Sanibel History

Sanibel Island Florida History

Sanibel is a small island in a chain of barrier islands along the Gulf coast (or West Coast) of Florida near Ft. Myers.  The island is known for it’s natural beaches, shelling, birding, boating, fishing and wild life. It has been a destination for travelers since the 1500′s.  One of it’s first tourists was a man known as Juan Ponce de Leon, after sailing around the tip of Florida through the Florida Straits he and his crew anchored off Sanibel to forage for food, fish and clean the hulls of the ship. He named the island “Santa Isybella” after the late Queen of Spain Isabella.

Ponce de Leon returned, with about 200 people, horses and various other domestic animals, several years later (mid 1500′s) and attempted to establish a settlement. It was not long before the settlement was attacked by Indians, Calusa Indians to be exact, who had been living on the islands since their early formation as sand bars. Ponce de Leon was injured and taken to Cuba where he later died.

The Calusa’s remained the only inhabitants on the island until the arrival of Hernando DeSoto who brought about 600 men, once again to settle the island, but were chased away by the Indians almost immediately. Many explorers followed over the next couple of hundred years.  Eventually the Indians died off from diseases left by explorers and many were taken from the island by slave ships, the few remaining in the Gulf coast area joined the Seminole tribe.

The island and all the rest of Florida, a possession of Spain, was later traded to England in exchange for Cuba. The English attempted to encourage settlement in Florida passing it off as the place to be, where you could have “your own estate”.  Very few traveled to Florida and most of those who did returned North to fight in the war (The American Revolution).  Sanibel was left to the pirates, the great pirate Jose Gaspar favored the Florida Gulf coast and it was thought that he buried many a treasure chest on Sanibel and neighboring Captiva Island. After the American Revolution the British regained control of the Florida coast and banned all pirates from Sanibel and the Barrier Islands.  Gaspar, by the way, refused to be captured and tied a ships anchor chain to himself, threw it over board and to the bottom of the Gulf went he and the secret of where his millions of treasure were buried. All of which are believed to be somewhere on Sanibel and Captiva, and other small barrier islands near Sanibel including Useppa and Cayo Costa.

The Florida Land Company, circa 1833, began marketing Sanybel, a planned community as a place that would “become the garden of Florida”.  It was said to have streams of fresh water, be high and dry almost eight feet above high tide and almost constantly refreshed with sea breezes.  The East end of the island was plotted into 50 homesites along with a town center the rest of the island was divided into 50 parallel tracts which ran from Gulf to bay. For a grand total of $500 you got one of each, a lot in the city and your own farm. A few pioneers took them up on their offer and began planting sugar cane, pineapple, pumpkins, melons, sisal and hemp (both used in the making of rope, hammocks and nets) and of course corn. It went without saying that fishing became very popular and fish houses and drying sheds were built particularly in the bay and near the mouth of the “Caloosa Hatchee” river. Unfortunately, for the farmers the U.S. government ordered them to abandon their farms fearing that they may give assistance to the few remaining Indians, primarily the Seminoles in the area, when the government was attempting to force the Seminoles to migrate west.  (Most of the Indians however moved further South into the land of the Calusa).

During the Civil War federal prisoners were held in a prison on the Dry Tortugas, yellow fever became rampant and the only treatment was castor oil.  Sanibel became the place to grow castor beans and two key players, William Smith Allen and a man named Harris, emerged with flourishing crops until a hurricane flooded the island with saltwater destroying their crops and equipment.

