Captiva is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Lee County, Florida Lee County is located in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 760,822. The county seat is Fort Myers (with a population of 86,395 as of the 2020 census), and the largest city is Cape Coral with an esti ...

, United States. It is located on Captiva Island. As of the 2020 census the population was 318, down from 583 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area Lee County is located in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 760,822. The county seat is Fort Myers (with a population of 86,395 as of the 2020 census), and the largest city is Cape Coral with an esti ...

. Located just offshore in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, the island is just north of

Sanibel Island Sanibel is an island and city in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,382 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The island, also known as Sanibel Island, constitut ...

. Captiva is accessed by a small bridge that crosses

Blind Pass Blind Pass is the strait that separates Captiva Island from Sanibel Island in Lee County, Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the ...

from

. There is a toll to use the

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

that goes from the mainland to Sanibel Island. Captiva's many large estates, condominiums, and businesses were destroyed during

Hurricane Charley Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Hurricane Frances, Frances, Hurricane Ivan, Ivan and Hurricane Jeanne, Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to ...

in 2004, but the island recovered shortly thereafter. In September 2022, Hurricane Ian caused significant damage to the causeway and to the infrastructure of the island.

Geography

Captiva is located in western Lee County at (26.518028, -82.191057). The CDP comprises the entire island, bordered to the west by the

and to the east by

Pine Island Sound Pine Island Sound is located in Lee County, Florida, lying between Pine Island and the barrier islands of Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, North Captiva Island and Cayo Costa, which separate the Sound from the Gulf of Mexico. The Sound connects t ...

. Captiva Drive is the main road on the island, running from the town center south to the Blind Pass bridge to Sanibel. It is a drive from Captiva to the

Sanibel Causeway The Sanibel Causeway is a causeway in Southwest Florida that spans San Carlos Bay, connecting Sanibel Island with the Florida mainland in Punta Rassa, Florida, Punta Rassa. The causeway consists of three separate two-lane bridge spans, and two- ...

and a total of by road from Captiva to the center of

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Captiva CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 28.15%, are water. Originally part of neighboring

to the southeast, it was severed in 1926 when a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

created a new channel,

. The channel filled in over subsequent years, but was reopened by dredging in the summer of 2009. Like Sanibel, Captiva is a

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...

to Pine Island (to the east of Captiva and north of Sanibel), however it is much narrower. The only automobile access to Captiva is via the

and Sanibel-Captiva Road, which ends in the CDP of Captiva, the island's only CDP. Captiva was homesteaded in 1888 and a tiny cemetery next to The Chapel by the Sea has the grave of the original resident, William Herbert Binder (1850–1932), an Austrian. Half the island is in private ownership, with "Millionaire's Row", luxury homes on the gulf and bay sides of Captiva Drive. The

South Seas Island Resort South Seas Island Resort is a resort located on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in the community of Captiva in Lee County, Florida. The original resort, South Seas Plantation, was opened in 1946 as a fishing resort by Clarence Chadwick, followi ...

entry gate is at the end of this road. Roosevelt Channel on the east side of the island, is named for

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

who fished there.

North Captiva Island North Captiva Island is an island in Lee County in Southwest Florida, located just offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. It lies just north of Captiva Island, separated by a channel called Redfish Pass which was created in a 1921 hurricane. It lies j ...

or Upper Captiva is another island, in turn severed from Captiva in a 1921 hurricane, creating

Redfish Pass Redfish Pass is a strait in Florida that connects Pine Island Sound with the Gulf of Mexico. It also separates Captiva Island on the south from North Captiva Island on the north. The pass was created by the hurricane of 1921 which divided the o ...

. North Captiva has power from lines that originate on the north end of Captiva, and is privately owned. The island can only be accessed via boat or small plane. Captiva was seriously damaged in August 2004 when the eastern

eyewall The eye is a region of mostly calm weather at the center of tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area, typically in diameter. It is surrounded by the ''eyewall'', a ring of towering thunderstorms where the most severe weat ...

struck North Captiva, immediately before hitting Charlotte Harbor to the north-northeast. Initial reports indicated that 160

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

s were destroyed and another 160 seriously damaged. Reports indicate that the

cut a path wide across the narrowest part of North Captiva, separating the island. The separation of the two halves of the island began three years earlier during a series of tornadoes caused by Tropical Storm Gabrielle that passed through the area in September 2001. The new pass filled in within a few years and is now back to its pre-Charley state. Most of the invasive Australian pines on the island blew over in the hurricane, making room for native mangroves and sabal palms. In September 2022, Category 4 Hurricane Ian made landfall in Upper Captiva with sustained winds of 150 mph. The Sanibel Causeway was heavily damaged by the hurricane. As a consequence, Sanibel and Captiva have no road access to the mainland United States.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 379 people, 194 households, and 130 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,150 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.42%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.79%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.26% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.53% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.79% of the population. There were 194 households, out of which 10.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.9% were married couples living together, 1.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.25. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 8.2% under the age of 18, 1.1% from 18 to 24, 14.2% from 25 to 44, 44.1% from 45 to 64, and 32.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $64,821, and the median income for a family was $120,488. Males had a median income of $31,875 versus $44,861 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $76,139. None of the population or families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

