Boca Grande Quarantine Station - Boca Grande, Florida, USA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Ship traffic in and out of Charlotte Harbor dramatically increased as phosphate mining and processing began developing in the 1880s. Due to Boca Grande's deep water port ships from other countries began increasing in large numbers. One of the early concerns of the federal government was how to protect the nation's health through preventing the importation of infectious diseases from incoming ships.

The prevention of epidemics was especially important to Florida, with its hundreds of miles of coastline and active maritime activity. Florida's port cities were indirect communication with communities in tropical countries that harbored infectious diseases such as cholera and yellow fever. In 1852, the Florida Legislature authorized seaboard cities and counties to establish maritime quarantines against vessels arriving from foreign ports known to be infected with contagious diseases. A quarantine station at Pensacola received considerable financial support from the federal government between 1878 and 1883. As early as 1835, a schooner was blamed for bringing yellow fever to Pensacola. Other yellow fever epidemics followed and included outbreaks of the disease in St. Joseph in 1841, Tampa in the 1850s and Fernandina in the 1870s. Key West was impacted by yellow fever numerous times between 1867 and 1899.

Maritime quarantine and the prevention of yellow fever were the State Board's primary concerns during its early years of activity. As a result the quarantine station was built on Boca Grande in the late 1880's and used as such until 1904 when a new quarantine station was built on Cayo Costa island to the south.

The quarantine station building was now utilized as housing and offices for the local bar pilots who assisted navigation for large ships through the dangerous waters of Boca Grande pass. It continued to be used as such until 1964 when bar pilots were no longer needed.

Excerpted from the NRHP Nomination Form.

Street address: 833 Belcher Road Boca Grande, FL USA 33921 County / Borough / Parish: Lee Year listed: 1996 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Maritime History, Health and Medicine Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1889 Historic function: Government Current function: Domestic Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/13/2019 BoomersOTR visited it