SoME OF THe MoST
iNTeREsTInG gRAvES
iN iNDiAN SPrINg
CeMEtERy iNClUDe: Copies of the Indian Spring Cemetery
map can be found at the welcome sign
at the main entrance.
• John H. Bowman (1857 - 1903): On a fourth term as city marshal of Punta Gorda, he was
murdered at his home on Taylor Street when shot through his front window. He was known as an
imposing figure on a mission to clean up the rough frontier town with a record of 40 murders
committed in 18 years. The identity of the killer is unknown to this day.
• Ollie Bracket “Big Six” (unknown - 1894): Owner of “Castle
Hall,” a bawdy house at the end of West Marion Avenue just before what
is now Punta Gorda Isles, Miss Ollie died of dysentery in 1894. The
attending physician discovered that “she” was actually a male at that time.
• Clay Chadwick (1879 - 1953): He developed Englewood Beach
(originally known as Punta Gorda Beach) and with his brothers Steve
and Hubbard they owned fish camps and became commercial fishermen.
• Charles G. Davis (1846 - 1917): The conductor of the first
passenger train owned by the Florida Southern Railroad that arrived in
Punta Gorda in 1886. He stayed in Punta Gorda and started a pineapple
farm in 1890.
• Albert F. Dewey (1857 - 1935): Owner of the Charlotte Harbor
Stevedore Co. and the steam tug boat Albert F. Dewey, which he used to
tow phosphate barges from the Peace River to Boca Grande Pass. The
Albert F. Dewey handled all the phosphate through Punta Gorda at that
time, and could tow 1,000 pounds a day.
• Albert Waller Gilchrist (1858 - 1926): An early Punta Gorda
settler, founder, real estate broker, lawyer, and the 20th governor of
Florida. He platted Indian Spring Cemetery in the 1880s, which fittingly
serves as his final resting place.
• Norman Hewitt (1874 - 1951): He and his brother, Clarence,
owned Hewitt Bros. Garage, Hardware Store and Furniture Store all on
East Marion Avenue where the Punta Gorda Post Office is today. Norman
owned one of the first cars in Charlotte County, a six-horsepower
Rambler Runabout, which led to the first auto accident of this area in
1906.
56GASPARILLA ISLAND September/October 2018