Demands for a light house began in the mid 1800′s but it was not until 1881 that Congress authorized the erection of a lighthouse on Point Ybel. One of the reasons for the need was the increased boat traffic in and out of Punta Rassa Harbor much of which was cattle steamers going to and from Cuba. At the same time the Inter-Ocean Telepraph Company of Newark, New Jersey took over the abandoned barracks of an old Fort (Fort Dulaney) located at Punta Rassa as a base to string telepraph lines throughout Florida and under water to Key West and Cuba. (There is still a small shack that exists on the shore of Punta Rassa) After much ado, a contract with the Phoenix Iron Company was signed to provide the steel to create a tower similar to an oil rig. So designed to allow strong hurricane force winds to blow through the structure and prevent damage. The open structure surrounded a cylindrical cylinder enclosing a spiral staircase for accessing the the lantern which burned coal oil and had to be carried up the stairs in five gallon buckets.  (Interestingly enough the iron was shiped from New Jersey and  just two miles from Sanibel the cargo ship carrying the iron wrecked spilling the load, much was salvaged but the balance was abandoned by the ships Captain.) The structure was started in March of 1884 and was first lit on August 20, 1885.  Dudley Richardson was appointed acting Light House Keeper until the first permanent keeper, Henry Shanahan, was named and Eugene Shanahan was named his assistant.  They were paid $740 and $600, respectively, per year. The light itself functioned with a nifty device similar to clock, with a heavy weight on a rope that had to be wound regularly and of course the flame lit at dusk and was extinguished at sunrise. The light house keepers lived in two houses at the base of the tower and did routine maintenance during the day as well as, garden and fish. (The two houses are still occupied as residences today and under U.S. Coast Guard control but managed by the City of Sanibel.  However, there is some discussion that they should be better maintained, maybe as a museum.  They are on the National Register of Historic Places and the two houses are the oldest remaining buildings on Sanibel.) **More about the “Sanibel Lighthouse”

Henry Shanahan brought his family from Key West and had seven children, after his wife died he married the widow Rutland (Irene)who had five children of her own (the Rutland home was the closest home to the Lighthouse, it was located about where the gas station at the corner of Bailey Road and Periwinkle Way is now), Henry and Irene had their own children ending up with thirteen all toll.

It wasn’t until the 1880′s that the Reverend George Barnes who at “God’s direction” came across Sanibel while visiting friends nearby. Barnes went back to Kentucky packed up his family and returned to Sanibel and built The Church of the Four Gospels with seating for 300.(pretty optimistic)  Barnes by the way had been tried for heiressy in Kentucky because of his beliefs that combined Christianity and mysticism.  He built his church near the beach so as to be visible by passing ships in hopes of attracting sailors. Further encouraging travelers he built an inn “The Sisters”  for Barnes’ two daughters who operated it serving Kentucky cooking using lots of curry and other spices brought by visiting sailors.  They later began taking in overnight guests and the Hotel Casa Ybel was born. One of the Barnes girls, Georgia, later married Maj. Edward Duncan, they built their home next door and called it Thistle Lodge, it was built in a victorian style with cupolas, towers and porches. (The site still exists as The Casa Ybel Resort and Thistle Lodge Restaurant) 

Encouraged during one of Rev. Barnes traveling revival meetings back in Kentucky Will Mathews decided he wanted to be a part of Sanibel.  Will packed up his family and set off for Sanibel to become a farmer. Will didn’t make much of a farmer and soon gave up, he and his wife began taking in boarders and eventually built the Island Inn, which still operates today. 

Other more successful farmers began growing cops of tomatoes.  With a nine month growing season, that being October to June, tomatoes became a huge export from Sanibel. Farmers would take their pickings to the docks each morning where they would be loaded on to a steamer and taken to Punta Gorda where they were loaded on to a train and taken to cities throughout the East.  They became very popular in New York City, the less wealthy had only heard of Sanibel, but when they saw fresh Sanibel Tomatoes for sale in the Winter they were something of a specialty.  Unfortunatley,  hurricanes in the early 1900′s (1910, 1921 and 1926) covered the island with salt water and destroyed the soil for farming. Farming on Sanibel was over for good. 

