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,…
Good Day to all! I had planned on my “Moonshine” column this week, but with Dad’s passing early last Wednesday, August 23, changed to my Desguin family column. There will be an obituary in the paper, but service details are: Visitation, Thursday, September 7, 5-7, Kays-Ponger and Uselton Funeral Home, 635 East Marion Avenue, Punta Gorda; Mass of Christian…
Good Day to all! Did you know Kelly Harvey, after leading the charge to incorporate and rename his adopted town, abandoned it? After weeks of public notice, the meeting to debate and vote on the town of Trabue’s incorporation occurred in early December 1887. Thirty-four men registered to vote on the matter, 30 white and 4 black. Significant, I…
Good Day to all! Did you know an accomplished musician played a significant part in Punta Gorda’s beginnings? Kelly B. Harvey, hailing from Indiana, was born in 1859 and apparently came to Florida in the early 1880’s. A surveyor and self-professed engineer, he worked for the new railroads and land companies investing in the southwest Florida frontier. He also…
Good Day to all! Hope everyone had a fun and safe July 4th. Thanks to all participating in and observing the 32nd Freedom Swim. Check out the Society’s new website at https://cchistoricalsociety.com/. Did you know that for about 15 years early in the 20th century, the Punta Gorda area was a principal supplier of the nation’s pineapples? Some of…
Good Day to all! First, two bits of information, the Society’s new website is up and running. Check it out at https://cchistoricalsociety.com/. Second, the 32nd Freedom Swim is coming up July 4. Start time is 2:30, Charlotte Harbor end of the bridge. Did you know the first “named” hurricane to strike this area was Donna? As stated in my…
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