A view from the south end of Little Gasparilla Island
November/December 2019 GASPARILLA MAGAWhen
the Hill family fi rst moved to the island,
many of the homes were owned by families from
central Florida. Rob said many of them were in the
agriculture business in Polk, Hardee and Desoto
Counties, some were teachers and school offi cials.
“We talked about that mix over the years and
thought that both the farmers and school employees
had blocks of free time during the year that
allowed them to come and enjoy the island for
lengths of time. Later on the island started to see
an infl ux of northerners and Canadians who purchased
homes on the island. These are the people
who we think of as snowbirds today, but in the
earlier years there were really no seasonal winter
visitors,” he said
Unique and somewhat mysterious individuals
have always been prevalent on Little Gasparilla.
Rob said one of the memorable characters he
remembers was Pete Peacock (who Peacock lane is
named after), among others.
“Everyone would gather around and ask Uncle
Pete to get out his guitar and sing any time there
was a party on the island,” Rob said. “He was as fun
and full of life as anyone I have ever met. Another
great one was Charlie Bethel. I would go to Charlie’s
house almost everyday in the summer and
have peanut butter and guava sandwiches. Charlie
wore an eye patch when he was on in years, giving
him a bit of an authentic island pirate look. Both
these families still own vacation homes on the
island today.”
If you ask most of the residents of LGI what
some of their favorite things about their island
home are, you will invariably hear two words: No
bridges. With a low residential density, no commercial
development, a safe environment for children,
no paved roads and a peaceful “Old Florida” vibe, it
is considered to be heaven by many.
There are about 350 homes on the island, with
maybe 70 full-time residents. More than half of the
Left: The Mirza Leydon Chapel (services every Sunday at 9 a.m.)
and a look inside the little library behind “Hoot’s House.”