Do you love old postcards as much as we do? You’re in for a treat… Matthew Greenwood created this video from his collection of historic Sarasota sights.
You’ll find yourself hitting Continue reading
Author: saradesota
Today in History: The Chidsey Library Dedication, 1941!
The books of Sarasota finally get their own home as the Chidsey Library was dedicated. The cost of the building was $18,500, and was a gift of John Chidsey. The building served as our library until 1976. — from “Yesterday’s Sarasota The Calendar for 1993” by J. Whitcomb Rylee, in conjunction with the Historical Society of Sarasota County
Since then, the building has been Sarasota County’s Historical Resources Center, the Visitor Center, and left vacant. Recently, the Friends of the History Center are keeping it and its exhibits public with the help of volunteers from a dozen or so local historical groups, including, of course, the Historical Society of Sarasota County. It’s, for now at least, the Historical Exhibits and Educational Center located at the Historic Chidsey Library Building. 701 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
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What’s your treasure worth?
The Historical Society of Sarasota County is presenting an appraisal clinic on Saturday, November 14, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Crocker Memorial Church, 1260 12th Street, Sarasota. The Crocker Memorial Church is in Pioneer Park one block in from N. Tamiami Trail at 12th Street.
People are invited to bring their treasures and have them appraised by certified professionals. The cost is Continue reading
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Happy Birthday, Owen… and thanks from all of us!
If you’ve even admired Burns Court, or visited Woman’s Exchange in a building built by Owens to house the local newspaper, or used the Historical Resources archives, much of which was donated by daughter Lillian Burns, or had the pleasure to meet his younger daughter Harriet Burns Stieff who holds a Distinguished Service Award for the Historical Society, you haveOwen Burns, born this day in 1869 in Fredericktown MD, to thank.
October 31st is Owens Burns’s birthday. Raise a glass to someone who made Sarasota what it is!
“He came to Sarasota in 1910 and was a leader in practically every movement that saw Sarasota grow from a fishing village to one of Florida’s leading resort cities,” the [Herald-Tribune obituary] said in 1937, without hyperbole.
At one point, Burns owned 75% of what is now the City of Sarasota. Who built Cà d’Zan? Owen Burns. Who was a Commodore of the Sarasota Yacht Club? Owen Burns. Who built and named a hotel after his wife… whom he met when she was vacationing in Sarasota? You guessed it. The influence of Owen Burns on our area cannot be overstated.
Video from Sarasota History Alive! about Owen Burns
Click for a larger version of this map, published in 2011 by owenburns.com
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Historic Treasures Lost and Preserved by Jeff LaHurd: Conversation at the Crocker
One of the threads that ties old Sarasota County to the new is the continuing struggle concerning which historical buildings and properties should be preserved and which ones demolished as a necessary sacrifice to progress, modernization and growth. Award-winning author and historian Jeff LaHurd considers both sides of the issue when he Continue reading
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LeBarge, John McCarthy, and History: The Perfect Sunday
If you’ve never been on an Historical Society of Sarasota County Cruise, you need to. If you’ve been before, you know you need to experience it again!
On November 1, we’ll board, enjoy a little breakfast snack buffet, and marvel at the depth and breadth of John McCarthy’s knowledge of our area. We may cruise north, towards Ca d’Zan, or we may cruise south towards the marvelous bird sanctuaries. It all depends on the weather and our captain. But it will be bliss, I promise you!
UPDATE 10-18-15 SOLD OUT. We will be doing a Spring Cruise in early March, please email our office to receive advance notice when reservations open for that cruise.
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Miakka? Myakka? Learn which when and why at Conversation at the Crocker.
Conversations at The Crocker Opens 4th Season With the Story of the Myakka River
The Miakka, the Myakka. It’s more than a river as Historical Society members and guests will discover during the season opener of Conversations at The Crocker on Tuesday, October 13 starting at 7 p.m. at the Crocker Memorial Church.
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Retired New College director of environmental sciences Jono Miller will lead a conversation on the topic “Myakka, More Than a River,” as he engages in conversation experts John McCarthy, Paula Benshoff and Chris Oliver. In addition, the 14-minute film “Moods of the Miakka” will be shown and discussed.
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Conversations are free to all HSOSC members and students. Guests, $10, payable at the door. There will be a members-only reception prior to the Conversation on the back porch of the Bidwell-Wood House starting at 5:30 p.m. For more information, contact Linda Garcia, Site Manager, (941) 364-9076.
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This season’s Conversations. Save the dates!
Tuesday, October 13: Myakka, More Than A River. Jono Miller, John McCarthy, Chris Oliver and Paula Benshoff. Also the 14-minute film “Moods of Miakka.”
Tuesday, November 10: Sarasota Treasures Lost & Preserved. Jeff LaHurd.
Tuesday, January 12: A Fantastic Flock, the history of birds and birding on the Gulf Coast. Presentation by Jean Dubi of Audubon Society.
Tuesday, February 9: The Great Developers Past & Present. Harold Bubil.
Tuesday, March 8: Fascinating Florida. Janet Snyder Mathews and Marion Almay.
Tuesday, April 12: Historical Perspectives Through Local Museums. Curators from small specialty museums talk about the challenges and joys of preserving the history, culture and artifacts of past times.
Our complete Calendar of Events.
Photo Credit: B. Paul Patterson on http://www.sarasota.wateratlas.usf.edu/
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Too busy to join in on the Giving Challenge?
