NORTH END
HISTORY
A much
overlooked
piece of our
island
paradise
Story by Marcy Shortuse
Photos from the Boca Beacon archives and
from Kevin and Nancy Hyde
An island that is only seven miles long can
seem endless when you’re crossing the
Causeway, waiting to get back to
paradise. Carloads of people pass by the
mangrove-lined neighborhoods of Boca Grande
North and Gulf Shores Drive without giving
them a second thought, on their way to the
village and beyond. But just beyond those
mangroves are some of the most interesting
neighborhoods on Gasparilla Island, and they
exist in a quiet, old-Florida type of world totally
separate from the hustle and bustle of the
central and south areas of the island.
It wasn’t that long ago that the entire north
end was nothing but classic Florida barrier island
vegetation and beautiful, empty beaches. Once
upon a time there was a campground on Cole
Island, but not much more than that, but in much
earlier times the north end was busier than the
rest of the island.
The reason for was simple: Mullet.