Punta Gorda is a historic waterfront town located in Southwest Florida where the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor meet on the Gulf of Mexico. The area was first occupied by Native Americans and later discovered in the 1500s by Ponce de Leon while searching for the Fountain of Youth. However, it was not until the late 19th century, when cattle ranchers and homesteaders descended upon the area, that things began to develop. Once the South Florida Railroad made Punta Gorda its southernmost stop, down came land developers and wealthy vacationers, including Cornelius Vanderbilt, who invested in the regal Hotel Punta Gorda. Among the town's early pioneers were George Brown, an African American shipbuilder and landowner who was also known as Florida's first equal opportunity employer; Albert Waller Gilchrist, who played a key role in Punta Gorda's early fishing and railroad industry; and Robert Meacham, an African American who was appointed as the town's third postmaster. There were others who were significant, such as Col. Isaac Trabue, who was key to the area's railroad industry. Punta Gorda has grown since its inception but still maintains its Southern charm.

History is full of eddies and currents, but certain themes emerge that give a community clues to both its future and its past. For example, Charlotte County was born in the cockpit of rapid social change, propelled from the Jazz Age into the Great Depression. Communities like Englewood or Cleveland with dreams of becoming metropolises lost their city charters when the music stopped and the well ran dry. Boom and bust. The cycle continued as a construction boom transformed the county during the second half of the 20th century before the major developer of Port Charlotte went belly up.Vernon Peeples, the late, great preeminent historian of Punta Gorda, told me how city founder Isaac Trabue brought the railroad to what was then called Trabue. Soon the railroad backed a play by Trabue's enemies to swallow up his town and give it the name we know today. Now, if Allegiant Airlines can open Sunseeker's doors, we'll see a second revolution spawned by the transportation industry. And that's no coincidence. Punta Gorda was once the southernmost point of the entire North American railroad system, with shipping links south and west to Cuba and New Orleans. Allegiant has capitalized on our proximity to the Midwest and our beckoning breezes. The railroad built the legendary Punta Gorda Hotel, the 19th century version of destination resort travel. Allegiant's Sunseeker may be the 21st century version of that iconic job generator. Geography is our destiny.Now, as we try to make a new society in the face of the deadliest pandemic to strike our community, is not the time to hide our voices. Now is the time to tell our stories. Here is the place to celebrate the people who made Charlotte County's first century

A guide to the best scenic day hikes and overnight trips along the state-spanning Florida Trail, this book helps readers of all backgrounds and experience levels plan an adventure exploring natural Florida.

Peace River is a location near Lake Hancock, north of present-day Bartow. Seminole hunting towns on Peace River lay in a five or six mile wide belt of land centered on and running down the river from Lake Hancock to below present-day Fort Meade. Oponay, who also was named Ochacona Tustenatty, was sent into Florida as a representative to the Seminoles on behalf of the Creek chiefs remaining loyal to the United States during the Seminole War. Oponay occupied the land adjacent to Lake Hancock and Saddle Creek. Peter McQueen and his party occupied the area to the south of Bartow. Quite likely their settlement included the remains of Seminole lodges and other facilities located on the west bank near the great ford of the river at Fort Meade. This important strategic position would have allowed the Red Sticks (Indians) to control not only access to the hunting grounds to the south, but communication and the trade with the Cuban fishermen at Charlotte Harbor, as well as the passage of representatives of Spain and England through the harbor.