The Bridges to Punta Gorda - a Brief History

As best as we can determine, here is the history of the bridges over Punta Gorda's harbor.

The  postcard above shows the oldest bridge over the Peace River. The bridge was built across the Peace River in 1921 to accommodate the Tamiami Trail being constructed and was known as the Charlotte Harbor Bridge. It ran from Live Oak Point in Charlotte Harbor on the north bank of the river to Nesbit Street in Punta Gorda (near where the Laishley Marina is today). After the Tamiami Trail opened in 1928, it was determined that this bridge would not meet the needs of the road because of its poor construction and narrow lanes.

Barron Collier Bridge  circa 1930s

Barron Collier Bridge 1961

Barron G. Collier, who owned the Hotel Charlotte Harbor (formerly the Hotel Punta Gorda), was one of the main proponents of building a new bridge. Work began on the original Barron Collier Bridge in December 1929s, built a block east of the Charlotte Harbor Bridge at King Street (now 41 North) (right next to Collier's hotel). The construction of the bridge necessitated the demolition of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad’s dock at King Street, as well as its original passenger depot. That is when the railroad built the Punta Gorda Depot on Taylor Road, which still stands as a museum and antique market.

The original Barron Collier Bridge opened on July 4, 1931 with great fanfare including a community fish fry. The old Charlotte Harbor Bridge was then closed to traffic and converted into fishing piers, which were demolished in the 1970s.

In 1976, the westernmost Gilchrist Bridge (left in picture above) was opened to traffic, and southbound traffic was rerouted there, while both lanes on the old Barron Collier Bridge began carrying only northbound traffic.  Then on January 12, 1983, a new and the now current Barron Collier Bridge was opened to traffic (right). The old Barron Collier Bridge was then demolished, and its remains sunk into Charlotte Harbor for an artificial reef.

Isaac Trabue - Founder of Punta Gorda - Biographical Sketch

Biographical Sketch prepared by Theresa Murtha (Managing Director, Punta Gorda History Center)

Isaac H. Trabue, the founder of the town of Trabue which became Punta Gorda, was born in March 25, 1829 (some reports say 1831) in Russell County, Kentucky. Of French Huguenot descent, he was the grandson of an American Revolutionary hero, James Trabue. He served in the Civil War on the side of the Union under Generals Sherman and Anderson. After the war, he became a prominent lawyer and politician.

In late middle-age, Trabue began investing in land on Charlotte Harbor, in the early 1880s, using seed money from legal fees. Trabue purchased his land, sight unseen, through John Cross, a real estate agent living at Liverpool, Florida at an average price of $1.25 an acre. In 1884, through Cross, Isaac hired Kelly B. Harvey to survey and plat his land into a town to be named after himself, Trabue. Harvey's sketch was sent to Kentucky for Isaac's approval, and the latter, accepted the layout. He also urged Cross to begin selling lots. On February 24, 1885, Harvey recorded the plat at Pine Level, the county seat of Manatee County. To bring more value to his holdings, in 1885, Trabue negotiated a deal to have the railroad come to his town. He agreed to give the Florida Southern one-half of his land holdings at Trabue for the railroad to locate its terminus there rather than Hickory Bluff across the harbor.

In the fall of 1886, Isaac and his wife Virginia Trabue moved to Trabue, construction of the railroad to Punta Gorda was completed, and work on the new hotel on the harbor which was to become the Hotel Punta Gorda began.

Trabue was a man of contradictions. For example, he was a slave owner, who fought for the union. Concerned about perpetuating his name and those of family members, he gave the town his family name and named many of the streets after relatives (names like Virginia, his wife, Chasteen, his father, Gill, a brother-in-law, Elizabeth, his mother and Marion (also spelled Marian), a sister, and many other family names still adorn Punta Gorda's street signs). Yet Trabue, was not willing to pay Harvey's surveyer's bill or to provide the residents, who moved to the town as a result of his efforts and promotional activity, the basic infrastructure required for the town. In the end this cost him the very name of the town which was so important to him. In 1887, frustrated with the lack of responsiveness to their needs, Harvey and other settlers began discussing incorporation. Then in December of 1887, thirty-four men, including Harvey, journeyed to Pine Level to sign the notice of intent to incorporate Trabue into the City of Punta Gorda.

Isaac Trabue lived in Punta Gorda another twenty years and then in 1907, old and ill, he was returning to Kentucky when he passed away.   Punta Gorda’s birth and development can be attributed to Trabue’s early insight which led to his purchasing and developing the land on Charlotte Harbor and stimulating early settlement and enterprise. Unfortunately, he is not well known today by the citizens of the community, and the only fixtures bearing the name Trabue is a street sign on a small street in the historic district of the City and his cottage and land-office now at the history park.







References:

Obituary, Isaac Trabue

Vernon Peeples, Punta Gorda in the Beginning 1865-1900.

Vernon Peeples, Trabue, Alias Punta Gorda, Florida Historical Quarterly

Vernon Peeples: Living History featured talk at Punta Gorda Literary Fair

As part of the 2017 Punta Gorda Literary Fair, on March 7 at 6 p.m. at Herald Court Center, Theresa Murtha and James Abraham will speak about Vernon Peeples: Living History. The ticket price of $35 includes a copy of the book (which retails for $39.99).

Vernon Peeples was a pre-eminent Floridian who represented Punta Gorda and Southwest Florida. He was both a history maker and a historian. His two books on Punta Gorda rank as the standard works on the city in which he grew up.

Theresa Murtha, curator of The Punta Gorda History Center; and James Abraham, editor and publisher of Vernon Peeples’ second book, will share perspectives about the public servant and the historian.

Admission includes a copy of Vernon Peeples, Punta Gorda: In The Beginning, a full-color extravaganza of maps, charts, and rare photographs of Southwest Florida.

The House that Abe Built

It was 1887 and Epfraem Goldstein had moved to the new town of Trabue to start a new life for his family.  He had a store built at the corner of Marion and Cross. Soon though he wanted his family to join him.   So, he hired carpenters to quickly build a house, the first one built in the actual town.    Two hundred men built it in one day. 

Labelled the Pioneer House, the building served both as a restaurant, boarding house and home to Abe, his wife, Friederike, and son, Harry.   A story told says as Abe and Issac Trabue got on in years the animosity between the town's founder and Abe grew.  To the point that Abe would curse Trabue every time he passed the house.   One day, Trabue tiring of this, the legend goes, threatened that he would kill Abe if he cursed him again.  Abe ran in the house, fearing Trabue's threats, Trabue fearing Abe was going for a gun ran in the other direction.  From then on, Abe never cursed the founder again.

The house fell into disrepair and was condemned after standing 81 years.  The house built in one day, was torn down in three.

Holiday Greetings from Punta Gorda Business Men almost 100 years ago

Almost 100 years ago, Punta Gorda business men thanked their customers and wished them a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.