The History of Cape Coral: How a Swamp Became a Waterfront City

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

Cape Coral began in 1957, when two brothers from Baltimore, Leonard and Jack Rosen, and their company, Gulf American, picked a point of land called Redfish Point on the Caloosahatchee River. They dug canals to turn low, wet land into buildable lots. Then they sold those lots across the country by mail and with free airplane rides. Most of this story comes from the local history book Lies That Came True by Eileen Bernard, along with the other sources listed at the bottom of this page.

Photo: Downtown Cape Coral in 1961, still mostly open land. Restored and colorized from Lies That Came True by Eileen Bernard. Colors are added digitally.

Who built Cape Coral?

Cape Coral was built by a land company called Gulf American. It was run by the Rosen brothers, Leonard and Jack, who came from Baltimore. The Cape Coral History Museum and the Cape Coral Breeze both name them as the city’s founders. Ground was broken on November 4, 1957, and the first sales office opened in January 1958. Read more in who founded Cape Coral.

Why does Cape Coral have so many canals?

The land at Redfish Point was low and wet. To build on it, the company dug canals and used the dirt to raise the lots. The Cape Coral History Museum says the city has over 400 miles of navigable waterways, and that homesites were raised to about 5.5 feet above sea level. Not every canal reaches the Gulf, which is why each property should be checked on its own. Our page on why Cape Coral has so many canals goes deeper, and our guide to Gulf-access homes shows what to check before you buy.

How was Cape Coral sold?

Gulf American sold lots by mail order and with free airplane rides for buyers. The book says an ad campaign built around the slogan “Waterfront Wonderland” launched in January 1958. Early lots were priced for everyday buyers. The book and the Cape Coral Breeze both report prices from $990 for a water-view lot to $3,390 for a riverfront lot. The book says many buyers paid in small monthly payments. Those are old prices, not today’s prices.

The milestones that made it a town

Early residents had few services. The book says there was no grocery store for almost a year, and a shopping plaza opened in August 1960. Hurricane Donna struck in September 1960, when the city was only two years old. The Cape Coral Bridge opened on March 14, 1964, and gave drivers a direct route to Fort Myers. Read the history of the Cape Coral Bridge.

The book also says the first school and bank opened in 1964, and that the Cape Coral Rose Gardens, a tourist attraction, opened that year and closed in 1970. Cape Coral became an incorporated city in August 1970, according to the Cape Coral History Museum.

Two developers: Gulf American, then GAC

Gulf American ran Cape Coral from 1957 to 1969. In 1969 it was sold to General Acceptance Corporation, known as GAC. GAC kept developing the city, and Cape Coral became an incorporated city in August 1970.

The stories behind the history

• Who founded Cape Coral?: the 1957 flight and the Rosen brothers
• Why Cape Coral has so many canals: how the canal system came to be
• How Cape Coral got its name: the names that did not make it
• The history of the Cape Coral Bridge: the toll bridge that opened the city
• Fly and Buy: the free airplane rides that sold Cape Coral
• What a Cape Coral lot cost in 1959: and where to find today’s numbers
• The Rose Gardens: the lost attraction with 40,000 roses
• Hurricane Donna, 1960: the storm that hit a brand new city
• The city’s firsts: the first school, bank and church
• Gulf American, then GAC: the two companies that built and sold the city
• The Waterfront Wonderland campaign: how the land was sold to the whole country
• Mammoths and mastodons underground: the Ice Age fossils under the city
• When Hollywood filmed here: Route 66 and the 1966 movie The Fat Spy
• What came before: the wild river land and who owned it
• The giant fish of the river: Edison, record tarpon and the sawfish
• How the power got turned on: the 1957 handshake that lit the city

We are adding a story at a time, with more from the book on the way.

Sources

• Eileen Bernard, Lies That Came True (fifth printing, 2000). The main source for this page.
• Cape Coral History Museum, History of Cape Coral.
• Cape Coral Breeze, History of Cape Coral.
• Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral, History.
• Wikipedia, Gulf American Land Corporation, for the 1969 sale.

Eileen Bernard worked in Gulf American’s publicity department, so her book is an insider’s account of Cape Coral’s early years. We use it alongside the other sources listed here, and where they give different figures, we show both. Photos on this site are restored and colorized from the book.

Cape Coral history FAQ

When was Cape Coral founded?

The Rosen brothers’ company began building in 1957. Ground was broken on November 4, 1957, and sales began in early 1958. Cape Coral became an incorporated city in August 1970.

Who founded Cape Coral?

Leonard and Jack Rosen of Baltimore founded Cape Coral through their company, Gulf American Land Corporation.

Why does Cape Coral have so many canals?

The land was low and wet, so the developer dug canals and used the dirt to raise the lots. The Cape Coral History Museum says the city has over 400 miles of navigable waterways.

How big is Cape Coral?

The Cape Coral History Museum says the city covers close to 120 square miles. The book, written earlier, gives 104 square miles. Size figures differ by source and by year.