This photo shows Joyce Leon Hindman (1919-1997), an Alabama native who (at age 10) came to live with his uncle, A.C. Frizzell, to help run Frizzell's general store, farm and timber operation at Murdock. Mr. Hindman was a graduate of Charlotte High School and the first man to sign up as a "volunteer draftee" for WWII; a photo of his induction appeared in "Life" magazine. He attended the University of Florida on the GI Bill, switching majors from agriculture to business administration, and was the owner of the Hindman Insurance Agency. Mr. Hindman was elected to the Punta Gorda City Council twice and served as mayor of the city. He was an Edison College trustee, president of the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce and of the Punta Gorda Rotary Club, a 32nd degree Mason, served on the Democratic Executive Committee, the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, the I-75 Task Force, and as a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Punta Gorda.

This aerial photo, taken on a flyover of the Frizzell Ranch, shows Little Salt Spring in south Sarasota County. Little Salt Spring, located amid the 80,000 acres sold by A.C. Frizzell to General Development Corporation (GDC) in 1954, was thought to be a shallow, freshwater pond. In the late 1950s, SCUBA divers exploring the "pond" discovered that it is a prehistoric sinkhole about 250' deep. GDC funded research at the spring through the 1970s; underwater archaeologists recovered numerous artifacts, fossils, and bones dating back to the last Ice Age. The spring appears to be over 15,000 years old. In 1982, Miami-based GDC donated the property to the University of Miami. Scientists from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science conduct field classes there. The 111-acre site is now known as the Little Salt Spring Archaeological and Ecological Preserve.

This aerial photo, taken on a flyover of the Frizzell Ranch looking southeast, shows a cluster of buildings at Murdock. The road bisecting the lower right corner is Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41), heading south. The train tracks intersecting the highway and running into the background of the photo (where the Peace River can be seen) cross the river at the Fort Ogden trestle. The lower building to the left of the highway is the home of Jack and Tosie Hindman (Jack Hindman was A.C. Frizzell's nephew). Across the highway on the right is the Charlotte (a.k.a. Murdock) train depot. Above the tracks to the left of the highway is the Murdock Mercantile, a general store and commissary that served the ranch workers. The area above the tracks to the right of the highway is now the site of the Port Charlotte Town Center Mall.

Meet A.C. Frizzell, portrayed by Charlotte County Commissioner Bill Truex. Frizzell was a businessman, cattle rancher, and one of the largest land barons in Florida. His ranch land and property holding were sold and developed by the Mackle Brothers and became the area now known as Port Charlotte. This video was produced as part of Charlotte County Libraries & History's 2021 Centennial video series, History Comes Alive. History Comes Alive is community theater with a twist as we're transported back in time to our county's past! Travel with members of our community to days gone by in these short vignettes. You'll meet some interesting characters and remember some of the historic moments that have shaped our present.

This photo taken on Lemon Bay shows boat houses on the shoreline of Englewood.

This photo shows an unidentified couple strolling alongside the Gulf of Mexico on "Punta Gorda" Beach at Englewood -- later renamed Chadwick Beach and now known simply as Englewood Beach.

This aerial photo shows the parallel spans of the railroad trestle and bridge crossing the Myakka River, looking east toward El Jobean. The area below the bridge is now the development of Gulf Cove.

An unidentified couple strolls alongside the Gulf of Mexico in this photo taken on "Punta Gorda" Beach at Englewood -- later renamed Chadwick Beach and now known simply as Englewood Beach.

This aerial photo shows the city of Punta Gorda and the (first) Barron Collier Bridge spanning Charlotte Harbor, looking north across the bay. The undeveloped land north of the bridge is now Port Charlotte.

This aerial photo of the Frizzell Ranch shows a graded road through the Jordan pasture leading to Alligator Bay, an inlet of Charlotte Harbor. The Port Charlotte Beach Complex is sited on the east shore of Alligator Bay.

This aerial photo shows the mouth of the Myakka River where it joins Charlotte Harbor. The angle is to the southwest; the El Jobean Bridge and railroad trestle can be seen spanning the river just before it opens into the harbor.

This photo shows a fish house that was operated as a bait shop by Jack Pearson, Sr. The bait shop was located at the foot of the Wotitzky Bridge (forerunner to the Tom Adams Bridge) that links Englewood Beach (then called Punta Gorda Beach) to the mainland.