Economy

South Seas Island Resort, Captiva Island, Florida

Travel, tourism and hospitality rank as the number one industry on Captiva Island (and its sister island immediately to the south, Sanibel). Noted guests to Captiva include Teddy Roosevelt,

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

(who regularly landed his plane on the beach in front of 'Tween Waters Inn),

Anne Morrow Lindbergh Anne Spencer Morrow Lindbergh (June 22, 1906 – February 7, 2001) was an American writer and aviator. She was the wife of decorated pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, with whom she made many exploratory flights. Raised in Englewood, New Jers ...

and J.N. "Ding" Darling. Both the Old Captiva House restaurant and a number of guest cottages have been designated historically-significant sites by Lee County, Florida. The Bubble Room was built on Captiva Island in 1979 by the Farquharson family. It is a multi-themed restaurant featuring old toys from the 1930s and 1940s and the collection continues to grow each day. The Bubble Room plays music from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. The Bubble Room was one of the first establishments on Captiva Island to originate the bright pastel colors now widely used there.

and Yacht Harbor, a resort, occupies the northern two miles (3 km) of Captiva Island.

Pepperidge Farm Pepperidge Farm is an American commercial bakery founded in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, who named the brand after her family's 123-acre farm property in Fairfield, Connecticut, which had been named for the pepperidge tree. A subsidiary of the Camp ...

created a cookie in honor of the island. It is a Dark Chocolate Brownie cookie called Captiva. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' selected Sanibel and Captiva Islands as one of the 10 Best Places for Second Homes in 2010.

History

According to local folklore, Captiva got its name because the

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

captain

José Gaspar José Gaspar, also known by his nickname Gasparilla (supposedly lived c. 1756 – 1821), is an apocryphal Spain, Spanish pirate, the "Last of the Buccaneers " who legend says terrorized the Gulf of Mexico for many years from his base in southwest ...

(Gasparilla) held his female prisoners on the island for ransom. However, the supposed existence of José Gaspar is sourced from an advertising brochure of an early 20th-century developer, and may be a fabrication. Around 3000 B.C., the sands of Captiva started to erode, resulting in the eventual formation of Sanibel Island. The Gulf of Mexico waters were eight feet lower than they are today. It is said that the first inhabitants of Captiva were the

Calusa The Calusa ( ) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. At the time of ...

Indians. The population of the Calusa is believed to have reached as many as 50,000 people. "Calusa" means "fierce people", and they were described as a war-like people. The Calusa Indians were resistant to colonization and attacked any explorers who came into their territory. Calusa Indians built their houses on stilts without walls. They wove palmetto leaves together to build roves (twisted strands of fibers). The Calusa Indians fished for food on the coast, bays, rivers, and waterways. They did not farm. "The Calusa Indians did not farm like the other Indian tribes in Florida. Instead, they fished for food on the coast, bays, rivers, and waterways. The men and boys of the tribe made nets from palm tree webbing to catch mullet, pinfish, pigfish, and catfish. They used spears to catch eels and turtles. They made fish bone arrowheads to hunt for animals such as deer. The women and children learned to catch shellfish like conchs, crabs, clams, lobsters, and oysters." The Calusa Indians used the shells on the island for utensils, jewelry, tools, weapons, and ornaments. By the late 1700s most of the Calusa Indians had died out. Many were captured and sold as slaves while others died from diseases such as smallpox and measles. An Austrian named Binder (b. 1850) was on a German freighter headed to New Orleans when the ship crashed and he was shipwrecked off Boca Grande. He then washed up to shore on what has been since 1921, Upper Captiva. "He lived for several weeks on what the unoccupied island had to offer, built a makeshift raft, and got himself to Pine Island, where he was helped to return to his home. By 1888, due to his having fought with the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, he became naturalized, and was allowed to homestead on Captiva in 1888, when he was 38 years old. For 10 years he was Captiva's first and only inhabitant. He died in 1932."

Notable residents

Captiva was the full-time home of artist

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...

. His home still stands there.Lee, Daniel.
"The Art of Parallel Purposes"
nationalreview.com. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. Hi ...

, American pop artist, also had a home on Captiva.

In media

In the 1997 movie ''

G.I. Jane ''G.I. Jane'' is a 1997 American war drama film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, and Anne Bancroft. The film tells the fictional story of the first woman to undergo special operations training similar to the ...

'', Captiva Island is the location for the S.E.R.E. ( Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) training for the fictional U.S. Navy Combined Reconnaissance Team.

References

External links

Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce
Official website for Sanibel and Captiva Island businesses. {{authority control Census-designated places in Lee County, Florida Census-designated places in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico Beaches of Lee County, Florida Beaches of Florida Captiva Island Calusa