Cape Coral’s Firsts: First School, First Bank, First Church

By Brenton Miebach, REALTOR® | Updated October 5, 2026

Cape Coral’s early firsts came fast. The first church service was held in March 1960 at the Nautilus Motel. The first shopping center opened in August 1960. The first full-time doctor arrived in 1962, the first library opened in November 1962, and Cape Coral Elementary opened in 1964. Dates vary by source, so we show the range. This page is part of our history of Cape Coral.

Photo: The Cape Coral Shopping Plaza in 1960, the city’s first shopping center. Restored and colorized from Lies That Came True by Eileen Bernard. Colors are added digitally.

Life before the stores

The book says Cape Coral had no food store for almost a year after the first homes went up. The first homes were finished in 1958, according to Wikipedia. Sources give different dates for the first supermarket. A 2017 Cape Coral history puts Elmer Tabor’s supermarket in August 1960, and a Cape Coral Breeze timeline lists the first grocery in 1962.

The Cape Coral Shopping Plaza was the first plaza. The Breeze says it was dedicated on August 20, 1960. The book says it opened on August 21.

The first church, doctor and library

The first church service was held by Lutherans at the Nautilus Motel on March 27, 1960. That group became Christ Lutheran Church, which says its pastor began the ministry in June 1961 and built its first building in 1964.

Dr. Robert Tate was the city’s first full-time doctor. He arrived in 1962 under contract to Gulf American, according to his obituary. The first library opened in November 1962 in the shopping plaza, according to the Breeze.

The first school and the first bank

Cape Coral Elementary, on Vincennes Boulevard, opened in 1964 with 213 students, according to the Breeze. The school says it was the first school built on the Cape. The book says it opened in the fall.

The book says Cape Coral Bank opened in early 1964 as the sixth bank in Lee County. One longtime resident’s obituary says the bank was already open when he joined in 1962.

Fire protection

Sources differ on the start of the fire department. The book says a volunteer firemen’s group began in 1961. The Breeze says the department began in 1962 as a volunteer district, and a milestones timeline says the Cape Coral Fire District was created in March 1963.

Getting the mail by boat

The book says mail came by boat from 1959 to 1963 and that the first post office was a few square feet in the back of the Surfside Restaurant’s small store. A map listing says the mail boat Santiva made its last trip on December 9, 1963. The book gives two different dates for the first mail delivery by boat, so we do not state one.

From settlement to city

Residents voted to incorporate Cape Coral as a city on August 18, 1970. For how the place began, read who founded Cape Coral, and for a lost attraction from the same years, read about the Cape Coral Rose Gardens.

Cape Coral firsts FAQ

When did Cape Coral get its first school?

Cape Coral Elementary opened in 1964, according to the Breeze and the school itself. The book says fall 1964.

When did Cape Coral get its first bank?

The book says early 1964. One resident’s obituary suggests the bank was open by 1962.

Where did the first church meet?

Lutherans held the first church service at the Nautilus Motel on March 27, 1960.

How did early residents get mail and groceries?

The book says mail came by boat, and a post office was tucked into the back of the Surfside Restaurant’s store. Sources give 1960 or 1962 for the first supermarket.

Who was the first doctor in Cape Coral?

Dr. Robert Tate, who arrived in 1962 under contract to Gulf American.

Sources

• Cape Coral Breeze, Cape Coral Shopping Plaza history
• Cape Coral Breeze, early history timeline
• Cape Coral Breeze, Through the Years: Milestones
• Captiva and Sanibel Island Sun, Cape Coral, a dream taking shape
• Captiva and Sanibel Island Sun, Christ Lutheran Church anniversary
• Captiva and Sanibel Island Sun, Cape Coral’s first doctor
• Cape Coral Elementary School, about our school
• Rare Charts, map of the Santiva mail boat route
• Wikipedia, Cape Coral, Florida
• Eileen Bernard, Lies That Came True (book)

Eileen Bernard worked in Gulf American’s publicity department, so her book is an insider’s account of Cape Coral’s early years. Many of these firsts come from the memories of the city’s pioneers, and where sources give different dates, we show them all.