Punta Gorda FL
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Forget your Spanish, native Floridians call it PUNTA (like punting a football). Don't say POONTA.
Punta Gorda has a population of about 17,000, and is the seat of Charlotte County, Florida government. It is the only incorporated town in the County.
Sprawling Port Charlotte, a huge General Development community on the north side of the harbor is not incorporated.
The town gets its name from the Spanish term for the "fat point" of land where the Peace River meets Charlotte Harbor.
In the years after the Civil War, the Howard brothers came to the area and were the first settlers. About ten years later the railroad came to town, and Punta Gorda FL began to grow.The town was the end of the railway system, so a lot of tourists came down and stayed awhile. The town was incorporated in 1887.
Like many towns at the end of the trail, some tough characters settled there. There were reportedly 40 murders in Punta Gorda FL in the years 1890-1904.
The town settled down as years wore on, and the shady characters either murdered each other or got respectable jobs.
The first bridge over Charlotte Harbor was built in 1921 to incorporate the new Tamiami Trail (US-41).
There are many historic buildings in Punta Gorda, including the old Charlotte County Courthouse and 9 other places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hurricane Charley came to town in 2004 and did a lot of damage.
The sunset picture on my sailboat, AWOL, was taken at Burnt Store Marina, south of Punta Gorda FL, not long before Charley blew into town.
Charley came right over Burnt Store Marina. Poor little AWOL lost her mast, bow pulpit and lifelines when a nearby boat pulled it's dock pilings out and crashed into her during the storm's ferocious winds.
A friend of mine, after drinking too much beer, rode out Charley on his Gulfstar 36 at Burnt Store Marina. He took some amazing stills and videos and lived to tell about it.
The famous downtown Indian also survived, but its building did not and it has been moved to another location in town.
Downtown Punta Gorda is a pleasant destination with several good restaurants, some with outside dining.
Other nice shops and restaurants are in Fishermen's Village, a rustic time share and shopping complex built out over Charlotte Harbor just west of downtown.
Punta Gorda Isles, a large waterfront community west of downtown, has hundreds of waterfront residences, most of them having boats.
Another neat thing about Punta Gorda is its community spirit. An example of this is a new bicycle-lending program about to start. This may be the first program of its kind in Florida, and it is modeled after one in my hometown, Menominee, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Menominee’s Yellow Bike program has been funded by the M&M AreaCommunity Foundation since 2006. A gentleman named Gene Pawlowski brought the idea back to Punta Gorda not long ago after a sailboat race on Lake Michigan.
The race terminated in Menominee, on Green Bay, and he and his crew enjoyed the public yellow bikes. The Punta Gorda Downtown Merchants’ Association thought the bike share idea was a good idea and worked out the details with a local civic group, Team Punta Gorda.
More pictures of Punta Gorda are at my Facebook page.
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PUNTA GORDA, FLORIDA HOTELS
Bokeelia Tarpon Inn, 8241 Main Street, Bokeelia, FL 33922. Tel: 239-283-8961. This inn is located at the northern tip of Pine Island overlooking the waters of Charlotte Harbor. It is an isolated location, but is a short car or boat ride to Fort Myers,Cape Coral, Boca Grande, Sanibel, Captiva, Punta Gorda and the Gulf of Mexico. Built in 1914, the house has been lovingly restored to retain the grace and comfort of the original home while providing today's amenities for guests. Each room has a queen bed with private bath and comes with evening hors d'oeuvres and wine plus a full breakfast each morning.Learn more about this B&B or make reservations now! Click Here
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