Community Info
Community InformationBelow is information about the "Punta Gorda" community on LiveJournal. To join this community, click here. You may leave the community at any time.
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| User: | puntagorda (1129901) Punta Gorda, Florida
"Best Small Place to Live in the South" |
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| Name: | Punta Gorda | |
| Website: | our community | |
| Location: | Punta Gorda, Florida, United States | |
| About: | About: This community is set up for people in the Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte areas to talk about any events, attractions, dining, nature, parks, etc. in the local area. You can talk about anything you want here or even post pictures of the area if you want. Recommend: Be sure to check out our neighbors to the south in  fortmyers and naples or to the north in sarasota!Do not forget to ADD puntagorda [ click here to join ]History: The first non-natives to visit were Spanish. Ponce de Leon arrived in the vicinity of Charlotte Harbor in 1513. In Charlotte Harbor, families of Spanish-Indian fishermen continued their salt fish trade in relative isolation as they had since the 1760’s. By 1872 the Charlotte Harbor area had its own post office and along the Peace River shores, vast tracts of land had been converted into large cattle ranches. Trains arrived in 1886 and a year later, in 1887, the town incorporated itself and changed its name back to PUNTA GORDA, which means “broad or fat point” in Spanish, the name used previously by the Spanish to refer to the area because of how it protrudes into the Harbor. Punta Gorda became the only incorporated city and the oldest municipality in Charlotte County. That same year, the huge Punta Gorda Hotel opened its doors to 3,320 guests. By 1897 more than 230 people worked the offshore fisheries. Gill netting for mullet was the most profitable activity. Spanish mackerel, oysters, and channel bass were also harvested in quantify. Citrus and truck farming, and cattle ranching were other primary sources of income for people living in Punta Gorda. Wealthy visitors coming to the Punta Gorda Hotel spread the word about the great sport fishing found in the waters off Boca Grande and Gasparilla Islands. A bridge across Charlotte Harbor to Punta Gorda was completed in 1921. The Tamiami Trail, which linked Florida’s east and west coasts, was finished in 1928. The 1929 stock market crash brought the Florida economy to a halt. During the Great Depression, government work projects were implemented and Punta Gorda’s water system was constructed. World War II brought relief to the stagnant economy. The Punta Gorda airport was used for pilot training grounds during the war. Beginning in the late 1950s, the General Development Corporation created the communities of Punta Gorda Isles, Burnt Store Isles, North Port and Port Charlotte. On Friday August 13, 2004 we were struck by the Category 4, 145 MPH winds of Hurricane Charley. It left a broad swath of death and destruction becoming one of the worst hurricans to hit Florida in almost 60 years. Estimated just after the storm struck that damage from Charley could exceed US$15 billion. The latest estimate on total damage is $11 billion, which would make Charley the second most costly hurricane in American history, behind Hurricane Andrew's $26 billion in 1992, and above Hurricane Hugo's $7 billion in 1989. During the summer, Florida was hit by 3 more hurricanes. We were not in the direct path, but with close to 10,000 homes destroyed and damaged, we still felt the effects as damage just continued to grow, but none as devastating as the first storm for our community. Although it was bad - hope is high and we are still working to rebuild and restore our town to the best it can be. | |
| Interests: | 44: airshow, arcadia, beach, blockparty, boca grande, burnt store, burnt store isles, cape coral, charlotte county, charlotte harbor, collier county, deep creek, desoto, ecc, edison community college, el jobean, englewood, fgcu, florida, florida gulf coast university, fort myers, gasparilla islands, hurricane charley, lee county, locals, murdock, myakka river, naples, north port, peace river, pine island, placida, ponce de leon, port charlotte, punta gorda, punta gorda isles, rotonda, sanibel, sarasota, sarasota county, southwest florida, swfl, tamiami trail, venice | |
| Maintainers: | 1: fgcusabre | |
| Members: | 45: _callie_, beautifuldream3, echoofreality, fgcusabre, fink0806, forsaken_tears, fortmyers, fuckadonutujerk, gothinpink, hopelesslyhope, imnotyourbitch, incipient, joeassteam, juliafreak, jyeshtha, lockedpocket, lotusx, mightyapollo, minus_the_jenn, mrphil04, mrussell48, myplasticjesus, paperdollhearts, pardolang, perruche_verte, puntagorda, roachandroll, rockix084, ryanmiffed, sadeyecowboy, sarasota, simplify3, skanatic, sosuperduper, stayathomemafia, theused0414, ufpeanut, vote_08, wiszmaster, world_of_chaos, yapidka, yourxstarx, zigrrly | |
| Watched by: | 21: brickbomb, fgcusabre, fink0806, gothinpink, hwc, joeassteam, jyeshtha, lockedpocket, mightyapollo, minus_the_jenn, mrphil04, myplasticjesus, simplify3, skanatic, sosuperduper, stayathomemafia, vote_08, wiszmaster, yourxstarx, zigrrly, zombicon | |
| Member of: | 1: puntagorda | |
| Account type: | Basic Account | |
