{"id":1280,"date":"2014-04-14T12:31:29","date_gmt":"2014-04-14T12:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/?p=1280"},"modified":"2017-07-07T20:41:49","modified_gmt":"2017-07-07T20:41:49","slug":"the-history-of-useppa-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/the-history-of-useppa-island\/","title":{"rendered":"The history of Useppa Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<div\n\tclass=\"ngg-galleryoverview\"\n\tid=\"ngg-gallery-061cb2afb41d181731a2e80a848770fb-1\">\n\n    \t\t<!-- Thumbnails -->\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-0\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43057.jpg\"\n               title=\"A shot from our tour of Useppa Island\"\n               data-src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43057.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43057.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"566\"\n               data-title=\"a_43057\"\n               data-description=\"A shot from our tour of Useppa Island\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"061cb2afb41d181731a2e80a848770fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"a_43057\"\n                    alt=\"a_43057\"\n                    src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43057.jpg\"\n                    width=\"120\"\n                    height=\"90\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-1\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43074.jpg\"\n               title=\"A view of The Collier Inn\"\n               data-src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43074.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43074.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"567\"\n               data-title=\"a_43074\"\n               data-description=\"A view of The Collier Inn\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"061cb2afb41d181731a2e80a848770fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"a_43074\"\n                    alt=\"a_43074\"\n                    src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43074.jpg\"\n                    width=\"120\"\n                    height=\"90\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-2\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43121.jpg\"\n               title=\"A shot from our tour of Useppa Island\"\n               data-src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43121.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43121.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"568\"\n               data-title=\"a_43121\"\n               data-description=\"A shot from our tour of Useppa Island\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"061cb2afb41d181731a2e80a848770fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"a_43121\"\n                    alt=\"a_43121\"\n                    src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43121.jpg\"\n                    width=\"120\"\n                    height=\"90\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-3\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43149.jpg\"\n               title=\"Gar Beckstead of Useppa Island\"\n               data-src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43149.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43149.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"569\"\n               data-title=\"a_43149\"\n               data-description=\"Gar Beckstead of Useppa Island\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"061cb2afb41d181731a2e80a848770fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"a_43149\"\n                    alt=\"a_43149\"\n                    src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43149.jpg\"\n                    width=\"120\"\n                    height=\"90\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-4\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43176.jpg\"\n               title=\"The owner of Useppa Island, Gar Beckstead\"\n               data-src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43176.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43176.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"570\"\n               data-title=\"a_43176\"\n               data-description=\"The owner of Useppa Island, Gar Beckstead\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"061cb2afb41d181731a2e80a848770fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"a_43176\"\n                    alt=\"a_43176\"\n                    src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43176.jpg\"\n                    width=\"120\"\n                    height=\"90\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"ngg-image-5\" class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail-box\" >\n\t\t\t\t        <div class=\"ngg-gallery-thumbnail\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43211.jpg\"\n               title=\"A shot from our tour of Useppa Island\"\n               data-src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/a_43211.jpg\"\n               data-thumbnail=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43211.jpg\"\n               data-image-id=\"571\"\n               data-title=\"a_43211\"\n               data-description=\"A shot from our tour of Useppa Island\"\n               class=\"ngg-fancybox\" rel=\"061cb2afb41d181731a2e80a848770fb\">\n                <img\n                    title=\"a_43211\"\n                    alt=\"a_43211\"\n                    src=\"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-content\/gallery\/useppa\/thumbs\/thumbs_a_43211.jpg\"\n                    width=\"120\"\n                    height=\"90\"\n                    style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n                \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t\n        \n\t\t\n\t\t<!-- Pagination -->\n\t<div class='ngg-clear'><\/div>\t<\/div>\n\n<p><strong>Useppa<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nOn this island, there are no cars, no bridges and no crowds. Owner Gar Beckstead shares what makes his private island club so extraordinary.<\/p>\n<p>Story by: Erika Vidal Holmes<\/p>\n<p>Gar Beckstead spent his first night on the island on the front porch of a broken down cottage. The 1.5-mile long body of land was nearly deserted, structures were dilapidated, sidewalks overrun by vegetation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe jungle had reclaimed it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Two days later, the 35-year-old flew to Europe, resigned from his cushy consulting job, married his Japanese girlfriend and returned to the U.S. to live on a little island and \u201ccut the jungle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The year was 1976. The island was <a href=\"http:\/\/useppa.com\/\">Useppa<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Beckstead, now 71, recounts the tale over a glass of pinot grigio and a plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes piled high on Texas toast, today\u2019s special at Useppa\u2019s famous <a href=\"http:\/\/useppa.com\/island-experience\/dining\/\">Collier Inn<\/a>. Through the window behind him, the wind wrestles a palm tree against a cloudless sky.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy Useppa?\u201d someone asks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverybody has a story as to why they came to Useppa,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Beckstead\u2019s begins as a business venture and ends up a love story.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>Located in Lee County, Useppa is a barrier island within the isles of the Southwest Florida coast, a few miles south of Boca Grande and accessible only by boat or seaplane. Legend has it notorious pirate Jose Gaspar used Useppa to imprison a Spanish princess named Joseffa. When she refused to return his advances, he killed her, and the island became known as \u201cJoseffa\u2019s Island,\u201d which eventually evolved into Useppa.