# Barron Collier

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{{Short description|American entrepreneur}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Barron Collier
| image         = Barron Collier00.jpg <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [brackets](/source/brackets) -->
| alt           = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1873|03|23}} <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year with {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} unless the exact date is already widely published, as per [WP:DOB](/source/WP%3ADOB). For people who have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. -->
| birth_place   = [Memphis, Tennessee](/source/Memphis%2C_Tennessee), U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1939|03|13|1873|03|23}} <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) -->
| death_place   = [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan), [New York](/source/New_York_City), U.S.
| other_names   = 
| occupation    = Entrepreneur
| resting_place      = [Woodlawn Cemetery](/source/Woodlawn_Cemetery_(Bronx%2C_New_York))
}}
'''Barron Gift Collier''' (March 23, 1873 – March 13, 1939) was an American advertising entrepreneur who became the largest private landowner and developer in [Florida](/source/Florida), as well as the owner of a chain of hotels, bus lines, several banks, newspapers, a telephone company, and a steamship line.

==History==
Collier was born in [Memphis, Tennessee](/source/Memphis%2C_Tennessee). He quit school at 16 to work for the [Illinois Central Railroad](/source/Illinois_Central_Railroad). He founded the Consolidated Street Railway Advertising Company of [New York City](/source/New_York_City) within four years. In 1907, Barron Collier married Juliet Gordon Carnes, also a native of Memphis. 

In 1911, they visited [Fort Myers, Florida](/source/Fort_Myers%2C_Florida) on vacation and became interested in the area. They bought [Useppa Island](/source/Useppa_Island) in [Lee County](/source/Lee_County%2C_Florida) for $100,000.<ref name="HistoryBCC">{{cite web |access-date=December 10, 2024 |title=The History of Barron Collier Companies |url=https://barroncollier.com/history/ |website=Barron Collier Companies}}</ref> Over the next decade, the Colliers went on to acquire more than {{convert|1300000|acres}} of land in [Southwest Florida](/source/Southwest_Florida). His holdings were from [Ten Thousand Islands](/source/Ten_Thousand_Islands) to Useppa Island and from present-day [Naples](/source/Naples%2C_Florida) into the [Everglades City](/source/Everglades_City%2C_Florida) and [Big Cypress](/source/Big_Cypress) areas. He also owned 90% of [Marco Island](/source/Marco_Island%2C_Florida). They were the largest private landowners in the state.<ref name="FIU"/>

Collier was an avid fisherman and established the [Izaak Walton](/source/Izaak_Walton) Club at their Useppa Island resort; <!-- surely the IW bio covers the following adequately: Named for the seventeenth century author of ''The Compleat Angler'', --> it became one of the most exclusive sporting clubs in the world. Collier next developed golf courses and improved the Rod and Gun Club, a hunting{{dubious|reason= really? No fishing allowed???|date=December 2017}} club in Everglades City.

He invested millions of dollars to transform and develop the wilderness, including drainage of the [Everglades](/source/Everglades) and construction of the [Tamiami Trail](/source/Tamiami_Trail). When road construction on the western side (Naples) of the Trail faced financial difficulties, Collier agreed to finish the highway on the condition that a new county be named in his honor. The [Florida Legislature](/source/Florida_Legislature) obliged, creating [Collier County](/source/Collier_County%2C_Florida) on May 8, 1923, with Everglades (today's Everglades City) as the county seat.<ref name="HistoryBCC"/><ref name="PeopleOfInfluence">{{cite web |title=People of influence: Barron Collier |work=The News-Press |url=https://www.news-press.com/story/life/130-years/2014/08/26/people-influence-barron-collier/14598221/ |date=August 26, 2014 |access-date=December 10, 2024}}</ref><ref name="FIU">{{cite web |access-date=December 12, 2024 |title=Everglades Biographies |url=https://everglades.fiu.edu/DCC/everglades/reclaim/bios/collier.htm |website=Everglades Digital Library |publisher=Florida International University Libraries}}</ref>
<!--He served as a special commissioner for public safety in Florida during the [1926 Miami hurricane](/source/1926_Miami_hurricane).<ref name="PeopleOfInfluence"/>
In New York, serving as special deputy commissioner for public safety, he introduced white and yellow traffic divider lines on highways.{{cn|date=December 2024}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.colliergov.net/Index.aspx?page=157 |title=Barron Gift Collier |publisher=CollierCountyFl.gov |accessdate=August 19, 2018 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626123009/http://www.colliergov.net/Index.aspx?page=157 |archivedate=June 26, 2010 }}</ref>-->

