Good Day to all! Did you know that over 20 settlements established in the early years of today’s Charlotte County no longer exist? A few are still around under different names, but most are now known only to history. Beginning to the west, on Charlotte County’s portion of Gasparilla Island, Gasparilla was a fishing village with a general…
Good Day to all! Did you know the 20th Annual Hibiscus Festival, presented by the Charlotte County Historical Society, is coming up May 3, 4, and 5, in Gilchrist Park? Visit thehibiscusfestival.com for details. Consequently, here is my associated column on one of Punta Gorda’s and Charlotte County’s most colorful “favorite sons”. Punta Gorda has not only been…
Good Day to all! The Charlotte County Historical Society’s annual Hibiscus Festival is coming up May 3, 4, and 5 at Gilchrist Park; 6 – 10 on Friday, 9 – 4 on Saturday, and 10 – 3 Sunday. Get it on your calendar and hope to see you there! Did you know that Daniel C. Smith, instrumental in…
Good Day to all! This is a column I wrote about the Punta Gorda Army Airfield before receiving Gussie Baker’s information. I hope it complements her recollections. Did you know the Punta Gorda Airport had its beginning as an army airfield? Early in World War II, Florida Senator Claude Pepper announced plans to construct a training facility on…
Good Day to all! Here is part 2 of Gussie Baker’s recollections concerning changes to Punta Gorda during World War II. Hope you’re enjoying them as much as I am. Thank you Gussie! Did you know that everybody pitched in to help the war effort? I’ll bet you did! Again, in Gussie’s words: The war and the airbase changed…
Good Day to all and Happy Thanksgiving! Here is my annual “local Thanksgiving” column. Did you know a turkey, although common if you could get one, was not necessarily the centerpiece of early Thanksgiving celebrations in the area? Prayers of thanks and other ceremonies have been around for ages, but Thanksgiving as we know it, likely had its origins…
Good Day to all! Did you know the homes of several early Punta Gorda residents are still standing and two were saved by moving them? Augustus C. Freeman, from Jasper County in north central Georgia southeast of Atlanta, moved to Punta Gorda in 1889. He’d been a farmer, but after a short stint with the Central Georgia Railroad, came…
Good Day to all! Did you know steam powered dredges vastly improved phosphate production on the Peace River? Dredges typically consisted of a barge and 60 horsepower steam engine with an 8-inch centrifugal pump. Phosphate pebbles and sand were sucked from the river bottom, passed over a screen to separate the pebbles, and the remainder returned to the river. …
Good Day to all! Did you know that during the 1890’s, Punta Gorda’s port was the world’s major supplier of phosphate? It’s reported the soapy rock was first discovered just south of Zolfo Springs in the early 1860’s, by a group of men traveling down Peas Creek (Peace River). However, unaware of its composition and potential value, they merely…
Day to all! Did you know a picture is not only worth a thousand words, but can literally cause folks to move? Frank Rigell was born in September 1901 on the family farm near Slocomb, Alabama, a small town southwest of Dothan, just across the Florida state line. The youngest of seven, when he was about 2 years old,…
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