Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, on the border of Charlotte and Lee Counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park.
Gasparilla was an important stop for phosphate shipping until the dredging of the Port of Tampa in the 1970s, and was a major vacation destination for the elite from Tampa and Fort Myers. Shipping has declined substantially since the last quarter of the 20th century, tourism remains important to the island's economy. Much of the development of this legend is the result of promotion by a local hotel and railroad line.
According to Florida folklore, Gasparilla Island gets its name from the legendary pirate captain José Gaspar ("Gasparilla", c. 1756 – 1821), who had his base on the island and purportedly hid his fabulous treasure there.
The forklore account does not appear in writing until about 1900, when it was included in an advertising brochure for the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railroad company, which was given to the guests of the Boca Grande Hotel. It mentions that Gaspar's massive treasure, hidden somewhere on the island, had never been found. The version of the Gasparilla story told in the pamphlet influenced all later accounts, but is likely apocryphal. The name "Gasparilla" appears on maps dating to well before the time of the buccaneer; historians have suggested the island was named for a Spanish missionary named Gaspar or Gasparillo.
A trio of pet Mexican Spinytailed Iguanas, Ctenosaura pectinata, released on Gasparilla Island by a resident in the 1970s has led to a current population explosion of over 12,000 lizards.
Gasparilla Island is known for its fabulous tarpon fishing, which gave it the nickname of "The Tarpon Capital of the World". Each year, tarpon tournaments are held from early May until mid-July.
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