History
According to local folklore, Captiva got its name because the pirate captain José Gaspar (Gasparilla) held his female prisoners on the island for ransom or worse. However, the supposed existence of José Gaspar is sourced from an advertising brochure of an early 20th century developer and may be a fabrication.
Mr. Binder was born In Austria in 1850. Binder was on a German freighter headed to New Orleans when the ship crashed and he was shipwrecked off Boca Grande. He then washed up to shore on what has been since 1921, Upper Captiva. “He lived for several weeks on what the unoccupied island had to offer, built a makeshift raft, and got himself to Pine Island, where he was helped to return to his home. By 1888, due to his having fought with the U.S. Army, he became naturalized, and was allowed to homestead on Captiva in 1888, when he was 38 years old. For 10 years he was Captiva’s first and only inhabitant. He died in 1932.” (Page 2)
Around the time of 3000 B.C. the sands of Captiva started to erode to the formation of Sanibel Island. The Gulf of Mexico waters were eight feet lower then than they are today. It is said that the first inhabitants of Captiva were The Calusa Indians. (Page 7)
The population of the Calusa is believed to have reached as high as 50,000 people. “Calusa means "fierce people," and they were described as a fierce, war-like people.” The Calusa Indians were not very welcoming and attacked any explorers who came into their territory. Calusa Indians built their houses on stilts but did not have any walls. They wove palmetto leaves together to build roves. The Calusa Indians fished for food on the coast, bays, rivers, and waterways. They did not farm. “The men and boys of the tribe made nets from palm tree webbing to catch mullet, pinfish, pigfish, and catfish. They used spears to catch eels and turtles. They made fish bone arrowheads to hunt for animals such as deer. The women and children learned to catch shellfish like conchs, crabs, clams, lobsters, and oysters.” The Calusa Indians used the shells on the island for utensils, jewelry, tools, weapons, and ornaments.
By the late 1700s most of the Calusa Indians died. Many were captured and sold as slaves while others died from diseases such as smallpox and measles.
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