Gasparilla Island 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 ...

in southwest

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 northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States, straddling the border of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

and

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande, and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park. The island has been an important part of Florida folklore due to its connection to the pirate Gasparilla (José Gaspar), and has been a significant tourist]destination since the early 20th century.

Location

Gasparilla spans the border of Charlotte and Lee counties in

Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...

. To the west is 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 ...

, while to the east and south is Charlotte Harbor. To the north is Gasparilla Pass, separating Gasparilla from

Little Gasparilla Island Little Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, in Charlotte County. It is just north of Gasparilla Island, separated by Gasparilla Pass. It lies west of the town of Placida, separated by Placida Harbor. It is connected with ...

and the mainland.

History

Gasparilla was sparsely inhabited until the late 19th century, with the only permanent residents being local fishing families.Stephens, p. 9. In 1848 the United States military established an outpost at Boca Grande. In 1897 Albert W. Gilchrist, future governor of Florida, purchased land at Boca Grande and platted it for development as a town. According to Florida folklore, Gasparilla Island gets its name from the legendary

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 Spanish pirate, the "Last of the Buccaneers " who legend says terrorized the Gulf of Mexico for many years from his base in southwest Florid ...

(" Gasparilla", c. 1756–1821), who had his base on the island and purportedly hid his fabulous treasure there. Much of the development of this legend is the result of promotion by a local hotel and railroad line. The folklore account does not appear in writing until about 1900 when it was included in an advertising brochure for the

Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway is a historic railroad line that at its greatest extent serviced Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor and a major shipping port that once operated there. The railroad's principal purpose was to transpor ...

company.D'Ans, Andre-Marcel (1980).
The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth and History on Florida's West Coast"
. ''Tampa Bay History''. This brochure was given to the guests of the Boca Grande Hotel. It mentions that Gaspar's massive treasure, hidden somewhere on the island, had never been found. The version of the Gasparilla story told in the pamphlet influenced all later accounts, but is likely apocryphal. The name "Gasparilla" appears on maps dating to well before the time of the buccaneer; anthropologist Andre-Marcel d'Ans suggests it was actually named for a Spanish missionary named Gaspar or Gasparillo. In 1905, harbor dredging began and a Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railroad line was constructed, connecting Boca Grande to the outside world. Afterward Gasparilla was an important stop for

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

shipping, and would remain so until the

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

of the

Port of Tampa Port Tampa Bay, known as the Port of Tampa until January 2014, is the largest port in the state of Florida and is overseen by the Tampa Port Authority, a Hillsborough County agency. The port is located in Tampa, Florida near downtown Tampa's Cha ...

in the 1970s. In 1911 the first hotel, the

Gasparilla Inn The Gasparilla Inn & Club is a historic hotel at 500 Palm Avenue on Gasparilla Island in Boca Grande, Florida. With The Gasparilla Inn is one of the largest surviving resort hotels in Florida, constructed originally for wealthy northerners in the ...

, opened, and the island became a major vacation destination for the elite from

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

and

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 ...

. Although shipping has declined substantially since the last quarter of the 20th century, tourism remains important to the island's economy. ''The Wall Street Journal'' selected Gasparilla Island as one of the 10 Best Places for Second Homes.

References

External links

* {{authority control Gulf Coast barrier islands of Florida Islands of Charlotte County, Florida Islands of Lee County, Florida Islands of Florida