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The haunted Port Boca Grande
Lighthouse is located on Gasparilla Island, Florida in
the Gulf of Mexico. Built in 1890, beach erosion
eventually threatened the lighthouse, but it was saved by the
building of a 265 foot granite jetty to form a
basin.
The haunted Port Boca Grande lighthouse marks
the entryway into Charlotte Harbor. Still a working
lighthouse today, it is part of the Gasparilla Island State
Park and houses a museum, as well. In 1986, the
lighthouse was fully restored as a working lighthouse, after being decommissioned
by the Coast Guard
in 1966
due to disrepair and
the structure becoming unsound. Lighthouse keepers and their
families stayed in the keeper's house from 1890 until
1951. The light was automated in 1956. But
what makes this landmark haunted? |
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The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse also served
as the keeper's house. One of the lighthouse keeper's
daughter's passed away in the home due to sickness. It
was either diptheria or whooping cough that claimed her
life. Legend has it that at midnight she can still be
heard playing upstairs in one of the rooms (according to a
former Park Ranger tour guide). The story of the young
girl is not the only lore surrounding the Port Boca Grande
lighthouse being haunted. There is another legend of
sorts about this site.
Some have claimed to see the
headless apparition of a lady, believed to be a former Spanish
Princess by the name of Josefa. The pirate who gave the
island its name, Jose Gaspar, was said to be madly in love
with Josefa, whom he had kidnapped and brought to the island
where he had buried his treasure. After professing his
devotion to her, she is said to have rejected Gaspar. In
a fit of rage, he took off her head by his blade, then buried
her body on the beach near where the lighthouse was later
built. Her head, however, is believed to have left
Gasparilla Island with the pirate. Does she still search
the beach for her head? Some claim so, and it does make
for a great story...
Today, you can visit the
lighthouse, as it is home to a museum as mentioned
previously. For more information, visit their
website here
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