Captiva Island
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in Lee County
Lee County, Florida
Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Located in southwest Florida, the principal cities in the county are Fort Myers and Cape Coral...
in southwest Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, located just offshore in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
History
According to local folklore, Captiva got its name because the pirate captain José GasparJose Gaspar
José Gaspar, known by his nickname Gasparilla , was a purported Spanish pirate, the "last of the Buccaneers," who is claimed to have raided the west coast of Florida during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Though he is a popular figure in Florida folklore, no evidence of his existence...
(Gasparilla) held his female prisoners on the island for ransom or worse. However, the supposed existence of José Gaspar is sourced from an advertising brochure of an early 20th century developer and may be a fabrication.
Geography
Originally part of neighboring Sanibel IslandSanibel Island
Sanibel Island is an island located on the Gulf coast of Florida, just offshore of Fort Myers. In 2000, it had an estimated population of 6,064 people...
to the southeast, it was severed in 1926 when a hurricane
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
's storm surge
Storm surge
A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
washed away a new channel, Blind Pass
Blind Pass
Blind Pass is the strait that separates Captiva Island from Sanibel Island in Lee County, Florida. - References :...
. The channel filled in over subsequent years, but was reopened by dredging in the summer of 2009. Like Sanibel, Captiva is a barrier island
Barrier island
Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...
to Pine Island
Pine Island (Lee County, Florida)
Pine Island is an island located in Lee County, Florida, on the Gulf coast of southwest Florida. It is the largest island in the state of Florida, and the 118th largest island in the United States. The Intracoastal Waterway passes through Pine Island Sound, to the west of the island. Matlacha Pass...
(to the east of Captiva and north of Sanibel), however it is much narrower. The only automobile access to Captiva is via the Sanibel Causeway
Sanibel Causeway
The Sanibel Causeway is a causeway in Southwest Florida that spans the San Carlos Bay, connecting Sanibel Island with the Florida mainland in South Fort Myers. The causeway consists of three separate two-lane bridge spans, and two man-made causeway islands, which are located between each of the...
and Sanibel-Captiva Road, which ends in the CDP
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
of Captiva
Captiva, Florida
Captiva is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, United States. It is located on Captiva Island. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total year-round population of 379. It is part of the Cape Coral–Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, the island's only CDP. Captiva was homesteaded in 1888 and a tiny cemetery next to The Chapel by the Sea has the grave of the original resident, William Herbert Binder (1850–1932), an Austrian. Half the island is in private ownership, with "Millionaire's Row", luxury homes on gulf and bay side of "San-Cap" road. The South Seas Island Resort
South Seas Island Resort
South Seas Island Resort is a resort located on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico on Captiva Island, Florida in Lee County. The original resort, South Seas Plantation, was opened in 1946 as a fishing resort by Clarence Chadwick, following a dry hurricane which ended commercial farming on the island...
entry gate is at the end of this road. Roosevelt Channel on the east side of the island, is named for Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
who fished there.
North Captiva Island
North Captiva Island
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...
or Upper Captiva is another island, in turn severed from Captiva in a 1921 hurricane, creating Redfish Pass
Redfish Pass
Redfish Pass is a strait in Florida that connects Pine Island Sound with the Gulf of Mexico. It also separates Captiva Island on the south from North Captiva Island on the north. The pass was created by the hurricane of 1921 which divided the once larger Captiva Island...
. North Captiva has power from lines that originate on the north end of Captiva, and is privately owned. With about 300 homes built and 300 vacant lots, the island is about half way to build-out
Build-out
Build-out is an urban planner’s estimate of the amount and location of potential development for an area. Sometimes called a "lot-yield analysis", build-out is one step of the land use planning process. Evaluation of potential development impacts begins with a build-out...
. Since the island can be accessed by boat or small plane only, North Captiva real estate values are generally lower than on Captiva.
Eye (cyclone)
The eye is a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones. The eye of a storm is a roughly circular area and typically 30–65 km in diameter. It is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of towering thunderstorms where the second most severe weather of a cyclone...
of Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to August 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the...
struck North Captiva, immediately before hitting Charlotte Harbor
Charlotte Harbor (estuary)
Charlotte Harbor Estuary is a natural estuary spanning the west coast of Florida from Venice to Bonita Springs on the Gulf of Mexico and is one of the most productive wetlands in Florida...
to the north-northeast. Initial reports indicated that 160 building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s were destroyed and another 160 seriously damaged. Although there are reports that the storm surge
Storm surge
A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
cut a path 400 yards (366 m) wide across the narrowest part of North Captiva, separating the island, local fishermen have said that the separation of the two halves of the island was actually caused by a series of tornadoes that passed through the area in September 2001. The new pass has not been formally named, but the locals call it "Charley Pass" or "The North Cap Gap". It has since filled in with sand and reunited the island.
Economy
The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
selected Sanibel and Captiva Islands as one of the 10 Best Places for Second Homes in 2010.
Notables
Captiva was the full-time home of world renowned artist Robert RauschenbergRobert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
.
South Seas Island Resort
South Seas Island Resort
South Seas Island Resort is a resort located on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico on Captiva Island, Florida in Lee County. The original resort, South Seas Plantation, was opened in 1946 as a fishing resort by Clarence Chadwick, following a dry hurricane which ended commercial farming on the island...
and Yacht Harbor, a 330 acres (1.3 km²) resort, resides on the northern two miles (3 km) of Captiva Island.