WGCU News | PBS & NPR for Southwest Florida
'Decoding Ancient Florida: Mound House’ explores Calusa history at Fort Myers Beach landmark
By WGCU Documentary Unit
August 25, 2026 at 12:01 PM EDT
A new WGCU documentary short explores the Calusa history at the Mound House — the oldest structure on Fort Myers Beach — and how ancient engineering helped protect the historic home from Hurricane Ian's widespread destruction in 2022.
The documentary short is available on wgcuplus.org.
The Mound House location may have housed 100 or so Calusa people. Centuries after the Indigenous Calusa people elevated the coastal site with a massive shell mound, pioneers made this unique location their home.
“That you can come to one place and see that long history is amazing,” said Theresa Schober, a Florida archaeologist featured in the film.
Archaeologist Theresa Schober points out a mullet as she explains to WGCU journalist Janine Zeitlin how the Calusa people thrived off the estuaries surrounding their Mound House settlement, in a scene from <i>Decoding Ancient Florida: Mound House</i>. (1384x762, AR: 1.8162729658792651)
Mound House is an archaeological site, a nature preserve, a historic home and museum, and run by the Town of Fort Myers Beach. The documentary short offers behind-the-scenes looks at the site's Calusa midden and the new Artifact Preservation Center.
"The Calusa were here actually between 400 A.D. and 1650 so about 1,500 years or so," said Breanna Vaccaro, an archaeologist at the Mound House also featured in the short.
Vaccaro is leading an effort to revitalize thousands of artifacts, giving them “a new lease on life so we can keep learning from them.”
Archaeologist Breanna Vaccaro works in the Mound House's Artifact Preservation Center on Fort Myers Beach. (1920x1080, AR: 1.7777777777777777)
Decoding Ancient Florida: Mound House is the first in a series of documentary shorts exploring Calusa history in Southwest Florida.
Future ones will explore other vital Calusa archaeological sites, including Mound Key, Pineland and the Randell Research Center, and artifact collections at the Florida Museum of Natural History, and will also air on WGCU PBS.
The series is made possible by a grant from the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau and support from Howard K. and Nancy B. Cohen.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
The documentary short is available on wgcuplus.org.
The Mound House location may have housed 100 or so Calusa people. Centuries after the Indigenous Calusa people elevated the coastal site with a massive shell mound, pioneers made this unique location their home.
“That you can come to one place and see that long history is amazing,” said Theresa Schober, a Florida archaeologist featured in the film.
Archaeologist Theresa Schober points out a mullet as she explains to WGCU journalist Janine Zeitlin how the Calusa people thrived off the estuaries surrounding their Mound House settlement, in a scene from <i>Decoding Ancient Florida: Mound House</i>. (1384x762, AR: 1.8162729658792651)
Mound House is an archaeological site, a nature preserve, a historic home and museum, and run by the Town of Fort Myers Beach. The documentary short offers behind-the-scenes looks at the site's Calusa midden and the new Artifact Preservation Center.
"The Calusa were here actually between 400 A.D. and 1650 so about 1,500 years or so," said Breanna Vaccaro, an archaeologist at the Mound House also featured in the short.
Vaccaro is leading an effort to revitalize thousands of artifacts, giving them “a new lease on life so we can keep learning from them.”
Archaeologist Breanna Vaccaro works in the Mound House's Artifact Preservation Center on Fort Myers Beach. (1920x1080, AR: 1.7777777777777777)
Decoding Ancient Florida: Mound House is the first in a series of documentary shorts exploring Calusa history in Southwest Florida.
Future ones will explore other vital Calusa archaeological sites, including Mound Key, Pineland and the Randell Research Center, and artifact collections at the Florida Museum of Natural History, and will also air on WGCU PBS.
The series is made possible by a grant from the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau and support from Howard K. and Nancy B. Cohen.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.