Punta Gorda Fish Co.
Punta Gorda Fish Co. was a fishing company established in the late 19th century in Punta Gorda, Florida. At least ten of the fish shacks and icehouses built by the company have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Company history
In the late 1880s, with the construction of a large ice plant, and the extension of the Florida Southern Railroad, the port at Punta Gorda, Florida became a center for the commercial fishing industry in Florida.[1][2][3] The Punta Gorda Fish Company established in 1897 by Eugene Knight and Harry Dreggors and became one of largest commercial fishing companies operating in in Punta Gorda.[4][5][6] The company had certain areas designated as its fishing territory. It built a network of ice houses and residential fish cabins throughout Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island and the Pine Island Sound. The fish cabins were widely used until World War II and allowed fisherman to work longer shifts without returning to port for shelter, food and supplies. The crew of a fishing boat would sleep in the fish cabins and deliver their catch to the ice houses, where the company's ice keepers would weigh the fish and provide fishermen with receipts that could be cashed at the company's office. The company's "run" boats delivered ice, mail and supplies to the fish cabins and ice houses, returning to the company's dock in Punta Gorda with the fresh fish.[4][5][7][8]
By 1897, the company employed 230 persons on its offshore fisheries and operated 140 boats.[9] In 1927, the Matlacha Bridge linked Pine Island to the mainland, reducing the need for runboats.[8] The demand for the area's fresh fish declined during the Great Depression, and the area's fishing industry declined further when a fire destroyed Punta Gorda's major fishing dock in 1939. The Punta Gorda Fish Company was one of the only companies to survive the fire and acquired some of the fish cabins previously operated by its competitors.[5][10] As roads and bridges were improved after World War II, the company increasingly used refrigerated truck to collect the area's catch, and the need for fish shacks and icehouses declined. The company thereafter sold many of its fishing cabins which were then used for private sport fishing or converted into vacation cabins.[5][11]
The company continued to operate until 1977.[4][10]
Registered historic sites
Seven of the company's surviving fish cabins have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, three of the company's surviving ice houses have also been listed. The cabins and ice houses are "frame vernacular cabins set on wood pilings" and were all built on submerged land between approximately 1920 and 1941. Most of these locations were added to the National Register pursuant to a Multiple Property Submission in 1991 titled the "Fish Cabins of Charlotte Harbor." The Multiple Property Submission cited the cabins' significance in southwest Florida's commercial fishing industry, and "their architecture, materials, and workmanship" as examples of distinctive and functional architecture and a reflection of southwest Florida's commercial fishing industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[5][12][13] The registered structures include:
- Fish Cabin at White Rock Shoals (c. 1920-1941), west of Pine Island, Pine Island Sound, St. James City, Florida, NRHP-listed[13][12]26°32′41″N 82°7′19″W / 26.54472°N 82.12194°W
- Hendrickson Fish Cabin at Captiva Rocks (before 1930), west of Little Wood Key, Pine Island Sound, Bokeelia, Florida, NRHP-listed[13][12] 26°37′42″N 82°11′29″W / 26.62833°N 82.19139°W
- Ice House at Captiva Rocks(built before 1930), southwest of Little Wood Key, Pine Island Sound, Bokeelia, Florida, NRHP-listed[13][12]26°37′35″N 82°11′7″W / 26.62639°N 82.18528°W
- Ice House at Point Blanco (before 1930), southeast of Point Blanco Island, Pine Island Sound, Bokeelia, Florida, NRHP-listed[13][12]26°40′30″N 82°13′31″W / 26.67500°N 82.22528°W
- Larsen Fish Cabin at Captiva Rocks (c. 1920), west of Little Wood Key, Pine Island Sound, Bokeelia, Florida, NRHP-listed[13][12] 26°37′46″N 82°11′29″W / 26.62944°N 82.19139°W
- Leneer Fish Cabin at Captiva Rocks (c. 1920), west of Little Wood Key, Pine Island Sound, Bokeelia, Florida, NRHP-listed[13][12]26°37′38″N 82°11′25″W / 26.62722°N 82.19028°W
- Norton Fish Cabin at Captiva Rocks (c. 1920), west of Little Wood Key, Pine Island Sound, Bokeelia, Florida, NRHP-listed[13][12]26°37′47″N 82°11′32″W / 26.62972°N 82.19222°W
- Punta Gorda Fish Company Ice House (1924), N shore of entrance to Safety Harbor, North Captiva Island, Florida, NRHP-listed in April 20, 1989[13]26°35′56″N 82°12′49″W / 26.59889°N 82.21361°W
- Punta Gorda Fish Company Cabin, also known as McQueen or Cole or Hendry Fish Cabin, Pine Island Sound, Bokeelia, Florida, NRHP-listed in 2003[14]26°37′41″N 82°11′26″W / 26.62806°N 82.19056°W
- Whidden Fish Cabin at Captiva Rocks, west of Little Wood Key, Pine Island Sound, Bokeelia, Florida, NRHP-listed[13]26°37′35″N 82°11′24″W / 26.62639°N 82.19000°W
See also
- Punta Gorda Ice Plant, 408 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda, Florida, NRHP-listed
- List of historic Fish Cabins of Charlotte Harbor, Florida
References
- ^ James W. Covington (1957). The Story of Southwest Florida. Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
- ^ Gregg M. Turner (1999). Railroads of Southwest Florida. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 10, 43. ISBN 0738503495.
- ^ Vernon E. Peeples (January 1980). "Charlotte Harbor Division of the Florida Southern Railroad". Florida Historical Quarterly, volume 58. p. 291.
{{cite news}}: line feed character in|title=at position 42 (help) - ^ a b c Ann M. O'Phelan, Scot Shively, Blanchard House, Punta Gorda Historical Society (2009). Punta Gorda. Arcadia Publishing. p. 36-44, and 51. ISBN 073856799X.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e Tulie W. Taylor and Gladys Cook (December 10, 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation: Fish Cabins of Charlotte Harbor" (PDF).
- ^ Roxanne Read (2009). Port Charlotte. Arcadia Publishing. p. 25. ISBN 0738567779.
- ^ Roxanne Read (2009). Port Charlotte. Arcadia. p. 21. ISBN 0738567779.
- ^ a b Mary Kaye Stevens (2008). Pine Island. Arcadia Publishing. p. 24, 103. ISBN 0738554480.
- ^ Claiborne S. Young (2008). Cruising Guide to Western Florida. Pelican Publishing. p. 209. ISBN 1589805062.
- ^ a b Roxanne Read (2009). Port Charlotte. Arcadia. pp. 26–7. ISBN 0738567779.
- ^ John D. Mills (2011). The Trophy Wife Divorce. AuthorHouse. p. 84.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Florida's History Through Its Places, Lee County". Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties". National Park Service. January 16, 2004.