He also had extensive property in [Pocantico Hills, New York](/source/Pocantico_Hills%2C_New_York), which bounded the [Rockefeller family](/source/Rockefeller_family) estate. The estate was named Overlook and had its own private theater<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 16, 1928 |title=AT 16, S.C. COLLIER RUNS OWN THEATRE; Son of Barron Collier is an Independent Producer at Pocantico Hills |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/09/16/archives/at-16-sc-collier-runs-own-theatre-son-of-barron-collier-is-an.html |access-date=December 25, 2025 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and a private racing club (precursor of the current [Sports Car Club of America](/source/Sports_Car_Club_of_America)<ref>{{cite web |last=Welty |first=Richard |title=Introduction to the SCCA |url=http://www.na-motorsports.com/Organizations/SCCA/Introduction.html |access-date=29 May 2010 |work=North American Motorsports Pages}}</ref>). The Rockefellers acquired Overlook after his death; it is now part of the [Rockefeller State Park Preserve](/source/Rockefeller_State_Park_Preserve). Collier contributed significantly to the building of the famous [Union Church of Pocantico Hills](/source/Union_Church_of_Pocantico_Hills), alongside the Rockefellers.

Collier died March 13, 1939, in [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan), survived by his wife and three sons, Barron Jr., Miles, and [Samuel (Sam)](/source/Sam_Collier), and was interred at [Woodlawn Cemetery](/source/Woodlawn_Cemetery_(Bronx%2C_New_York)) in [the Bronx](/source/the_Bronx), New York.<ref>{{cite newspaper |title=BARRON COLLIER DIES SUDDENLY, 65; Leader in Advertising on Street Cars and in Subways Began Career at 17 HEADED MANY COMPANIES Once Special Deputy Police Commissioner--Owned Vast Tracts of Land in Florida |work=New York Times |date=March 14, 1939 |page=27}}</ref>

His family members participated in many sports, including motorsports, and especially [road racing](/source/road_racing). His sons Sam, Miles, and Barron Jr. began hosting informal races in [Westchester County, New York](/source/Westchester_County%2C_New_York), near the Collier estate in Pocantico Hills, in the early 1930s, and founded the Automobile Racing Club of America in 1933. It would be renamed in 1944 as the [Sports Car Club of America](/source/Sports_Car_Club_of_America). Miles, [Cameron Argetsinger](/source/Cameron_Argetsinger), and [Briggs Cunningham](/source/Briggs_Cunningham) were instrumental in founding{{when|date=December 2017}} the [Watkins Glen](/source/Watkins_Glen_International) racing facility near one of their summer retreats. Juliet worried about the risks of racing and tried to influence her sons against it; Sam would indeed die in a racing accident at Watkins Glen in 1950.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sam Collier, 38, Killed in Racing Accident in N.Y. |work=Fort Myers News-Press |date=September 24, 1950 |accessdate=July 23, 2020 |url=https://newspapers.com/clip/55911548/ |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}</ref> Briggs's renowned automobile collection was purchased by a member of the Collier family, and is now part of the [Revs Institute](/source/Revs_Institute) for Automotive Research in Naples, Florida, which is open to the public.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://revsinstitute.org/the-collection/ |title=Vehicles Archive}}</ref>

The Collier County Public School System named [Barron G. Collier High School](/source/Barron_G._Collier_High_School) in honor of Barron Gift Collier, Sr.
<!--* A chain of hotels, such as the [Hotel Pennsylvania](/source/Hotel_Pennsylvania) in New York City, the [Hotel Lafayette](/source/Hotel_Lafayette) in Buffalo, and the [Hotel New Yorker](/source/Hotel_New_Yorker) in Miami Beach.<ref name="BarronCollierCommercial">Barron Collier Commercial - Investing in Real Estate - Naples, FL. https://www.barroncolliercommercial.com/.</ref>
* Bus transportation, through the [Fifth Avenue Coach Company](/source/Fifth_Avenue_Coach_Company), operational in New York City and other locales<ref name="BarronCollierCommercial"/>
* Banking institutions like the Bank of Everglades, Immokalee State Bank, and Collier County Bank<ref name="BarronCollierCommercial"/>
* Media outlets, including [Collier's Weekly](/source/Collier's_Weekly), the [New York American](/source/New_York_American), and the [Miami Daily News](/source/Miami_Daily_News)<ref name="BarronCollierCommercial"/>
* The Collier County Telephone Company, offering telephone services to rural regions in Southwest Florida<ref name="BarronCollierCommercial"/>
* Atlantic Coast Line Steamship Company, a steamship line connecting Florida and Cuba<ref name="BarronCollierCommercial"/>
* Agriculture through citrus groves, cattle ranches, sugar cane plantations, and vegetable farms.<ref name="CollierResources">Collier Resources Company - Barron Collier Companies. https://barroncollier.com/collier-resources/.</ref>
* Property development ventures, including the [Tamiami Trail](/source/Tamiami_Trail), [Everglades City](/source/Everglades_City), and multiple master-planned communities<ref name="CollierResources"/>
* Energy sectors, through oil and mineral exploration via a subsidiary called Collier Resources Company.<ref>Commercial Properties | Barron Collier Companies. https://barroncollier.com/commercial/.</ref>-->

