Pine Island (Lee County, Florida)

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Pine Island
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Pine Island
Pine Island
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Pine Island
Pine Island (Caribbean)
Geography
Location Lee County, Florida
Coordinates 26°33′33″N82°05′59″W / 26.55917°N 82.09972°W / 26.55917; -82.09972
Adjacent to Gulf of Mexico
Administration
State Florida
County Lee

Pine Island is the largest island on the Gulf Coast of peninsular Florida in the United States. Located in Lee County, on the Gulf of Mexico coast of southwest Florida, it is also the 118th largest island in the United States. The Intracoastal Waterway passes through Pine Island Sound, to the west of the island. Matlacha Pass runs between Pine Island and the mainland. Pine Island lies west of Cape Coral. For many years, Pine Island was a major commercial fishing community and many of its full-time residents still fish commercially today. [1]

Contents

Geography

Unlike the sandy barrier islands of Sanibel to the south, Captiva to the southwest, and North Captiva to the west, Pine Island has no large beach and is made from the same coral rock as the mainland. Pine Island is surrounded by mangroves and includes three aquatic preserves. Residents and visitors are attracted to Pine Island's natural rural character, fishing, and boating. Pine Island is mostly zoned as agricultural land; some visitors travel more than a hundred miles to purchase tropical fruit such as lychee and mangos grown and sold on Pine Island.

Communities

Pine Island is home to four unincorporated towns: Pine Island Center, St. James City, Bokeelia, and Pineland. Matlacha also is considered one of the communities, but is on its own small island. Pine Island has a small town atmosphere, with no traffic lights and mostly agricultural zoning. The Greater Matlacha and Pine Island community has its own fire control district with an elected 5-person commission, [2] marinas, shops, and fine casual restaurants. According to the 2000 census, the population of Pine Island is about 9000, however, the population varies seasonally, Pine Island being a winter home for many of its residents. Utilities are provided by LCEC for electricity and Pine Island Water Association (a private member coop). Cable TV is provided by Comcast and/or any of the various satellite providers.

Pine Island Center is located at the intersection of Pine Island and Stringfellow Roads. Pine Island Road (County Road 78) is the only road that leads to the mainland. Pine Island Center is the location of the island's single large grocery store, elementary school, library, museum, swimming pool, and a large park. Sixteen-mile-long Stringfellow Road (County Road 767) is Pine Island's main road and connects St. James City on the south end of the island with Bokeelia and Pineland on the north side of the island. St. James City, Pine Island's most heavily populated area, offers a splendid view of Sanibel Island and the Sanibel Causeway.

Bokeelia extends to the far northern tip of Pine Island, ending at tiny Bokeelia Island, [3] which is accessed by a small bridge. Bokeelia is at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor. On clear days one can see across the water to Cape Haze and Boca Grande Pass where the gulf meets the harbor. Pineland is also on the northern portion of Pine Island, west off Stringfellow Road, about halfway between Pine Island Center and Bokeelia. Pineland features a golf course and country club as well as the Randell Research Center. The Randell Research Center is located near several shell mounds, which are the remains of a Calusa Indian village that was located at the site for more than 1500 years. The center is dedicated to learning and teaching the archaeology, history, and ecology of Southwest Florida and about the culture of the Calusa people.

East of Pine Island Center, along a two-mile (3 km) stretch of Pine Island Road, is Little Pine Island. Little Pine Island is a 4,700-acre (19 km2) development-free wildlife preserve and the former location of a sewer treatment plant. The island community of Matlacha (pronounced "mat-luh-SHAY") is east of Little Pine Island and west of the city of Cape Coral on the mainland. The Matlacha Bridge, a small drawbridge nicknamed "The fishingest bridge in the world", almost always is occupied by fishermen. Matlacha also has a large park and pier, as well as several shops, bars, and restaurants.

Ecology

Pine Island is also home to Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge. Little Pine Island is a state-owned wildlife refuge, currently being restored to its natural state by the elimination of the development features that had been built on the island. Ospreys, herons, egrets, ibises, and roseate spoonbills often are seen on the island, as well as owls, hawks, bald eagles, and many songbirds.

The local form of the marsh rice rat has been recognized in some classifications as a separate subspecies, Oryzomys palustris planirostris. [4]

Hurricanes

Pine Island was significantly affected in 2004 when Hurricane Charley passed through the area. In 2022, Hurricane Ian devastated the island, including causing major damage to the bridge leading to the mainland. [5] The storm caused power grid damage that required being rebuilt into March 2023, months after the hurricane hit. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee County, Florida</span> County in Florida, United States

Lee County is located in southwestern Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, the 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, and the largest city is Cape Coral with an estimated 2020 population of 194,016. The county comprises the Cape Coral–Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bokeelia, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

Bokeelia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located on Pine Island in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 1,855, up from 1,780 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bokeelia is still home to one of Lee County's first pioneer families, the Padillas, who came by way of Cayo Costa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Coral, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population had grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census, making it the 130th most populous city in the United States. With an area of 120 square miles (310 km2), Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and Miami in both population and area. It is the largest and principal city in the Cape Coral – Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city has over 400 mi (640 km) of navigable waterways, more than any other city on earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Captiva, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

