A true pioneer, Barron G. Collier helped found the Boy Scouts of America and served as first commissioner of Public relations.  He was recognized for his service to scouting with the prestigious Silver Buffalo Award in 1932.  Collier also help found Interpol, the world's largest police organization. He invented the white and yellow dividing lines on America's highways and served as a special deputy commissioner for public safety in New York, where he campaigned against jaywalking.  His less known enterprises included subway gum machines and also owning, for a time,  Luna Park in Coney Island.

FDR-Collier-Scouts
Bear Mt. Scout Camp 1921

Radium Springs, Georgia

Radium Springs is located in Dougherty County, Georgia and is best known as the location of one of the "Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia" - the largest natural spring in the state.  The water contains trace sources of radium and the temperature is 68 degrees  year round.  Prior to the Radium discovery, the site was known as "Blue Springs".  Barron G. Collier purchased the site in the 1920's and developed it as a popular and successful spa and resort.

Collier County Museums

The Collier County Museums represent five museums within Collier County, Florida.  Each museum presents information on the history, heritage, culture and evolution of life and ecology in the Everglades.  The museums were established in 1978, and display the people, places, and events that mark the area's history.  The museums offer five separate facilities, each providing a different view of the area's past. 

Barron G. Collier High School

Barron G. Collier High School is a four-year high school located in Collier County, Florida, northeast of the city of Naples.  The school opened in 1978 as the third high school in the area.  It has enjoyed a rich history  and was included in Newsweek's 2006 list of top U. S. high schools.

The Juliet Carnes Collier Hospital was founded in the 1920s at Everglades City, Florida.  Today the building is a private residence ... and looks the same.

The author digs into the life of the man who created a successful advertising business in Memphis and expanded it in New York.  Then he invested in Florida and became the largest landowner there ... bought hotels, operated a telephone system, published newspapers, and undertook a road-building project across the Everglades swamps.  At the same time he kept up his New York interests as a civic leader who was generous with his wealth.

Cowles Myles Collier was Barron's father.  He was an officer in the U. S. Navy, from Virginia, but resigned his commission when the Civil War began.  Afterwards he became a Colonel in the Confederate States Army.  Cowles was considered an "artist of note" during his lifetime.  His paintings are mostly watercolors of boat-ocean scenes.  The paintings below are in the collection of Wesleyan College in Georgia.

Cowles Collier

Painting

Obit

Mother Hannah

Brother Charles

Sister Georgia

Uncle C.H. Collier

Juliet Gordon Carnes married Barron G. Collier, her childhood sweetheart, in 1907.  She was 23 and he was 34.  Their first child was born five months later and two more sons quickly followed.  In 1911 the Colliers visited Florida and fell in love with the state.  They bought an island, called Useppa, for $100,000.    Very little in print can be found about Juliet, but as a prominent member  of  New York society, one has an idea of the kind of life she led.  It is known that the Colliers were a close and frequently traveled as a family.  Juliet's father Samuel T. Carnes was a prominent Memphian.  He was responsible for bringing electricity and the first telephone to Memphis.  He also had the first automobile in the city.

Juliet

Colliers 1907

K. Carnes

Two of Collier's sons, Cowles and Samuel, were accomplished racers, but neither became a champion of the sport.  Their main contribution to American motor sports is actually more significant.  They introduced the MG brand to the United States and founded the Automobile Racing Club of America.  Sam was born in 1912, followed by Myles in 1914.  Older brother Barron, Jr. was more like his father and tended to the business.

Barron, Jr.

C. M. Collier II

S. C. Collier

Cowles. - Le Mans 1950

Samuel- Le Mans 1950

Cowles & Samuel 1948

C. M Collier

G.B. Jr Obit

NY Social Resigter

56 W 70th  NYC

Useppa Island Home

Pocantico Hills, NY

WW1 Barron Collier Propaganda Posters . In 1918, Collier's Advertising Company created a series of 6 propaganda posters (11" x 21").  The design of the posters was simple and was meant to evoke contempt for the Germans, leaving no doubt that America was right in joining the war.  The red color used for Satin and Kaiser Wilhelm II helped intensify the feelings of anger towards the Germans.  By keeping the theme and colors the same in the series, the posters were easily identified as being part of the Collier series.  Today, the posters are very collectible and  average $1200 each.

Streetcar Advertising in America

Tennessean Woody Savage began collecting streetcar advertising signs a few years ago, and in the process, discovered Barron G. Collier who had become the father of streetcar advertising in America.  Woody was amazed that so few folks knew about Collier.  As a result of this chance encounter, he wrote a book about "Streetcar Advertising in America" with major sections devoted to Collier.  Recently Woody contacted the Historic-Memphis website and introduced us to Barron G. Collier , resulting in this page being developed.  Below:  A selection of Woody's great collection of Streetcar Advertising.