Sunday Favorites: History of the Intracoastal Waterway Part 2

It's amazing the Intracoastal Waterway took 72 years to complete! When we left off last week, the project was delayed due to WWI. However, officials extended the Intracoastal to Venice. This week, we will look at the southern portion of this amazing project.

You can read part one HERE.

Just before WWI, a 100-feet-wide channel, five feet in depth spanned from Tampa to Sarasota and a slightly smaller 75-feet-wide channel extended from Sarasota to Venice. In the early 1900s, steamers made daily trips from Tampa to Sarasota, with small sailboats acting as "feeders" from southern points in Venice and Osprey. These vessels would rendezvous at certain times with steamers and exchange goods for cargo. As development increased along the coast, settlers in Englewood and Grove City also required regular stops to import supplies and export crops. (At the time, there were no reliable roads extending into that area of Florida).

By the closing years of WWI, several boats operated regularly, at least 100 launches ran supplies sporadically and two regular boat lines carried freight and passengers. The auxiliary sloop "Phantom" made weekly trips between Tampa and Osprey, and a gasoline launch made three expeditions per week according to a Historical Geography of Southwest Florida Waterways.

In 1917, records indicated that 3,481 tons of products, which included brick, canned goods, cement, corn, feed, fertilizer, fish, flour, grain, groceries, hay, ice, lumber, refined oils, shingles, and other merchandise, were distributed along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Despite the growth in Florida, very few improvements were made to the waterway between the two World Wars. While the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, or BERH, recommended an extension reaching north to Tarpon Springs and south to Ft. Myers, the funds were not allocated until after the conclusion of WWII in 1945.

The costly project sparked some national debate. After the need was assessed, legislation was modified for a cost-sharing agreement between local, state, and federal governments. To fund the project, the West Coast Inland Navigation Districtwas created in 1947 by the Florida Legislature as a special taxing authority to maintain the waterway right of way. The WCIND originally encompassed the counties of Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee, but Pinellas pulled out of the agreement in the 1970s. Over the years the use of funding was broadened to include other waterway management functions, such as dealing with anchorages, boat traffic, inlets, and beaches.

In the 1960s, improvements were made to the Intracoastal Waterway, shaping it to its present state. One dredge was commissioned for South Tampa Bay to Venice, while another covered the southern half from Gasparilla Sound to Lemon Bay. Each dredge reached its destination in 1965. Two years later, a five-file connector channel linking Red Lake to Lemon Bay was completed. It was the final step in joining the 3,000-mile stretch of I protected inland waterways. After nearly 75 of construction, the Intracoastal Waterway was complete!

So, what does this all mean for my local stand-up paddleboarding haunts?

According to the document, some dramatic changes resulted from dredging projects and fill development in the Sarasota area, although they weren't exactly commissioned by the government. Lido Key, which is home to my favorite paddle boarding destination. Ted Sperling Nature Park, didn't even exist 100 years ago. It was a loose group of small keys called the Cerol Isles.

Circus tycoon John Ringling and his business partner Owen Burns dredged nearby channels and used the sand to create one giant island. in 1925, a causeway to the mainland to access it. The causeway was also extended to Bird Key. The duo's plans for a large up-scale development didn't survive the Real Estate crash of 1929, but their unfinished project left an impact. Relics of the venture still remain today -- you can see potholes and back-and-fill scars throughout the bay. The popular canals that attract hundreds of kayakers to Ted Sperling were originally built as mosquito control. Even the wrecked dredge they kept anchored off Otter Key is still around. I like to visit it on my SUP as it's now a haven for mangrove snapper and sheepshead.

What about the lake on Siesta Key?

Going back to the original purpose of my research, the brackish lake on Siesta Key, I couldn't find a specific mention of it, I did find a pass that no longer exists on a replica of a map from 1895. While New Pass is believed to have been created by the hurricane of 1848 and named by pioneer William Whitaker, there was a smaller, more southern pass on Siesta Key known as "Little New Pass." While the larger of the two was dredged in the 1920s, establishing its location as a permanent staple, Little New Pass no longer exists. Because of its location, just north of where Midnight Pass used to be, I'm betting it was the source of the lake and was possibly closed off during a storm.

I can't wait to get back on my paddleboard and explore some of these places I just learned about. Who is with me?