During the late 1800s, Seminole Indians living in isolated areas in Southwest Florida began developing relationships with European pioneers migrating inland. In 1885, William H. Brown and his family settled in the Immokalee area 40 miles northeast of Naples and began trading with the Seminoles. Immokalee was named after the Seminole word for "my home." In 1921, the Atlantic Coast Line railroad reached Immokalee providing transportation for exporting cattle and timber. From 1923, to the beginning of WWII, the population grew from approximately 43 to 578 residents.