The
History of Boca Grande Florida, provided by the Boca
Grande Chamber of Commerce, is as unique as the
island it's self. Gasparilla Island's first inhabitants
were the Calusa Indians. They were living on nearby
Useppa Island by 5,000 B.C. and on Gasparilla Island
by 800 or 900 A.D. Charlotte Harbor was the center
of the Calusa Empire, which numbered thousands of people
and hundreds of fishing villages. The Calusa were a
hunting and fishing people who perfected the art of
maritime living in harmony with the environment. They
were a politically powerful people, dominating Southwest
Florida during their "golden age." Since the Calusa
had no written language, the only record we have of
their lifestyle and ceremonies comes from the oral
history of the (much later) Seminoles, from written
accounts of Spanish explorers, and from the archaeological
record. The first contact the Calusas had with the
white man came during Spanish explorations at the beginning
of the 16th century. By the mid 1700s the Calusas had
all but disappeared, the victims of European diseases,
slavery and warfare.
Early Settlers Were Fishermen
Just like the Indians, the earliest settlers came to
Gasparilla Island to fish. By the late 1870s several
fish ranches were operating in the Charlotte Harbor
area. One of them would later be at the north end of
Gasparilla Island in the small village called Gasparilla.
The fishermen, many of them Spanish or Cuban, caught
huge catches of mullet and other fish and salted them
down for shipment to Havana and other markets. In the
1940s the Gasparilla
Fishery was moved to Placida across the bay, where
it still stands today, and the fishing village died
out. Today, many of Boca Grande's early fishing families
are still represented in third, fourth and even fifth
generation descendants who pursue many different vocations,
including fishing.
Phosphate and Tarpon put Boca
Grande on the Map In 1885 phosphate rock was discovered
on the banks of the Peace River just above Punta Gorda
Florida, east of Gasparilla Island across Charlotte
Harbor. It was this discovery that would turn the south
end of Gasparilla Island into a major deep water port
(Boca Grande Pass is one of the deepest natural inlets
in Florida) and become responsible for the development
of the town of Boca Grande. Wealthy American and British
sportsmen began discovering the Charlotte Harbor area
for its fantastic fishing (notably for the world class
game fish tarpon) and hunting. It was these two discoveries
- phosphate rock and fishing - that would put Boca
Grande "on the map."
Phosphate was a valuable mineral
for fertilizers and many other products, and was in
great demand worldwide. At first the phosphate was
barged down the Peace River to Port Boca Grande, where
it was loaded onto schooners for worldwide shipment.
But by 1905 it was felt that building a railroad to
Port Boca Grande and carrying the phosphate to it by
rail should improve the method of shipment.
1905 officials of the Agrico subsidiary
Peace River Mining Company, along with engineers from
the U.S. Engineering Corps and 60 laborers, landed
on Gasparilla Island and surveying and construction
of the railroad began. Probably the only buildings
on the island at this time were the lighthouse and
the assistant keeper's house at the extreme southern
tip of the island. The railroad terminus with its 1,000-foot
long pier would be built nearby. The Charlotte Harbor
and Northern Railroad was completed in 1907. For the
next 50 years phosphate would be shipped out of the
state-of-the-art port virtually without disruption.
Phosphate laden trains were off loaded directly onto
ocean going freighters, and the ships took the valuable
commodity to ports all over the world. In 1969 Port
Boca Grande ranked as the fourth busiest port in Florida.
In the 1970s phosphate companies
increasingly switched their interest to ports in Tampa
and Manatee County. As more money was put into developing
these ports, traffic into Port Boca Grande began to
dwindle, and in 1979 the line was abandoned and the
phosphate industry in Boca Grande came to an end. Today
the port is used as an oil terminal of the Florida
Power and Light Company. Soon this too will end, and
the southern tip of the island will be restored to
its natural state.
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