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Punta Gorda (or "fat point" in Spanish) was well known to the Indians,
Spanish explorers and American pioneers. In 1887, the city changed its
name from Trabue (the name of its founder) to Punta Gorda.
Gone now is the long dock which extended 4000 feet into Charlotte
Harbor to allow the Fishing Boats to unload their catch's to waiting
railroad cars, that were iced down from the Punta Gorda Ice Plant,
and shipped to New York City. Punta Gorda was the terminus of
the Florida Southern Railway.
Isles visionaries, Bud Cole, Al Johns, and Bob Barbee built four
models on the west shore of the basin (behind the present site of
the PGICA center). The first Isles residents moved into their
homes in 1959. At the end of 1960 there were 30 homes. By 1968,
land purchases by Punta Gorda Isles Inc. totaled approximately
2300 acres. In December, 1968, Punta Gorda Isles Inc.
announced plans to build a new golf course section, named Burnt
Store Isles, and in January 1969, they purchased an additional 509
acres. The company reported record sales and additional land
acquisitions were made. PGI Inc. entered an agreement with the
City of Punta Gorda that these additional landswould be annexed
by the City. Sales within PGI were slow at first, but picked up as
the economy grew. Through the 80's and early 90's sales tended
to match the economic times. The current growth spirt can be
traced back to 1996 when in a growing economy, Punta Gorda
was named by Money Magazine as the "Second best place to live
in America", and the "Number 1 small place to live in America".
Since that time, Punta Gorda has received several more
distinguished honors for its quality of life, anticipated appreciation
of home values, and opportunities for employment and wage
growth. The most recent in September 2003 by MSN naming Punta
Gorda as #4 out of 331 Metropolitan Cities in the United States. |
