Soon, Collier County will boast its first space dedicated to Black history. The Black History Baggage Car at Naples Depot Museum will tell the stories of Black Americans whose contributions were essential to the development of Collier County. The location in downtown Naples is in the same neighborhood many Black families have called home for more than a century. Awareness-building and fundraising efforts continue to complete the vision of creating a place for the Black community to share its history and to teach residents and visitors about its unique past.
The baggage car is a fitting venue for this project because railroads were a significant employer and source of social mobility for African Americans in Collier County and across the United States. Before railroads offered new opportunities, agriculture was the primary means of employment and income for African Americans. George Pullman, the inventor of the sleeper car in 1864, hired African Americans at the end of the Civil War, helping them lift themselves out of poverty. The famous Pullman porters accommodated passengers riding across the country and found new wealth and opportunities as they did so.
In Naples, development crawled along at the pace of seaborne travel until the 1920s, when two rival railroads came to the area within 10 days of each other. When the inaugural train—the famous Orange Blossom Special — pulled into the Naples Depot on Jan. 7, 1927, more passengers were on the train than people living in the town. Though brought to the depot later, the baggage car is typical of the Pullman baggage cars that would have carried mail, freight, passenger suitcases, and trunks into town that day.
At the Naples Depot, African Americans worked handling baggage and as porters, railroad servicemen, and track crew. One such worker was Cleveland Bass, employed at the depot from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. In 1969, Bass started his own business, Cleveland Bass Conveyance, the first moving company in Naples. Cleveland Bass Movers is still in business today, a testament to the vital contributions of Black Americans to Naples and the continuing legacy of Cleveland Bass.
The Naples Depot Museum is an especially appropriate place for Collier County’s first space dedicated to its Black history because the Tenth Street/Goodlette Road corridor has traditionally been home to Naples’ Black community. This area became an industrial hub, with sawmills and lumber yards taking advantage of the location near the railroad. During that time, Black residents lived in the neighborhoods north and east of the museum, including the former Sawmill Quarters and McDonald’s Quarters, and today’s River Park West and East.
The Friends of the Collier County Museums continues its fundraising efforts to achieve its goal to open soon and outfit the Black History Baggage Car, which is dedicated to uplifting the voices of Collier County’s people of color through exhibits, storytelling, and artifacts. For more information, visit www.blackhistorybaggagecarnaples.org or www.foccm.org.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Friends of the Collier County Museums’ 2nd Annual Jazz on the Lawn
Feb. 4, 2024 at Paradise Sports Complex, 3940 City Gate Blvd N., Naples
Enjoy an afternoon of live music, food, and fun.
From Concept to Reality: The Black History Baggage Car
Feb. 13, 2024 at Collier Museum at Government Center, 3331 Tamiami Trl E., Naples
Speakers: Museum Manager Lisa Marciano and Assistant Manager Rebecca Coffman.
Members of the Black community are encouraged to share their stories for inclusion in museum archives and exhibits.
www.blackhistorybaggagecarnaples.org