Captiva Cemetery and Chapel of the Sea

Some Captiva History:

Al and I visited the Captiva Cemetery and Chapel by the Sea on Saturday afternoon. Located adjacent to the Captiva Chapel by the Sea, the cemetery is on a portion of land originally homesteaded by William Binder and bought from him in 1900 by Ann Emma Brainard (daughter of Hattie E. and Herbert D. Brainard) because this was her favorite spot to watch the sunsets. She died the following year of tetanus and was buried on her small parcel of land along the Gulf of Mexico. Her parents later bought the land surrounding her grave and donated it to the islanders as a cemetery. Her grave is shown above.

  Her Father and Brother's Graves

                     

The Chapel of the Sea located near the cemetery was built in 1903 and was originally Captiva's first schoolhouse built on land donated by William Herbert Binder. It also served as the community church when the circuit preacher was on the island. In 1917, the school ceased to be a school and in 1921 it became a Methodist Church. A group of Captiva residents purchased the property back in 1948 and changed it to a interdenominatonal church called the Chapel by the Sea. Services are held from November through April.