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t believe any of that,\u201d Beckstead says, \u201cbut the middle name of my first-born daughter is Joseffa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The real story isn\u2019t as dramatic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best we can tell, it was a phonetic pronunciation of the [name of the] family that for several generations lived on Useppa,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was an Italian-Spanish family; they ran the fishing camps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Giuseppe Caldez was the patriarch.<\/p>\n<p>During the last 200 years, Useppa has gone from resort to military outpost and CIA training ground and back again. Beckstead and a handful of adventurers purchased it in 1976, restored it and developed it. Today, Beckstead and his wife, Sanae, are the sole owners of Useppa Island Club, which serves Useppa property owners and club members exclusively.<\/p>\n<p>Beckstead says keeping the island private is a \u201cprotective device\u201d grounded in preservation and community rather than glitz and greed. He decided early on he didn\u2019t want to run the sort of the island that serves as a beer-and-burger pit stop for boaters and anglers. Nor did he want it to be an over-the-top luxury resort that disregards its historic significance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t serve mai tais in bikinis by the pool,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Useppa Island Club is a refined, intimate community of 115 homes and 101 property owners. The island is home to the marina-front <a href=\"http:\/\/useppa.com\/island-experience\/dining\/\">The Tarpon Bar<\/a>, tennis courts, croquet lawn, fitness center, the Izaac Walton Fishing Club \u2014 founded in 1908 and considered one of the most exclusive in the world \u2014 and The Collier Inn, a century-old building that served as Barron G. Collier\u2019s primary residence.<\/p>\n<p>Collier owned Useppa from 1906-1939 and is famous for building the Tamiami Trail, which connects Miami with Southwest Florida. In those days, Useppa attracted guests such as the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and President Herbert Hoover.<\/p>\n<p>Even today, the island\u2019s laid-back luxury lifestyle draws a distinct breed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just a demographic,\u201d says resident manager Chad Cadwell. \u201cIt\u2019s anybody that is not into the bling. This is a place where you take your cell phone and turn it off and grab a Kindle. You could be sitting next to a [big-time] CEO and never know. People here are low key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To Beckstead, part of life here is mastering the art of doing nothing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople come here because they\u2019ve been to all the other places,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you ask a Useppa person, \u2018What do you do when you\u2019re here?\u2019 The answer is, I have no idea, but all I know now is at the end of the day (or week or month), there\u2019s never enough time to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Part of Beckstead\u2019s mission has been to research, preserve and restore Useppa\u2019s history and prehistory; the island has been continuously inhabited for 10,000 years beginning with the Calusa Indian civilization.<\/p>\n<p>In 1976, his first task in bringing the island back to life was figuring out what not to kill. Clearing the land was like disarming a bomb, and Beckstead hired a horticulture expert to help figure out which wires to cut.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe vegetation was very special,\u201d he says. \u201cThe whole island was covered with jungle, so you had to figure out what not to cut back, while opening it up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Next, he restored 1,700-year-old structures \u2014 all in disrepair \u2014 built new homes and established strict deed restrictions to ensure new architecture was consistent with the old. Though they keep with the Old-Florida style, these homes are by no means outdated. Many are extravagant, and outfitted with the modern interior amenities of a new custom home.<\/p>\n<p>While sprucing up the island\u2019s surface, Beckstead began uncovering its prehistory through archaeological digs in conjunction with the University of Florida. Eventually, he helped establish the Barbara Sumwalt Museum, which tells Useppa\u2019s story from the Ice Age to the present.<\/p>\n<p>For Beckstead, the key to balancing preservation with modern luxury comes down to choosing the right path.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou just have to make sure when you come to the forks in the road \u2014 and they always come along \u2014 where you can do some development that you shouldn\u2019t do, you make the right decision,\u201d he says. \u201cTrying to do that and make a living is not easy. I could have gotten very rich off this island by doing it very differently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>In two years, Beckstead will have owned Useppa Island longer than anyone else.<\/p>\n<p>Standing inside the island\u2019s museum, examining Collier\u2019s photograph, Beckstead realizes for the first time he was born the same year Collier ceased ownership (1939).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe that\u2019s why I was born,\u201d he says, \u201cto one day take over the island.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beckstead is certain no other life\u2019s work would give him the sense of satisfaction Useppa has. As he grows older, part of his job and one of his greatest concerns is finding someone who feels the same. He is unsure what the island\u2019s future holds or who\u2019s next in line to own and care for the \u201ccomplicated asset.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have thought about the answer to that question for so long,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>The one thing he knows is that he would rather give Useppa away to someone worthy than sell it to someone who would break its spirit.<\/p>\n<p>A friend once wondered how Beckstead would reply when he reaches \u201cthe great beyond\u201d and someone asks, \u201cWhat did you do with your life?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That, he responds while leaning back in his chair, is simple.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI,\u201c Beckstead says, \u201cdid Useppa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>VISIT USEPPA<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nThough Useppa is a private island resort, it welcomes visitors and guests of members.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Day Trip:<\/strong> Captiva Island Cruises offers daily cruises and tours of Useppa Island. Learn more at www.captivacruises.com or call (239) 472-5300<br \/>\n<strong>Sleep:<\/strong> The Collier Inn allows one stay per year for non-members and two per year for guests of members; all residences are privately owned, but many are available for vacation rentals.<br \/>\n<strong>Eat:<\/strong> The Collier Inn; Tarpon Bar<br \/>\n<strong>Explore:<\/strong> Barbara Sumwalt Museum; Palm Garden; a stroll along the Pink Promenade, a sidewalk originally constructed of shell and pink sand in 1903<br \/>\n<strong>Membership:<\/strong> Levels and options vary; the island hosts a Get Acquainted program offering non-members a glimpse of Useppa Island life. For more information call (239) 283-4227.<\/p>\n<p>For more information and complete directions go to www.useppa.com or call 239.283.4227.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Useppa On this island, there are no cars, no bridges and no crowds. Owner Gar Beckstead shares what makes his private island club so extraordinary. Story by: Erika Vidal Holmes Gar Beckstead spent his first night on the island on the front porch of a broken down cottage. The 1.5-mile long body of land was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1764],"tags":[1687,1688,1685,1686,1684],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/southtampamagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}