COASTE | COMMUNITY
The year was 1895. Mary Bailey was living in Kentucky with seven children when, for reasons unknown, she moved to Sanibel Island with three of her adult sons — Earnest, Francis and Harry. Originally from Virginia, they came to farm in a frost-free environment, but quickly found the small, sandy plot of land they had purchased a challenge for many crops. So, they built a small house, settled in and went about planting watermelon, peppers and tomatoes while nurturing citrus and working whatever jobs they could find. During that time, a friendly relationship developed with an Island Inn guest and in 1899, the guest granted them use of a dock at the bay’s edge of what is today Bailey Road — and the original Bailey general store was founded by 28-year-old Frank, providing seed and supplies to the island by way of mail boats that arrived three times each day.
Over the years, the Bailey businesses prospered and the family grew. When ferryboats began bringing residents and guests to the islands, their first stopwasmost often the expanding store for provisions. And back at home, Frank’s family grew too — adding bedroom after bedroom as one after another child was born (including island legends Sam and Francis, Jr.), which is why the house is 90 feet long. Then along came 1963, when the drawbridge and causeway from Punta Rassa to Sanibel opened to ground traffic and the islands changed forever. In response, Bailey’s General Store relocated to its current location three years later. But the Bailey home along Periwinkle Way remained, in fact expanding over the years to 28 acres.
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