffed by members of the Historical Preservation Committee and a few other docents. Today with eight buildings, over 100 volunteers staff the museum, which is now open four days a week, ten months of the year.

The Old Bailey Store, Miss Charlotta’s Tea Room, and the Old Post Office were added in 1991 and 1992. With the additions of the Burnap Cottage and the Morning Glories houses in 1998 and 2001, the village was almost complete. The Old Schoolhouse, now a theater, was moved to the Village in December of 2004 and is undergoing renovations.

The buildings within the village, some dating back to 1898, have been fully restored by volunteers and stand as testament to a group of early pioneers who homesteaded Sanibel in 1888. They braved wars, hurricanes, and insects to establish roots and build a community.

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The naming of Sanibel and Captiva is part fact, part folklore.

The name Sanibel resulted from a series of mistakes by Spanish map makers who misinterpreted the abbreviation "s" which in Spanish means "south" or "saint." Early sailing charts show the island having a deep and protected harbor. A 1765 map names this harbor Puerto de S. Nivel, meaning "South Plane Harbor." Later, a pilot of the Spanish fleet reported in his journal that he sailed by Punto de Sanibel.

Ten years later a map called the island Sanibel, but over the years, other spellings surfaced. In 1833, a private investment group established the town of Sanibel at the island's east end. In the early 1900s, the "y" and "i" were interchangeable, as most writers used Sanibel, and it stuck!

The name Captiva first appeared on Spanish maps as Cautiva, meaning "single male captive." Island historian Elinore Dormer surmises that the name refers to Juan Ortiz, a young Spaniard captured by the Calusa in the early 1500s.

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