Tag: Boca Grande History Center

History: Recalling the epoch when Boca Grande was ‘near’ Cuba

Above, the old streetcar which ran from 1910 on. Boca Beacon archives BY JAMES J. BLAHA, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER The year 1900 marked the start of a new era, of course, in the U.S. and in...

New Hall of Fame for Boca Grande fishing

The Boca Grande Historical Society held the first ever launch of the Boca Grande Fishing Hall of Fame on Tuesday, April 14. The dinner and awards period included friends and family of honorees, as...

History: Boca Grande property people, from Robert E. Lee to condo builders

BY JAMES J. BLAHA, DIRECTORBOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER In 1996, Michael Ingram, a Tampa lawyer and the son of Dr. James Ingram who had purchased the historic Journey’s End property in 1963,...

History: Docent’s dilemma, or it is all how you approach history

“One of the docents in a history museum was trying out some role playing and visualization techniques. After looking at the clothing exhibit, she asked a group of third graders to imagine that...

Historic gathering for Historical Society

November 13, 2025
Staff Report
Community History, News

The Boca Grande Historical Society’s board and staff gathered last week to celebrate their new History Center opening at the Crowninshield Community House. From left, front row: Trisha Lowe, Kim...

History Center reels in new location, exhibits

When former Boca Grande Historical Society President Pam Heilman came in and first saw the new space for the Boca Grande History Center, and its new Footprints from the Past Exhibition, she said...

Opening for new History Center at Crowninshield

November 6, 2025
Staff Report
Community History, News

The new space for the Boca Grande Historical Society and History Center will open to the public on Wednesday, Nov. 12. This new, interactive History Center exhibit will bring Boca Grande’s...

History: How much of our islands here are ‘hainted’ by ghosts

BY KAREN GRACE,BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER Whether hauntings are real or not, Gasparilla Island and its surroundings have a history of ghost stories. The earliest involve Cayo Pelau, an island...

History Center reopens

October 30, 2025
Staff Report
Community History, News

The Boca Grande Historical Society & History Center is opening up on Wednesday, Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a new exhibit “Footprints from the Past” at the Crowninshield Community...

History: Boca Grande in the 1960s

BY KAREN GRACE,BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER Betty and Jack Barndollar first came to Gasparilla Island in 1959, a year after the bridge had been built. Three years later, they built a house and...