It is home to the Brinton Environmental Center of the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base and is a field station for Mote Marine Laboratory.

A private, 2550-foot community airstrip (FD51) is located just south of the Overseas Highway on West Shore Drive at mile marker 25.

While Hudgins was the chief structural engineer for the City of Miami, he met Waren Niles, whose family owned a large part of Summerland since the 1900s.

In the fall of 1948 two hurricanes hit the Lower Keys with tidal surges that rose six feet and caused much flood damage to the area.

He purchased two surplus military buildings and had his construction crews secure them atop utility poles at the foot of what is Dobie Street today.

As property began to sell in his development, Hudgins moved his family to a small wooden home on Center Street to be closer to the post office.