Captiva is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matlacha, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

Matlacha is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 598. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Island Center, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

Pine Island Center is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located on Pine Island in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,942 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pineland, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

Pineland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on Pine Island in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 466 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanibel, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

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, constitutes the entire city. It is a barrier island—a collection of sand on the leeward side of the more solid coral-rock of Pine Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Island Sound</span> Coastal body of water in Florida, US

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 to Gasparilla Sound and Charlotte Harbor to the north, and to San Carlos Bay and the Caloosahatchee River to the south. The Sound is conterminous with the Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve, which was established in 1970 and consists of 54,000 acres (220 km2) of submerged land. Important habitats in the Sound include mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes, oyster communities, tidal flats and sponge beds. All animals in and around Pine Island sound, including mollusks, fish, birds and mammals, are affected by periodic outbreaks of red tide. The Sound is relatively shallow in many locations, and boaters are cautioned to utilize up-to-date charts and tide tables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanibel Causeway</span> Causeway in Southwest Florida, U.S.

The Sanibel Causeway is a causeway in Southwest Florida that spans San Carlos Bay, connecting Sanibel Island with the Florida mainland in Punta Rassa. The causeway consists of three separate two-lane bridge spans, and two-man-made causeway islands between them. The entire causeway facility is owned by Lee County and operated by the Lee County Department of Transportation. The entire causeway is 3 miles (5 km) long from end to end, and currently has a $6 toll in effect for island-bound vehicles only. The bridges are not individually named, and are simply referred to as bridges A, B, and C. The islands are also named A and B. Both series begin from the mainland side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midpoint Memorial Bridge</span> Bridge in Florida, United States of America

The Midpoint Memorial Bridge is a bridge located in Southwest Florida. It spans the Caloosahatchee River, connecting Fort Myers and Cape Coral. It is a four-lane fixed span that is 1.125 miles (1.811 km) long. The bridge's name comes from serving as a midpoint or middle bridge for the Cape Coral bridges – Cape Coral Bridge is south, and the Caloosahatchee Bridge is located north. It carries County Road 884, which is known as Colonial Boulevard on the Fort Myers side, and Veterans Parkway on the Cape Coral side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida State Road 78</span>

State Road 78 is the Florida Department of Transportation designation of the highway that historically extended from Pine Island Center on the Gulf Coast of Florida to the northern tip of Lake Okeechobee. In the 1980s, two segments of the route were removed from state maintenance to county maintenance. More recently, SR 78 signs were removed from the four-mile-long stretch of US 27/SR 25 that was once a concurrency. All three sections are signed east–west, even though the easternmost section is actually a north–south route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cayo Costa State Park</span> State park in Florida, United States

Cayo Costa State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Florida, on Cayo Costa, an island directly south of Boca Grande and just north of North Captiva Island, approximately 12 miles (19 km) west of Cape Coral. The park is accessible only by charter boat, private boat, ferry or helicopter.

The Pineland Archeological District is a U.S. historic district located on Pine Island, near Pineland, Florida, and next to Pine Island Sound. The site was occupied by people of the Caloosahatchee culture, known as the Calusa in historic times, from 500 BCE until after 1700. The site includes shell and sand mounds and other structures and prehistoric canals and artificial lakes. It also includes structures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanibel Colored School</span> United States historic place

Sanibel Colored School, also known as Sanibel School, is a U.S. National Registered Historic school located in Sanibel, Florida. Starting all the way from 1914, schooling in Sanibel started from a Baptist church that James Johnson built on Sanibel Island. Thirteen years later, Johnson gave black families the opportunity to use the church for schooling for the children which later resulted in the Lee County Board of Public Instruction buying it for a little over $1,000. Schooling with them was a little bit different from regular schooling, because they only needed seven children in order to operate school with grades 1-8. With the population in Sanibel being 90 people, it was a little hard to keep up with the school because children were 9th-12th graders. A little after, it got to the point where the school had to close their doors. In the year of 1962, the Lee County School Board put the schools up for sale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Harbor (estuary)</span> Large bay on the southwest coast of 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)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matlacha Bridge</span> Bridge in Florida, United States of America

The Matlacha Pass Bridge is a small single-leaf drawbridge located in Matlacha, Florida. It carries County Road 78 over Matlacha Pass, connecting Pine Island with the mainland in Cape Coral.

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 just south of Cayo Costa Island, separated by Captiva Pass.

Punta Gorda Fish Co. was a fishing company established in the late 19th century in Punta Gorda, Florida. At least ten of the fish shacks and icehouses built by the company have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

  1. ↑ Pine Island Info
  2. ↑ "Malatcha/Pine Island Fire Control District" . Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Ten unusual islands for sale". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on April 26, 2013.
  4. ↑ Wolfe, J. L. 1982. Oryzomys palustris. Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Mammalian Species 176:1–5.
  5. ↑ "Temporary bridge to Pine Island gives residents access to mainland, brings fuel and utility workers to area". Tampa, Florida: WTVT. October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Some on Pine Island still live in a post-Ian disaster zone". WUSF. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
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