It was an archaeologist’s nightmare. In the spring of 1996, Bill Marquardt and Karen Walker were in the midst of efforts to persuade the Florida CARL (Conservation and Recreational Lands) program to purchase the Pineland Site Complex. Things were looking promising. The CARL staff had just given Pineland a Priority #11 ranking. It seemed likely that the complex would soon be purchased, thus preserving this archaeologically and environmentally significant part of southwest Florida. Then, in quick succession, two threats arose to vital parts of the complex.
The first call came in to Bill’s office on April 18. A Michigan physician who owned part of the 30-foot-high Randell Mound had begun building a house on the mound summit two days earlier. One of two major shell mounds at Pineland, the Randell Mound overlooks Pine Island Sound and, along with Brown’s Mound, flanks the outlet to the Calusa-built Pine Island Canal. Randell Mound might have been the site of the Pineland chief’s house, speculates Marquardt, or perhaps of a Calusa temple. According to Karen Walker, any evidence for the 16th-century Calusa would probably occur in the top few inches of the mound. And now, in mid-April of 1996, the top 16 inches had been graded away, and 29 3-x-3-x-3-foot holes had been dug into the top of the mound. Construction was imminent and with it further destruction.
Pineland supporters leaped into action in a last ditch attempt to rescue the property. The next four weeks saw a flurry of phone calls, letters, faxes, and e-mails all around the state as an all-out effort to purchase the mound got underway. Before it was over, the Florida Museum, the State Archaeologist, the Archaeological Conservancy, the Lee County Commissioners, the CARL staff, and scores of Lee County residents all played critical roles in the rescue. Supporters had some nerve-wracking moments when it seemed that everything was about to fall through, but by the middle of May the property had been secured and construction halted.
Everyone barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before the second emergency arose. A long-time supporter held an option-to-buy another highly important Pineland property, one with “plaza”-like features on it. The supporter wanted to sell the property to the state and was offering to do this at under appraised value, but he needed to sell right away so he could exercise an option to buy an adjoining land parcel. Individual buyers were waiting in the wings, a deadline loomed, and CARL funds were not immediately available. An important part of Pineland appeared to be slipping through our fingers. Then the Archaeological Conservancy stepped in and secured an option to buy the property. The Conservancy is now holding the parcel until CARL funds become available later this year.
View from flank of Browns Mound at Pineland, looking down into the "plaza". (Photo by W. Marquardt.)
Fortunately for Pineland, these eleventh-hour rescue efforts had happy endings, but that may not always be the case. As long as portions of the site complex remain in private hands, unexpected dangers can arise, threatening the integrity of the irreplaceable archaeological and environmental features. The need for such heroic rescue efforts reminds us all of the importance of a successful CARL purchase. Once acquired by the state, the Pineland Site Complex will be protected and preserved for the citizens of Lee County and Florida to learn from and to enjoy. Only then will we really be able to breathe that sigh of relief.
