Sanibel, Florida
Encyclopedia
Sanibel is a city
in Lee County
, Florida
, United States
, on Sanibel Island
. The population was 6,064 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2006 population of 6,066. It is part of the Cape Coral
–Fort Myers
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The main town is at the eastern end of the island. The city was formed in 1974 as a direct result of the main causeway being built in 1963 to replace the ferry
, and the rampant construction
and development
that occurred afterward. Developers sued over the new restrictions, but the city and citizens prevailed in their quest to protect the island. The only buildings above two to three stories now on the barrier island
were built during that period.
The city is on Sanibel Island on the Gulf
coast of Southwest Florida
, and is linked to the mainland by the Sanibel Causeway
. A short bridge
over Blind Pass
links Sanibel to the unincorporated town of Captiva
on Captiva Island
. More than half of the two islands are preserved in its natural state as wildlife refuges. Visitors can drive, walk, bike, or kayak through the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge.http://www.fws.gov/dingdarling/ The island's most famous landmark, the Sanibel Lighthouse
, is located at the eastern end of the island, adjacent to the fishing pier. The main thoroughfare, Periwinkle Way, is where the majority of stores and restaurants are located, while the Gulf Drives (East, Middle and West) play host to most of the accommodations.
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, has also been a key player in helping to curb uncontrolled commercial growth and development on the island. Since 1967, SCCF has been dedicated to the preservation of natural resources on and around Sanibel and Captiva and has led efforts to acquire and preserve environmentally sensitive land on the islands including critical wildlife habitats, rare and unique subtropical plant communities, tidal wetlands, and freshwater wetlands along the Sanibel River.
The most serious hurricane damage in 44 years (since Hurricane Donna
in 1960) occurred in August 2004 when Hurricane Charley
struck to the north. Thanks to the city's very strict building code
s, very few building
s were seriously damaged, and none were destroyed. Residents who left before the August 13 storm were not allowed back by the city government
until August 18, due to hundreds of downed non-native Australian pine tree
s and power line
s, and the lack of potable water
and sanitary sewer
. A temporary city hall for Sanibel was set up on the mainland
in a Fort Myers
hotel
, until utilities and transport
could be restored to the island.
A new three-part causeway bridge to Sanibel was completed during the Summer of 2007, and the high-span section replaced the original drawbridge.
The city's best-known resident is former CIA Director
Porter Goss, who spearheaded the island's incorporation, became its first mayor, and represented the area in Congress from 1989 until his appointment as CIA Director in 2004.
Many readers know of Sanibel Island as the main setting for many fictional crime novels written by local bestselling author Randy Wayne White. Popular locales are referenced throughout his novels. White's main fictional character is named Doc Ford and due to his popularity, White opened a popular restaurant in his character's namesake, Doc Ford's Sanibel Rum Bar & Grill.
The Wall Street Journal
selected Sanibel and Captiva Islands as one of the 10 Best Places for Second Homes in 2010.
Sanibel is located at 26°26′23"N 82°4′50"W (26.439608, -82.080456). According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 33.16 square miles (85.9 km²). 17.21 square miles (44.6 km²) of it is land and 15.96 square miles (41.3 km²) of it (48.13%) is water.
of 2000, there were 6,064 people, 3,049 households, and 2,125 families residing in the city. The population density
was 352.4 per square mile (136.0/km²). There were 7,075 housing units at an average density of 411.2 per square mile (158.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.99% White, 0.94% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races
, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.39% of the population.
There were 3,049 households out of which 10.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3% were married couples
living together, 3.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.33.
In the city the population was spread out with 10.1% under the age of 18, 1.7% from 18 to 24, 12.4% from 25 to 44, 35.8% from 45 to 64, and 40.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 60 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $79,044, and the median income for a family was $92,455. Males had a median income of $40,641 versus $27,481 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $66,912. About 2.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 1.5% of those age 65 or over.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in Lee County
Lee County, Florida
Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Located in southwest Florida, the principal cities in the county are Fort Myers and Cape Coral...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, on Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island
Sanibel Island is an island located on the Gulf coast of Florida, just offshore of Fort Myers. In 2000, it had an estimated population of 6,064 people...
. The population was 6,064 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2006 population of 6,066. It is part of the Cape Coral
Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral is a municipality located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a master-planned, pre-platted community, the city grew to a population of 154,305 by the year 2010. With an area of , Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and...
–Fort Myers
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The main town is at the eastern end of the island. The city was formed in 1974 as a direct result of the main causeway being built in 1963 to replace the ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, and the rampant construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
and development
Subdivision (land)
Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...
that occurred afterward. Developers sued over the new restrictions, but the city and citizens prevailed in their quest to protect the island. The only buildings above two to three stories now on the barrier island
Barrier island
Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...
were built during that period.
The city is on Sanibel Island on the Gulf
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
coast of Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida is a region of Florida , United States located along its gulf coast, south of the Tampa Bay area, west of Lake Okeechobee and mostly north of the Everglades...
, and is linked to the mainland by the Sanibel Causeway
Sanibel Causeway
The Sanibel Causeway is a causeway in Southwest Florida that spans the San Carlos Bay, connecting Sanibel Island with the Florida mainland in South Fort Myers. The causeway consists of three separate two-lane bridge spans, and two man-made causeway islands, which are located between each of the...
