Randell Research Center
Introduction
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The Randell Research Center is located on Pine Island in Pineland, Florida, and is centered in the historic Ruby Gill house from the 1920s. The former home played a key part of Pineland’s development and growth as a city. Ruby and her husband Percy Gill moved to Pineland and built the now historic house in 1922 after purchasing acres of citrus groves. In 1925 Ruby became the town’s postmaster and had the post office built right next to her house. Gill, also having been a member of Lee County Electric Cooperative, was essential in having power brought to Pineland. The research center is a program from Florida’s Museum of Natural History and was officially established in 1996 after Donald and Patricia Randell donated over fifty acres of the Pineland archaeological site to the Florida Museum of Natural History and the University of Florida. The University of Florida, along with the museum, has been working in Pineland and its archaeology sites as far back as 1988.
Images
The Historic Ruby Gill House/ Headquarters for the Randell Research Center.
Visitors will be able to take self guided tours through the Calusa Heritage Trail.
Calusa Heritage Day celebrated every spring.
Backstory and Context
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The Randell Research Center is known for its many outdoor activities, including a .7-mile trail where guides take visitors through the life and history of the Calusa. On the trail, one can walk through canals, mounds, and many other historic archaeological sites and learn about the Calusa’s culture and what life in southwest Florida was like after the Calusa left. Visitors can even climb to the top of the site’s largest shell mound on their viewing platform. The trail also offers the opportunity to hold real Native American artifacts and experience over 2000 years of preserved civilization.
The Calusa were a tribe of indigenous people whose presence in Florida predated the arrival of the Spanish. The tribe lived along Florida’s southwest coast and were sedentary, surviving mostly on a marine-based diet. They were known for creating these giant trash mounds called middens sometimes referred to as “Florida’s mountains.”
Randell Research Center offers school tours and special events, such as Calusa Heritage Day which features lectures and events along with seafood in the “Calusa’s Tastings” tent and boat tours. Throughout the year, the trails are open for self-guided visits from sun up to sun down. Guided tours are offered in their peak season which is January through April, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Sources
"About the RRC." Florida Museum of Natural History. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.
"Randell Research Center Acquires Five Additional Acres." Randell Research Center Acquires Five Additional Acres | Pine Island News. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.
Florida Museum of Natural History. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.