Aerial view of Port Boca Grande Lighthouse Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

In the early 1880’s, phosphate was discovered several miles up the Peace River, which empties into Charlotte Harbor before flowing west through the Boca Grande Channel to the Gulf of Mexico. Initially, the phosphate was shipped down the Peace River on barges to Port Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, where it was loaded into ocean-going vessels. In 1888, Congress responded to the growth of the port by appropriating $35,000 for the construction of a lighthouse at the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, to mark the Boca Grande or “large mouth” between Gasparilla and Lacosta Islands.

The lighthouse would be supported by pilings and would consist of a one-story dwelling with a square tower protruding through the center of its hipped roof. Atop the tower would be a circular lantern room protecting a third-and-a-half-order Fresnel lens, which produced a white light interrupted by red flashes at a focal plane of forty-four feet. Roughly seventy feet away, a nearly identical dwelling, minus the tower, was built for the assistant keeper, and wooden storage tanks were provided to hold a supply of water for the keepers. The lighthouse was activated on December 31, 1890 by Keeper Francis McNulty.

As the phosphate trade continued to grow, a railroad line was extended to Port Boca Grande, just north of the lighthouse, for transporting the phosphate from the mines to the port in a more economical manner. The rail line opened in 1907, and for the next several decades the phosphate flowed to the island where it was transferred from the trains directly to large freighters. In 1969, Port Boca Grande was Florida’s fourth busiest port, and Florida provided well over half of the nation’s supply of phosphate, which was used primarily in fertilizer.

The lighthouse was home to several keepers and their families until it was automated in 1956. Just two years later, visitors could arrive at the island by car instead of train, as a new bridge connected the island to the mainland. In 1966, the lighthouse was abandoned by the Coast Guard, and a modern light atop a 58-foot tall steel skeleton tower was established further inland.

Aerial view of phosphate terminal just north of lighthouse Photograph courtesy State Archives of Florida

By 1970, erosion on Gasparilla Island was threatening the old lighthouse along with other structures. In response, the Boca Grande Conservation Council was formed to lead the battle against erosion. The government finally acted in 1971, and a 265-foot granite jetty was built near the lighthouse to protect the sandy island. Florida Power and Light, which had storage facilities at Port Boca Grande, then pumped 100,000 cubic yards of fill into the area, much of it around the lighthouse itself.

In 1972, the lighthouse and the surrounding thirteen acres were transferred from the federal government to Lee County, for the establishment of a park on the property. The Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association, (GICIA), the island property owner's association, was successful in placing the lighthouse on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and then raised sufficient funds to have the lighthouse fully restored in 1985-86. The restoration efforts culminated in 1986 when a 377mm drum lens was installed in the lantern room, and the lighthouse was re-commissioned as an active aid to navigation.

The lighthouse, dwelling, and surrounding acreage were transferred to the State of Florida in 1988 and became Gasparilla Island State Park. The following year, a small group of local citizens formed the Barrier Island Parks Society (BIPS), and one of their first objectives was to establish a museum in the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse. A decade later, the $165,000 project was complete, and the museum, run by BIPS for the Florida Park Service, opened its doors. The museum tells the story of the area starting with the Native Americans, and also covering the Spanish influence, the local fishing industry, Port Boca Grande, and, of course, the history of the lighthouse.

Port Boca Grande diminished in significance after 1979, when the railroad line was abandoned and the phosphate industry moved north to Tampa. Florida Power and Light (FPL) started using the port as an oil storage facility in 1958. Oil from the Gulf of Mexico would be off-loaded at the port, stored in four large tanks, and then barged down the Intracoastal Waterway to the FPL power plant in Fort Myers. In 2002, the power plant was converted to natural gas, and the oil barges ceased calling at Port Boca Grande. Today, traffic near the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse, the oldest building on Gasparilla Island, consists primarily of fishermen, pleasure boaters, and park visitors coming to learn of the island’s storied past.

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References

1. Florida Lighthouses, Kevin McCarthy, 1993.
2. Lighthouses, Lightships, and the Gulf of Mexico, David Cipra, 1997.