Boca Grande is a small residential community on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida. Gasparilla Island is a part of both Charlotte and Lee counties, while the actual village of Boca Grande, which is home to many seasonal and some year-round residents, is entirely in the Lee County portion of the island. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Boca Grande is known for its historic downtown, sugar sand beaches, blue water and world class fishing.
The Seminole Gulf Railway is a short line freight and passenger excursion railroad headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, that operates two former CSX Transportation railroad lines in Southwest Florida. The company's Fort Myers Division, which was previously the southernmost segment of CSX's Fort Myers Subdivision, runs from Arcadia south to North Naples via Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Estero, and Bonita Springs. The company's other line, the Sarasota Division, runs from Oneco south through Sarasota. Seminole Gulf acquired the lines in November 1987 and operates its own equipment. The company's first train departed Fort Myers on November 14, 1987.
José Gaspar, also known by his nickname Gasparilla, is a fictional Spanish pirate who terrorized the Gulf of Mexico from his base in southwest Florida during Florida's second Spanish period. Though details about his early life, motivations, and piratical exploits differ in various tellings, they agree that the 'Last of the Buccaneers" was a remarkably active pirate who amassed a huge fortune by taking many prizes and ransoming many hostages during his long career and that he died by leaping from his ship rather than face capture by the U.S. Navy, leaving behind his still-hidden treasure.
Charlotte Harbor may refer to:
Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee 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, and it has been a significant tourist destination since the early 20th century.
The Gasparilla Island Lights are on Gasparilla Island in Boca Grande, Florida. The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse is on the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, and marked the Boca Grande Pass entrance to Charlotte Harbor.
Withlacoochee State Trail is a 46-mile (74 km) long paved, multi-use, non-motorized rail trail in Florida located in Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties. It follows along the Withlacoochee River and passes through the Withlacoochee State Forest. It is the longest paved rail trail in Florida.
The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway Depot is a historic Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway (CH&N) depot in Boca Grande, Florida. It is located at Park and 4th Streets. The station was built by the CH&N in 1910; the railroad's parent company, the American Agriculture and Chemical Company, had several phosphate mines in the area and wanted a railroad to ship its phosphate and other goods. The company played an important role in Boca Grande's early development, both by building the railroad and station and by opening a hotel and selling land. The station continued service when the railroad was acquired by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in the 1920s. Rail service began to diminish during the Great Depression, and later during the post-World War II period, when it closed in 1958. Until its closure, the railroad was the only land connection between Boca Grande and mainland Florida.
Charlotte Harbor Estuary, the second largest bay in Florida, is located on the Gulf of Mexico coast of west Florida with two thirds lying in Charlotte County, Florida and one in Lee County. The harbor's mouth is located behind Gasparilla Island, one of the many coastal barrier islands on the southwest coast of Florida, with access from the Gulf of Mexico through the Boca Grande Pass between Gasparilla Island on the north and Lacosta Island on the south. Charlotte Harbor covers about 270 sq mi (700 km2)
The Florida Southern Railway was a railroad that operated in Florida in the late 1800s. It was one of Florida's three notable narrow gauge railway when it was built along with the South Florida Railroad and the Orange Belt Railway. The Florida Southern was originally chartered to run from Lake City south through central Florida to Charlotte Harbor. However, with the influence of Henry B. Plant, it operated with two discontinuous segments that would be part of the Plant System, which would later become part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.
The Boca Grande Causeway is a causeway located in Charlotte County, Florida, connecting the community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island with the mainland near Placida. The 2.5-mile (4.0 km) causeway crosses Gasparilla Sound and consists of three bridges, and is the only vehicular access to the island.
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 transport phosphate mined along the Peace River and in the Bone Valley region of Central Florida to the port to be shipped. It also brought passengers to the island community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, and is largely responsible for making Boca Grande the popular tourist destination it is today. Part of the line remains in service today between Mulberry and Arcadia, which is now owned and operated by CSX Transportation. Today, it makes up CSX's Achan Subdivision and part of their Brewster Subdivision.
The Legacy Trail is an 18.5-mile (29.8 km) multi-use recreational rail trail connecting Sarasota and Venice, Florida. It runs along a former portion of the Seminole Gulf Railway corridor. The trail runs from the Historic Venice Train Depot to Fruitville Road in Sarasota. The original segment of the trail from Venice to Palmer Ranch opened in 2008 and it was extended to central Sarasota in 2022.
Gywnns Falls Trail is a 15-mile (24 km) series of hiking and bicycling trails inside Baltimore, Maryland, named for the Gwynns Falls, whose course it follows, and the surrounding Gwynns Falls Leakin Park it passes through. The trail uses unique alignments, sidepaths on existing streets, and on-street sections. The trail consists of one 10.75-mile (17.30 km) mainline, plus a number of branches, including the Middle Branch Trail, the Hutton Trail, and the Dickeyville Trail. All of these trails carry signage designating them as the Gwynns Falls Trail; their individual names are designated on the mile markers designating their route. The entirety of the Middle Branch Trail, as well as the section of the mainline trail east of the Middle Branch Trail's northern terminus, are part of the East Coast Greenway.
The Cape Haze Pioneer Trail is an 8-mile (13 km) rail trail in Charlotte County, Florida, on the Cape Haze peninsula running from western Port Charlotte to Placida. A vast majority of the trail runs along the right of way of the former Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway.
The Brewster Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. The line runs from the Valrico Subdivision at Edison Junction south through Bradley Junction to Arcadia for a total of 47.2 miles. It junctions with the Achan Subdivision and the Agricola Spur at Bradley Junction, and connects to the Seminole Gulf Railway in Arcadia.
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Lakeland—Fort Myers Line was one of the railroad company's secondary main lines in Central and Southwest Florida. It was built incrementally in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Parts of the line are still active today.
