Islands in the Gulf: Sanibel's Little Sisters

Cabbage Key and Useppa Islands have their own followings, the former more easily visited for a stay over. But the difference between the 2 little islands is dramatic.

Cabbage Key, tiny, funky and pretty much uninhabited offers a taste of olde Florida. Cabbage Key was a private island retreat for the Rinehart family from 1929 to 1944 when it was purchased by Larry and Jan Stults. Larry and Jan Stults opened up the charming island hideaway to the public. In the years since, it has ceased to be a "totally secluded" retreat, as it has grown in popularity, thanks in part, to the ultimate promoter of "South Florida laid-back lifestyle," Jimmy Buffett, whose song, Cheeseburger in Paradise, is said to have been inspired by his favorite dish at the Cabbage Key Inn during his frequent visits to the island.
You can visit for the day and enjoy that cheeseburger at the Inn or go for the more locally inspired dishes on the menu, such as peel-and-eat Gulf shrimp, grilled mahi-mahi and, of course, the ever-present slice of Florida lifestyle, Key-lime pie. But if you can spare a weekend from your trip to Sanibel, consider a real island getaway at the historic Cabbage Key Inn or the 7 cottages on the little island.

Useppa, perhaps even smaller than Cabbage Key, is pristine and does not offer an overnight stay unless you own a piece of the valuable real estate. It is a tiny tropical gem with lovely cottages and a beautiful Inn gracing the shores.

A private island, the visitor to Useppa only gets an infrequent and short lived glimpse by journeying to the Island for a lunch, look and learn. There, in the tiny museum, one can see history played out in the various exhibits and artifacts.

Continuously inhabited for ten thousand years, Useppa was home to nomadic peoples who roamed in search of food in prehistoric times. About ten thousand years ago, the Calusa civilization arose to become one of the most sophisticated native societies to have evolved in North America.

Centuries later, the waters around Useppa and the surrounding barrier islands are popularly thought to have been populated by fierce pirates seeking bounty and treasures. In one of the area's most important myths, legend has it that in the late 1700s, a Spanish pirate named Jose Gaspar kidnapped and imprisoned a Spanish princess named Joseffa de Mayorga. Gaspar the Pirate is said to have favored Joseffa over all the many women he had captured in his ocean conquests. When his attempts to capture Joseffa's heart were met with contempt, Gaspar used Useppa Island to imprison the proud princess, and the isle came to be known as "Joseffa's Island." Over many ensuing years, legend says that the changing local dialects gradually morphed "Joseffa" into "Useppa," giving the island it's unique name today.

Over the years, the island was purchased and developed by Barron G. Collier and utilized as a base for tarpon fishing and for entertaining the rich and famous. The island was later abandoned and used by the U.S. government as a base for the Bay of Pigs invasion.

All of this, truth or fiction, is fascinating, but not necessary to enjoying the islands. They are magical little places regardless of the veracity of the creation of Jimmy Buffet's music or the pirate myth.