Lee County is a county located in southwestern Florida, United States, on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 760,822. In 2022, the population was 822,453, making it the eighth-most populous county in the state. 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 estimated 2020 population of 194,016.
Punta Rassa is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,620 at the 2020 census, down from 1,750 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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 Gasparilla Pirate Festival is a large parade and a host of related community events held in Tampa, Florida, United States, most years since 1904. The centerpiece of the festivities is the Parade of Pirates, which is framed as a friendly invasion by the crew of the mythical pirate José Gaspar, a popular figure in Florida folklore. The Parade of Pirates is often referred to as the Gasparilla Parade by locals, and the date of the event is known as Gasparilla Day.
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.
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.
The Charlotte Harbor Light was placed at a bend in the deeper part of Charlotte Harbor to guide ships to the railroad docks in Punta Gorda, Florida. Punta Gorda lost importance as a port when railroad lines reached Boca Grande on the southern end of Gasparilla Island at the entrance to Charlotte Harbor in 1906. The lighthouse steadily deteriorated and had to be demolished in 1943. The iron pilings were removed in 1975.
The maritime history of Florida describes significant past events relating to the U.S. state of Florida in areas concerning shipping, shipwrecks, and military installations and lighthouses constructed to protect or aid navigation and development of the Florida peninsula.
Gasparilla Island State Park is a Florida State Park located south of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island off Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound. Activities include swimming and fishing along with shelling, picnicking, and viewing the Historic Port Boca Grande Lighthouse.
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.
State Road 776 (SR 776) is a 25-mile-long (40 km) state highway serving southern Sarasota County and northwestern Charlotte County, Florida. It acts as a loop road of U.S. Route 41 (US 41) that bypasses North Port.
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.
Useppa Island is an island located near the northern end of Pine Island Sound in Lee County, Florida, United States. It has been known for luxury resorts since the late 19th century, and it is currently the home of the private Useppa Island Club. On May 21, 1996, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, due to its archaeological significance.
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 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 Boca Grande Bike Path is a 6.5 mile multi-use path in Boca Grande, Florida on Gasparilla Island. The northern portion of the path runs on the former right of way of the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway, which operated on Gasparilla Island from 1907 to 1981. As Florida's first rail trail, it was repurposed principally for bicycles, but pedestrians also use it. Golf carts are also permitted on the path. Another trail exists on the mainland portion of the railroad line known as the Cape Haze Pioneer Trail.
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.
