Harker was an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located in

Collier County Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, its population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from E ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States, about East of the city of

Bonita Springs Bonita Springs is a city in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 53,644 at the 2020 census, up from 43,914 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, on the state's sou ...

and Southeast of the town of

Immokalee Immokalee ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,557 at the 2020 census, up from 24,154 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Naples–Marco Island metropol ...

. Most maps indicate that Harker is located on State Road 29 between West Main Street to the North and Oil Well Road to the South. West of Harker is

Summerland Swamp Summerland may refer to: Film and television * ''Summerland'' (2010 film), an Icelandic film * ''Summerland'' (2020 film), a British film * ''Summerland'' (TV series), a 2004–2005 American drama series Literature * ''Summerland'' (novel), a ...

, and to the East is the

Okaloacoochee Slough The Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest is in the U.S. state of Florida. The forest is located in the southwestern part of the state, near Felda Felda may refer to: * Felda (Ohm), a river of Hesse, Germany * Felda (Werra), a river of Thuring ...

. Harker is believed to have been settled as a farming community in the 1930s. It was a stop on the

Haines City Branch The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Haines City Branch was a railroad line running from their main line in Haines City, Florida south through southern Central Florida. Track would stretch as far south as Everglades City, Florida, Everglades City u ...

branch of the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

and was home mainly to farm workers who road the train daily to work sites farther south. Farms in Harker were known for their "squash, potatoes, and large tomatoes". Harker is one of at least 15 communities in a contiguous 40-mile line that are now gone. State Road 29 and the railroad were both built through Harker in the 1920s.

References

Geography of Collier County, Florida Ghost towns in Florida {{CollierCountyFL-geo-stub

See also

References