==Personal relationships==

* His three sons, Barron Jr., Miles, and Samuel carried on his legacy after inheriting his business. They served in [World War II](/source/World_War_II) and took charge of the family enterprise afterward. They broadened the company's horizons into various sectors.<ref>[https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2014/02/18/racing-heroes-miles-and-sam-collier Racing Heroes - Miles and Sam Collier | Hemmings]</ref> All three sons had untimely deaths: Barron Jr. in 1976, Samuel in a 1950 car racing accident, and Miles from a viral infection in 1954. They were passionate about car racing and founded the Automobile Racing Club of America.
* John H. Phipps, his friend and business collaborator, was a wealthy industrialist and philanthropist. They worked together on several projects, including the development of [Useppa Island](/source/Useppa_Island) and the construction of the Hotel Pennsylvania.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/CollierMuseums/posts/barron-and-juliette-collier-had-3-sons-barron-jr-samuel-and-miles-of-the-3-sons-/4666345296759262/ Barron and Juliette Collier had 3... - Collier County Museums - Facebook]</ref>{{better source needed|date=December 2024}} They were also avid fishers and hunters and were members of the Izaak Walton Club on Useppa Island.
* His mentor and friend, [Theodore Roosevelt](/source/Theodore_Roosevelt), the 26th president of the United States, greatly influenced him. They met in 1905 and shared mutual admiration. Collier supported Roosevelt's conservation projects and progressive stances.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/tr/ Watch TR | American Experience | Official Site | PBS]</ref> He visited Roosevelt at [Sagamore Hill](/source/Sagamore_Hill) and went on a hunting expedition with him in [Louisiana](/source/Louisiana).
* His business associate, [Henry Flagler](/source/Henry_Flagler), was instrumental in Collier's vision for Florida. Both men aimed to turn Florida into a modern state and a travel hotspot. Collier gained insights from Flagler's past experiences in developing Florida's east coast.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/profile/collier/ Collier family - Forbes]</ref> He even collaborated with Flagler's [Atlantic Coast Line Railroad](/source/Atlantic_Coast_Line_Railroad) to bring rail service to Southwest Florida.

==Political connections==
Collier had relationships with several U.S. Presidents, including [Theodore Roosevelt](/source/Theodore_Roosevelt), [Woodrow Wilson](/source/Woodrow_Wilson), [Calvin Coolidge](/source/Calvin_Coolidge), and [Herbert Hoover](/source/Herbert_Hoover). He also maintained ties with influential senators, governors, and diplomats.<ref name="HistoryBCC"/> His political involvements covered a range of causes, such as the promotion of the [Good Roads Movement](/source/Good_Roads_Movement), the establishment of the [Everglades National Park](/source/Everglades_National_Park), and support for the [League of Nations](/source/League_of_Nations).

==References==
{{reflist}}
* Gene M. Burnett, ''Florida's Past'', Volume 3, Pineapple Press, Sarasota, Florida, 1991
*{{Cite web |last=Clement |first=Gail |title=Reclaiming the Everglades / Barron Gift Collier |publisher=Florida International University |year= |url=http://everglades.fiu.edu/reclaim/bios/collier.htm |accessdate=February 28, 2011}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{Find a Grave|14750043}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Barron}}
Category:American businesspeople
Category:American motorsport people
Category:Auto racing executives
Category:Collier County, Florida
Category:Businesspeople from Memphis, Tennessee
Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)
Category:1873 births
Category:1939 deaths

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Barron Collier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barron_Collier) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barron_Collier?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.