Yellow Road = Edgewater Access      Green Roads = Grassy Point Sailing Community      Violet Roads = Grassy Point Estates

The "GRASSY POINT SAILING COMMUNITY" is made up of 8 streets/178 properties: Press HERE to view any house in our community.
Street	Road-Signs	Cul-de-sac	Street Aerial View	Resident List ~ GPCIA Members
COUSLEY (Edgewater to 132 Cousley)				Cousley Resident List
COUSLEY (138 Cousley to George)				Cousley Resident List
CROOP				Croop Resident List
FIELDS				Fields Resident List
FRY				Fry Resident List
GEORGE				George Resident List
MORGAN				Morgan Resident List
STEBBINS				Stebbins Resident List
TAIT				Tait Resident List

Background history of "CHARLOTTE HARBOR"

        Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon is believed to have been the first European to have visited Charlotte Harbor in 1521. Prior to his arrival, Charlotte Harbor was the home of the Calusa and Timucua indian tribes.

         In 1539 another Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto is believed to have entered Charlotte Harbor as he began his exploration of North America. Charlotte Harbor was opened to commercial fishing by Pedro Menendez D’Aviles in 1566, a year after he founded Saint Augustine on Florida’s Atlantic coast.

        Charlotte Harbor was first known as Bahia Carlos (Carlos Bay) by the Spaniards. The English changed the name from Carlos to Charlotte in honor of Britain’s Queen Charlotte.

        When Grant pursued Lee catching up with him at Appomattox VA, Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865 marking the end of the American Civil War. President Lincoln was assassinated on the night of April 15, 1865. America was thrown on a path of unification between the Union north and the Confederate south.

        Frederick William Howard of Kinderhook, New York ventured south to become the first settler in Charlotte Harbor in November 1873. He and his wife Anna with two nephews established their Harbor residence in January 1874 building a log cabin homestead. In April 1875 Frederick’s brother, Jarvis with his wife, Brenda, and their sons joined them. The Howard brothers, both veterans of the Union Army have the privilege of being the first settlers to Charlotte Harbor. Other homesteaders, cattle ranchers and fishermen descended upon the Charlotte Harbor area in the late 19th century transforming wilderness into civilization.

        The Howard brothers grew oranges and vegetables while homesteading their land. Jarvis kept a journal providing a historical record of life in Charlotte Harbor in the 1870s. He noted the Seminoles passing in their dugouts on the Peace River, the lack of medical care, the irregular mail service, the lack of regular news, changeable weather, fantastic fishing, local politics, millions of mosquitoes, and he described other neighbors in the area.

        The Gainesville, Ocala & Charlotte Harbor Railroad began on March 4, 1879 with a route from Lake City to Charlotte Harbor. It brought land developers and vacationers to Charlotte Harbor and in February 1881 changed its name to the Florida Southern Railway.

        The below envelope, cancelled in Charlotte Harbor on January 18, 1881 was sent to Frederick Howard who had returned to Kinderhook, New York.

        Punta Gorda was incorporated in 1887 and Englewood became a town in 1894.

        In 1891 a Federal project established a channel 12-feet-deep and 200-feet-wide from inside Boca Grande Pass to Punta Gorda. Charlotte Harbor was born as a navigable waterway.

Brief history of the "GRASSY POINT SAILING COMMUNITY"

        In 1954 the Mackle brothers founded the General Development Corporation (GDC). GDC had bought large tracks of raw Charlotte Harbor land from Arthur Frizzell, who had been the local stationmaster for the "Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railroad" in Punta Gorda. GDC coined the name "Port Charlotte" in its advertising campaign to market its developed land lots and its newly constructed houses on the north shore of the Peace River.

        GDC set out an aggressive marketing campaign targeting mid-income retirees in the northeastern and midwestern US to buy into this developing Florida retirement haven. They actually built a full sized replica of a model home in Grand Central Station in New York City. Raw land was converted into developed tracks of residential lots and houses, many of which were on artificial waterways with direct access to Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico. GDC built roads, dug waterways, made landfills, developed water, sewer and electrical interfaces and other complementing amenities.

        GDC would set the unincorporated community of Port Charlotte on a path to becoming the most populated residential center in Charlotte County under the jurisdiction of the County government. Port Charlotte does not have a traditional “downtown,” but is made up of a lattice of smaller subdivisions, which are linked together by roads, lakes and waterways.

        Prominent among these communities is the Grassy Point Sailing Community which is bordered by Grassy Point Estates, Buena Vista and ELF (Edgewater from Lister to Free). The Grassy Point Sailing Community began on August 8, 1960 (see above early photo) as the Port Charlotte Subdivision Section 40 (Declaration). It is unique insofar as the entire residential community area has underground utilities, wide side-walks and sailboat access to Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico.

Comments by Frank Elliott Mackle III

The wonderful thing about the Community Development business is that - no matter what the course that companies may take ...profit ...loss ...success ...failure - what is created will last for a long, long time.           Even the largest building will fall someday - or be torn down.           A community has a life of its own.           It is a living breathing thing - made up of its people .... its families.           It goes where they want to take it.           But the Community Builder lays the foundation.           The Mackle family has laid the foundation of fifteen Florida communities....

What makes "GRASSY POINT SAILING COMMUNITY" so special ?

1) Most of the houses are on wide deep-water canals.
2) All of the canals provide easy-out access to the open waters of Charlotte Harbor and on to the Gulf of Mexico. There are no bridges or mast height restrictions, and deep-water keels are only limited by channel markers.
3) Most of the houses were built in the 70's, and some have been replaced by newer structures.
4) Most houses are occupied by owners year-round, and a few are rented.
5) The entire community residential area has underground utilities and wide side-walks.
6) Road traffic is minimal with use by residents, guests and service personnel (there is no thru-traffic).
7) There is minimal noise except from nature's creatures and occasional landscaping maintenance.
8) There is a strong sense of community amongst residents.

The "GRASSY POINT SAILING COMMUNITY" is best viewed by WATER

Click on a pic for a larger view

The "GRASSY POINT SAILING COMMUNITY" as viewed from above (past ~ present)

Click on a pic for a larger view

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