. A short bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
over Blind Pass
Blind Pass
Blind Pass is the strait that separates Captiva Island from Sanibel Island in Lee County, Florida. - References :...
links Sanibel to the unincorporated town of Captiva
Captiva, Florida
Captiva is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, United States. It is located on Captiva Island. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total year-round population of 379. It is part of the Cape Coral–Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area....
on Captiva Island
Captiva Island
Captiva Island is an island in Lee County in southwest Florida, located just offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.-History:According to local folklore, Captiva got its name because the pirate captain José Gaspar held his female prisoners on the island for ransom or worse...
. More than half of the two islands are preserved in its natural state as wildlife refuges. Visitors can drive, walk, bike, or kayak through the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge.http://www.fws.gov/dingdarling/ The island's most famous landmark, the Sanibel Lighthouse
Sanibel Island Light
The Sanibel Island Light or Point Ybel Light is the first lighthouse on Florida's Gulf coast north of Key West and the Dry Tortugas. It is located on the eastern tip of Sanibel Island, and was built to mark the entrance to San Carlos Bay for ships calling at the port of Punta Rassa, across San...
, is located at the eastern end of the island, adjacent to the fishing pier. The main thoroughfare, Periwinkle Way, is where the majority of stores and restaurants are located, while the Gulf Drives (East, Middle and West) play host to most of the accommodations.
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, has also been a key player in helping to curb uncontrolled commercial growth and development on the island. Since 1967, SCCF has been dedicated to the preservation of natural resources on and around Sanibel and Captiva and has led efforts to acquire and preserve environmentally sensitive land on the islands including critical wildlife habitats, rare and unique subtropical plant communities, tidal wetlands, and freshwater wetlands along the Sanibel River.
The most serious hurricane damage in 44 years (since Hurricane Donna
Hurricane Donna
Hurricane Donna in the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season was a Cape Verde-type hurricane which moved across the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispanola, Cuba, The Bahamas, and every state on the East Coast of the United States...
in 1960) occurred in August 2004 when Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to August 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the...
struck to the north. Thanks to the city's very strict building code
Building code
A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...
s, very few building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s were seriously damaged, and none were destroyed. Residents who left before the August 13 storm were not allowed back by the city government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
until August 18, due to hundreds of downed non-native Australian pine tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and power line
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
s, and the lack of potable water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
and sanitary sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
. A temporary city hall for Sanibel was set up on the mainland
Mainland
Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...
in a Fort Myers
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, until utilities and transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
could be restored to the island.
A new three-part causeway bridge to Sanibel was completed during the Summer of 2007, and the high-span section replaced the original drawbridge.
The city's best-known resident is former CIA Director
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency serves as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which is part of the United States Intelligence Community. The Director reports to the Director of National Intelligence . The Director is assisted by the Deputy Director of the Central...
Porter Goss, who spearheaded the island's incorporation, became its first mayor, and represented the area in Congress from 1989 until his appointment as CIA Director in 2004.
Many readers know of Sanibel Island as the main setting for many fictional crime novels written by local bestselling author Randy Wayne White. Popular locales are referenced throughout his novels. White's main fictional character is named Doc Ford and due to his popularity, White opened a popular restaurant in his character's namesake, Doc Ford's Sanibel Rum Bar & Grill.
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
selected Sanibel and Captiva Islands as one of the 10 Best Places for Second Homes in 2010.
Geography
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 33.16 square miles (85.9 km²). 17.21 square miles (44.6 km²) of it is land and 15.96 square miles (41.3 km²) of it (48.13%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 6,064 people, 3,049 households, and 2,125 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 352.4 per square mile (136.0/km²). There were 7,075 housing units at an average density of 411.2 per square mile (158.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.99% White, 0.94% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.39% of the population.
There were 3,049 households out of which 10.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 3.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.33.
In the city the population was spread out with 10.1% under the age of 18, 1.7% from 18 to 24, 12.4% from 25 to 44, 35.8% from 45 to 64, and 40.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 60 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $79,044, and the median income for a family was $92,455. Males had a median income of $40,641 versus $27,481 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $66,912. About 2.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 1.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- R. Tucker AbbottR. Tucker AbbottRobert Tucker Abbott was an American conchologist and malacologist . He was the author of more than 30 books on malacology, which have been translated into many languages....
, leading 20th century malacologist/conchologist - Horace William Baden DoneganHorace William Baden DoneganHorace William Baden Donegan was an English prelate of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America...
, English prelate - Clifton FadimanClifton FadimanClifton P. "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.-Literary career:...
, author and radio/TV personality - Helaine FendelmanHelaine FendelmanHelaine Fendelman is a generalist antiques, fine arts and collectibles appraiser, author, instructor and co-host of a Public Broadcasting Station affiliated television show....
, appraiser - Porter J. GossPorter J. GossPorter Johnston Goss is an American politician who was the first Director of National Intelligence and the last Director of Central Intelligence following the passage of the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which abolished the DCI position...
, former CIA director - Jean ShepherdJean ShepherdJean Parker Shepherd was an American raconteur, radio and TV personality, writer and actor who was often referred to by the nickname Shep....
, author, screenwriter and radio raconteur - Willard ScottWillard ScottWillard Herman Scott, Jr. is an American media personality and author best known for his television work on NBC's The Today Show and as the creator of the Ronald McDonald character.-Early years:...
, weatherman, TV personality, Ronald McDonald
See also
- Bailey-Matthews Shell MuseumBailey-Matthews Shell MuseumThe Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is a museum of seashells and conchology located in the city of Sanibel, Florida on Sanibel Island on the Gulf coast of Southwest Florida...
- Sanibel IslandSanibel IslandSanibel Island is an island located on the Gulf coast of Florida, just offshore of Fort Myers. In 2000, it had an estimated population of 6,064 people...
- J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge
External links
- City of Sanibel official site