Local historians credit a Naples resident, Ed Frank, as the "father" and inventor of the first swamp buggy. He developed his original "skeeter" between 1918 and 1920 for hunting on Florida's boggy prairies, using parts from a junked Model T Ford and an orange box for a seat.

As time went on, Frank perfected his design, adding an extra transmission and seven forward speeds, dual rear wheels, tire chains, an aluminum World War I airplane seat, and upside-down axles to give more clearance for driving over tree stumps. His brother-in-law, George Espenlaub, came up with the idea of covering the buggy's tires with another set of cut-out tires to increase the width of the wheels and provide greater traction.

The first swamp buggies, mud buggies, hunting wagons and woods buggies were developed before World War II and were used for everything from a Sunday afternoon outing with the family, to hunting trips into the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp. Their numbers steadily grew in Collier County after the war, when huge airplane and tractor tires became readily available.

Early buggy owners gathered each year, just prior to the opening of the hunting season in late October or early November, to fine tune and waterproof their buggies and to swop parts and building tips with their neighbors. These gatherings eventually led to informal races as owners challenged one another to a buggy race through the local mud course. Naples loved the new sport and became the birthplace of one of the most unusual spectacles in motor racing history - the swamp buggy race.

On November 12, 1949, the town hosted its first official Swamp Buggy Day Parade and Celebration. The sport grew in popularity during the mid-1950s and was featured on ABC's Wide World of Sports. Cash prizes also began to replace the turkeys and shotguns that were awarded to winners in the past. Today, drivers compete for thousands of dollars in prize money, cheered on by thousands of appreciative fans as they pit their buggies against each other and the world-famous "Sippy hole."