Locat­ed on the Caloosa­hatch­ee Riv­er, it serves as a gate­way to South­west Flori­da. It began as a mil­i­tary fort dur­ing the Semi­nole Wars and lat­er became a pop­u­lar resort. His­toric build­ings, muse­ums, botan­i­cal gar­dens, and nature parks are pre­served here.