The earliest settlers came to Gasparilla Island to fish. By the late 1870s several fish ranches were operating in the Charlotte Harbor area. One of them would later be at the north end of Gasparilla Island in the small village called Gasparilla. The fishermen caught huge catches of mullet and other fish and salted them down for shipment to Havana and other markets. In the 1940s the Gasparilla Fishery was moved to Placida across the bay, where it still stands today, and the fishing village died out. Today, many of Boca Grande's early fishing families are still represented in third, fourth and even fifth generation descendants who pursue many different vocations, including fishing.

In 1885 phosphate rock was discovered on the banks of the Peace River just above Punta Gorda, east of Gasparilla Island across Charlotte Harbor. It was this discovery that would turn the south end of Gasparilla Island into a major deep water port (Boca Grande Pass is one of the deepest natural inlets in Florida) and become responsible for the development of the town of Boca Grande. Sportsmen began discovering the Charlotte Harbor area for its fantastic fishing (notably for the world class game fish tarpon) and hunting. It was these two discoveries - phosphate rock and fishing - that would put Boca Grande "on the map."

Today there are over 1000 homes in Boca Grande with the majority of them being owner occupied. There are some rental units available though most of them are single family houses with a few apartments and other multi family housing structures available.