In August 28, 1902, John Morgan Dean bought a 37 acre plot of land in Fort Myers.  The sellers were Ferdinand Peck and his wife Tilla Peck of Chicago.  The land was bordered by the Caloosahatchee River and Billy’s Creek. The selling price was $8500.

     The plan envisioned by Dean included an exclusive residential development with paved roads, sidewalks, landscaping and underground utilities. He held off with the project until he could be assured the potential buyers were willing to pay for these features.

     The project began in 1916.  Dean hired a crew to dredge and pump 150,000 cubic yards of sand from the Caloosahatchee River into the low lying swampy land of the future Dean Park.

     The first house in Dean Park was built in 1916.  It was a two story structure at 2716 Providence Street.The owners were Marvin and Mabel Picton recently moved from Tampa.

       Early during the home construction phase, the area was known as Hyde Park.  After John Morgan Dean recorded the subdivision with the Lee County Clerk of Courts in May , 1920, the area was known as Dean Park.

    This structure is located at 1528–42 Broadway (N.W. Corner of Main and Broadway), Fort Myers.    It was erected by Henry Colquitt in 1925.   It is Spanish Mission Style.

     Who was this Henry Colquitt?  Henry and his wife Jennie were native of Gross Pointe, Michigan.  It was here that they raised their family.  In Michigan, Mr. Colquitt was a successful real estate agent and broker.

     Sometime in the early 1900’s, the Colquitts relocated to Fort Myers.  First address that I can find for the couple was 4 Rhode Island Avenue.  Not much was known about this address.  In 1928, Henry and Jennie bought a lot in Dean Park at 2781 Rhode Island Avenue, Fort Myers.  Cost was $2,000.    They had a two story craftsman airplane style brick house constructed.  Airplane style refers to the appearance of the recessed second floor over the broad roof eaves.

     Henry continued his real estate career  in the building he had constructed at the corner of Main and Broadway, Fort Myers.  He was also one of the officers of the Caloosahatchee Bridge Company.

     Eventually, he sold the building to W.H. Reynolds,Sr.  He also used the building for his real estate office.

     Henry lived in the house at 2781 Rhode Island Avenue until his death in 1935.  His wife lived in the house until 1936 (the time of her death).  The house was sold by the estate in 1942.

    Over the years the building has been remodeled many times.  It currently is used as rental property.

Located on the corner of of 2nd Street and Jackson Street is a somewhat dilapidated looking two story red brick building. Room air conditioning units are seen in many windows. The name across the top of the front entrance is Andrew D Gwynne Institute.

The building was named after Colonel Andrew D. Gynne. He was a frequent winter visitor to the Fort Myers area. He was a wealthy Tennessee cotton broker and wholesaler. He had concerns about the poor state of the public schools in Lee County.

He was one of those individuals who put his money where his mouth was. He pledged $8000 towards the building of a new school. Unfortunately, he died before he could fulfill his pledge. However,his wife Andrea and his son Captain William F. Gynne pledged to match any money raised for the new school project.

The school was eventually built for a total cost of $45,000 and it opened on October 19, 1911. It was named the Andrew D. Gynne Institute.

It was a full accredited state of the art facility. It provided classes for students K-12. It had 10 classrooms. There was an office for the principal. There was a library. There was a 500 seat auditorium. There were 4 bathrooms, water fountains, and heat.

Due to expanding student population, a separate high school building was constructed in 1914.

The building currently serves as an annex for the school board of Lee County