Above left, the little
bridgetender house
put back together in
Blairsville, Ga. Above
right, the plaque that
shows its history.
Bottom left, the
original windows of the
building. Bottom right,
the building when it
was on the tournament
barge.
July/August • 2021 • GASPARILLA MAGAZINE 75
Gasparilla Island Conservancy and see if they
have interest in assisting with this project. I’ll
reach out and see if they have any interest at
all.”
This move is welcome news to local
conservation groups, who have been
concerned with development in the area.
In 2015, Friends of Cape Haze, a local
conservation group, and Sierra Club, a
national conservation group brought a case
against Charlotte County to prevent high
density development on the Cape Haze
peninsula. According to a spokesperson
for Friends of Cape Haze, “I think that
fundamentally this kayak launching facility
will be good. It’s a popular spot. You can’t
deny the public right to access the water and
I think it will be for the benefi t of all involved.”
“We would like for it to become a part of
the trail system. We wouldn’t want motor
access,” said Truex. “I think it would be a
good property to keep and protect the
environment and provide access.”
Capt. Marian put in her due diligence to try
to fi nd the old building a home, to be sure.
She researched its history and contacted
every organization in Charlotte County she
could think of that might want the building.
After moving the
bridgetender’s house to
Grande Tours Capt. Marian
and her employees put a
bunk bed inside and used
it for kayakers passing
through. She also had an
offi ce manager who lived
in it for four years, and a
local fi shing guide lived in
it for about a year.
Capt. Marian said she remembers when the
little shack was still in operation, as she grew up in
this area.
“I went through it many times,” she recalled. “It
has always been visible since the beginning in
1910. I even saw it at tarpon tournaments as a
weight station.”
That’s right, the little building was placed on
a barge for a time in the 1990s and used as a
weigh station. It has been repurposed more than
once, that’s for sure.
Capt. Marian extends a special thanks to
contractor Dean Robert Philps and everyone who
helped to make this dream come true for her …
and for taking such care to keep history alive.