Pioneers of the Past

One by one, each child went off and started a life of his or her own, but stayed in close contact with the rest of the family. In the early 1960s, Robert was diagnosed with prostate cancer and the children rallied around him. A decade before, they had offered to host a 50th anniversary for their parents, but their father had said he was too busy. This time, he agreed. For many relatives, the couple's 60th anniversary party was the last time they saw the family patriarch alive. He died just a few months later.

Henrie died two years after her husband's death. Although she was in her 80s, it was difficult for her family to accept. She spent weeks in the hospital in a coma, always with a child or grandchild at her side. Although she's been gone for 40 years now, her memory remains strong with the family. One of her granddaughters, Mary Giddens of Glades County, will always remember her as "a woman of strength and courage-and faith."

With only Mildred and Bobby left alive of the nine children, the family's history seemed destined to fade away. But thanks to the Collier County Commission, community support and a generous gift of land from the Roberts clan, the family's legacy will live on. The ranch is being listed on the National Register of Historic Places as county workers transform the homestead into a museum. Visitors from all over can begin not only to imagine but to understand the lives of Florida's enterprising settlers at the Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch.

The Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch is located in Immokalee on Roberts Avenue. For hours or more information, call (239) 658-2466.