Immokalee, Florida

Immokalee is an unincorporated area and a census-designated place (CDP) in Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,154 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Originally the region was occupied by the Calusa Indians and centuries later occupied by the Seminole, after they moved down from the northern part of Florida. Initially the settlement was known as Gopher Ridge by the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians.Immokalee means "My Home" in Mikasuki language.

When the swamps were drained in the region, agriculture became the dominant industry. European-American hunters, trappers, Indian traders, cowmen, and missionaries moved in before the development of permanent villages. The first permanent settlement was founded in 1872.

In 1921 the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was extended south to Immokalee.

The Immokalee area is heavily agricultural. It is one of the major centers of tomato growing in the United States. In 1960, CBS News anchor Edward R. Murrow reported on the working conditions in the surrounding farms for his Harvest of Shame report for CBS Reports, which described the harsh lives of migrant workers.