was completed that gave the area access to the outside world. Soon sportsmen from the north as well as from Britain flocked to the area in quest for giant tarpon. Southwest Florida and the Florida Keys soon became the new headquarters of the sport fishing world. Fishing tourism grew even bigger when in 1908 Barron Collier built a "Tarpon Inn" on Gasparilla Island and made the island's town of Boca Grande world-famous as the "Tarpon Fishing Capital of the World". Demographics In 2012, Boca Grande reported a population of 1,705 citizens. The median age of Boca Grande is 66. Gallery References External links Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce The Boca Beacon, newspaper Unincorporated communities in Lee County, Florida Unincorporated communities in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico Beaches of Lee County, Florida Beaches of Florida Gasparilla Island Calusa