Marco Island Historical Society Announces Marco on the Move Exhibit

Marco Island Historical Society (MIHS)presents the island’s early modes of transportation from boats and bicycles to wheels and wings with the new exhibit, Marco on the Move, at the Marco Island Historical Museum (MIHM) November 8, 2025, through March 21, 2026. A free and open-to-the-public exhibit reception will be held November 13 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in conjunction with the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the opening of Modern Marco Island to the world. 

“Marco on the Move explores how developments in transportation shaped Marco Island’s past and present,” says MIHM Manager and exhibit curator Rebecca Mazeroski. “From dugout canoes to trains, and everything in between, this exhibit shows the many ways people have arrived, explored, and fallen in love with this island paradise through the centuries.”   

The exhibit will feature stories from the past, like how Ivan Burley, the bridgetender of the original wooden swing bridge, connected Marco Island to the mainland through Goodland. It also includes the story of Thelma Heath’s memorable move to Marco Island with her husband, Frank, and their three-year-old son, Frankie, in 1936. Frank was the new principal and teacher at Scripps School. The young family traveled via a single-lane shell road to then battle mosquitoes as they waited to board the ferry to take them to the island they would call home. 

As part of the celebration of Modern Marco’s 60th anniversary, the November 13 reception will showcase updates to the Modern Marco Island exhibit. Recent additions include a restored Rolfe Nyberg gulls sculpture commissioned for the front of the Deltona Corporation sales office in 1965 — the year the Mackle Brothers’ Marco Island community opened. Another new addition is an interactive Florida House app that makes it possible for visitors to step into the 60s to select and virtually decorate a 1960sMackle-built house. The evening will include refreshments and musical performances by Alan Sandlin and Frankie Ray Ortiz. 

The Marco Island Historical Museum is located at 180 S. Heathwood Drive. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Admission is free and the site is fully ADA compliant and accessible to all visitors. For information call 239-389-6447 or visit www.themihs.org.