In the mean time sport fishing became popular with the wealthy, and some of the greatest Tarpon fishing is just off shore from Sanibel. Tarpon had regularly been caught with shark hooks and chain lines tipped with bait.  It’s been said that the first Tarpon caught with rod and reel was caught in San Carlos Bay off the shores of Sanibel.  This quickly attracted the attention of fishing afficianados around the globe.  Of course the Reverand Barnes helped to spread the word bringing more travelers to Casa Ybel.  Not only were Tarpon popular but large Sharks, Snook, Manta Rays, Sheepshead and Mullet, which were typically speared and smoked.

With the shallow waters surrounding the island, shore fishing, sunbathing, playing in the sand and shelling became very popular to visitors. Not only did Tarpon tales filter out into the world but so did Shelling tales.  The beaches were strewn with shells never before seen yet alone found laying on the beach.  Visitors spent many an hour walking slowly down the beach in the all too familiar stature defined as “the Sanibel Stoop”, head down, back arched, bent slightly at the waist, eyes starring at the sand looking for the perfect shell.  To this day perfect shells are still being found on Sanibel beaches. (I’ll talk about the Sanibel Shell Museum later.) Men, women, and children scoured the beaches every day while others languished on the beach or under a palm. Earlier in history the abundance of shells led the Calusa’s to create shell mounds as burial mounds which are still visible today, as well as, tools, shelter and jewelry.

 By the early 1900′s Sanibel was already on its way to being a mecca for vacationers, wealthy families from the East and the South.  Sportsman, businessmen, young and old all came to be revitalized and rested.  The island became known as a wholesome, family place. . . .the Reverand Barnes helped to keep it that way, there was no gambling and no drinking at Casa Ybel. This was the Victorian Era, a very proper era when ladies wore dresses and and gentleman wore jacket and tie, they were even seen strolling on the beach or playing croquet in proper attire.

 In 1928 tourism on Sanibel became even more popular with the introduction of ferry service to and from the mainland. On June 25, 1928 Leon Crumpler captained the first Kinzie Ferry “The Best” from Punta Rassa across the San Carlos Bay to Sanibel. The ferry carried not only visitors but their horseless carriages, (some of which actually ended up in the drink upon the approach to the ferry) which were often seen driving on the beaches. Roads consisted of sand and shell paths with deep ruts said to have literally steered the cars alond the island.  Henry Ford and Thomas Edison along with other scientists visited the island regulary looking for new plant species and shells for study and identification. The Lindbergs visited, Edna St. Vincent Millay visited and wrote many a poem from the beaches of Sanibel(her manuscript for “Conversations at Midnight” burned in a fire while she was on Sanibel).  But unforutantely, the Great Depression suspended much travel to Sanibel.  Sanibellians mused themselves with playacting at the local community center(which still exists) shell gathering, treasure hunting, fishing and farming and hunting (alligators, sea turtles, shark and wild pigs).  Some of the “new homes” of the island had been abandoned and were now being homesteaded by poor black families that found their way to the island. There was eventually an all black church and later a school for the black children.

There was slow progress on the island until the war (WWII) when the US Coast Guard assigned a detachment to Sanibel and set up camp in two cottages at Casa Ybel.  A wooden tower was erected near the lighthouse and was manned 24 hours a day by soldiers watching for enemy ships.

German submarines were said to have been spotted off Sanibel, one was even said to have blown up a passing barge. A nearby gunnery school used the shoreline of Sanibel for artillery practice, day and night one plane would tow a target or streamer while other planes would fire their automatic weapons at the target, sometimes ripping into the beach, roofs and water tanks. No campfires were allowed on the beach and all windows were shrouded in black at night. There was a small number of residents on the island during the war, each and everyone was photographed and fingerprinted.  The war continued but Sanibel was more effected by the hurricane of 1944 than it was by war action.

After the war visitors to Sanibel came in even greater numbers, due somewhat by various articles and writings talking of shelling on Sanibel. More beach front inns opened and visitors were greeted at the ferry landing by solicitors handing out brochures for accomodations. A larger ferry (The Islander) was being used and even seaplanes transporting visitors from Page Field in Ft. Myers to a landing strip across from Casa Ybel (now Butterknife subdivision)