Captiva Island was fourteen miles long between Blind Pass on the south and Captiva Pass on the north. Upper and Lower Captiva were joined by a very narrow strip of land which, in 1921, during a hurricane, washed through and is now Red Fish Pass located at the northern most tip of South Seas Resort. Captiva Island as we know it today, is about six miles long and very narrow, the widest point being 1/3 mile wide. It’s part of unincorporated Lee County and is connected to Sanibel by the bridge at Blind Pass. While the laws governing the City of Sanibel do not cover it, Captiva is tightly regulated through its own special controls. Captiva, like most barrier islands, suffers beach erosion because the natural flow of the currents from the Gulf of Mexico is from North to South and Captiva sits North and South.
The Captiva Erosion Prevention District (CEPD) has implemented an ongoing beach re-nourishment program, which taxes property owners on a prorated basis. This, together with county, state and federal money, has funded the beach re-nourishment.
It can be assumed that the first inhabitants of Captiva were Indians, probably ancestors of the Calusas, with a diet leaning heavily to fish and seafood with some game, roots and wild fruits. Juan Ponce de Leon officially discovered the Sea Shell Islands, Sanibel and Captiva, in 1513 when he sailed south “as far as some islands make out to sea.”
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Back in 1862, the Homestead Act was passed, but it wasn’t until 1886 that Captiva was opened to homesteaders. William Herbert Binder came to Captiva in 1888, homesteading the central part of the island, south of South Seas Plantation. Almost all the original homes were crude palmetto thatched huts with dirt floors. Ten years later, George W. Carter came to the island and with his family homesteaded the northern end. With the planting of groves, coconuts and many tropical fruits, plants and vegetables, the island flourished.
The beauty of the island spread and began to attract many visitors arriving by boat to picnic, shell on the beaches and fish. The Sanibel Causeway was completed in May 1963, thus increasing the amount of visitors and winter residents.
Why is Captiva Island called Captiva? Legend has it that a pirate named Gasparilla kept his harem here. Though history shows that it seems to be unlikely, it would be sad to shatter the illusion. So, I choose to believe the pirate story!
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