The Giving Challenge is a wonderful opportunity for us all to join together in support of our favorite non-profits that make life so great here in Sarasota County.
And it’s nice to be part of the crowd… but what if you’ll be busy from noon on Tuesday Sept 1 to noon the next day, and unable to take the time to dig out your credit card, go online, find the link to HSoSC, and decide on a donation amount (tip: if you didn’t donate last year, your gift will be DOUBLED thanks to the Patterson Foundation so your gift means twice as much to the Historical Society!)?
As usual, our charming Site Manager, Linda, can help you participate in the Giving Challenge! Just call our office at 941-364-9076 Tu-Fr 10 to 2, or email Linda directly 24/7 at HSoSC1@gmail.com and she can help you help us!
UPDATE: The link to go directly the HSoSC’s page in the Giving Challenge is https://www.givingpartnerchallenge.org/#npo/historical-society-of-sarasota-county It will only be operational between noon Tuesday Sept 1 and noon Weds, but you can bookmark it now!
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3000 Years on Phillippi Creek
Join New College Professor Uzi Baram for an illustrated, historical lecture of our own Phillippi Creek! At Gulf Gate Library on Monday, July 13 at 2:00. Here’s the info.
Illustration is of a computer game designed by Professor Baram to help teach local children about Sarasota history. Read more about that.
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Hero of History Award Presented; Distinguished Award Goes to Two
The Historical Society of Sarasota County was delighted to present awards to three recipients at its Annual Meeting.
Hero of History Jeff LaHurd
At its 2015 annual meeting on May 2 in the historic Crocker Memorial Church (1901), the Historical Society of Sarasota County presented three awards to community people who have made significant contributions to history education, preservation, research and programming.
Receiving the 2015 Hero of History award is Jeff LaHurd, historian, author and lecturer, who through his writings and public presentations continually educates the public about the history of Sarasota and Florida.
Harriet Stieff Distinguished Service Award
Receiving awards for Distinguished Service were two Historical Society members with long records of service to the Society and to Sarasota County. They are: Viola Goldberg, a past president of the Historical Society and a current member of the Advisory Board and Harriet Burns Stieff, a past board member and current member of the Advisory Board. Mrs. Stieff is the youngest daughter of Owen Burns, a Sarasota history maker and one of Sarasota’s legendary early developers. Both of these women have been the subjects of video oral histories, and their memories about Sarasota in days gone by are available on CD in the library of the Historical Society.
Viola Goldberg Distinguished Service Award
In presenting the awards, Howard Rosenthal, President of the Historical Society, said
“We are extremely proud of and grateful for the accomplishments of all three of this year’s award recipients. Each one demonstrates how much individuals can do to keep the history of Sarasota County alive, not only for their own generation but for those generations yet to come.”
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Growing up in the Circus: Sarasota native tells all
Join Sarasota native, Sarah Wheeler Chapman, on April 15 at the Brown Bag Book Luncheon at the Historical Society of Sarasota County.
Chapman is the author of two books. Simply Sarah, her cookbook, is a light-hearted story done in a circus format with anecdotes of her circus family and their travels. It blends photos and 180 yummy recipes.
Chapman’s memoir, Balancing Act Memoir of a Florida Youth, describes her five-acre home on Worrington Street and the Trail, her marriage to Danny Chapman, and her notable family: sister a beauty queen; aging dad who operated the Off Shore Bar on Bay Road; drop-dead gorgeous brother; strange mom; and herself, the quiet one busy with church, 4-H, and getting molested on Turtle Beach, at a time (1960), when kids were good.
Sarah kept secrets well…until she published her memoir in 2014. Determination and a keen sense of balance piloted her through her teens, the circus, parenting, and furthering her education. She shares insights from Ringling Circus, Clown College, and the perils of aerial work. The circus provides a backdrop to the deep topic of the memoir—abuse.
Don’t miss this chance to meet Sarah Wheeler Chapman at the last Brown Bag Book Lunch this season on April 15. No reservations needed. See you at 11:30 in the Crocker Memorial Church, and remember to pack a lunch! Beverages provided by the Historical Society. BBBLs are free to members and $5 for guests. Both of Chapman’s books will be available for purchase and autographing at the luncheon.
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From Moons Ohio to Ca’ d’Zan
Mable Ringling Revealed: 
A Conversations at The Crocker presentation with rare photos of Mable Ringling and her time in Sarasota bring to life her lasting influence on this city
A Conversations at The Crocker presentation with rare photos of Mable Ringling and her time in Sarasota bring to life her lasting influence on this city Mable Burton Ringling (1875-1929) is remembered as the wife of John Ringling, America’s circus king. But she was much more than the gracious hostess of Ca’ d’Zan, her Sarasota mansion. Her influence is felt today on the west coast of Florida where she oversaw the construction of the couple’s 57-room Venetian Gothic mansion on Sarasota Bay.
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A Roof-top Shout Out to the Arts and Cultural Alliance!
Arts and Cultural Alliance Awards a Grant to the Historical Society of Sarasota County
Timely grant of $4,000 from the John Ringling Towers Fund goes directly to preservation efforts at Crocker Memorial Church
Crocker Memorial Church dates from 1901 and was originally at what is now Tamiami Trail and Bee Ridge Road.
A timely award of a $4,000 grant from the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County to the Historical Society of Sarasota County has gone immediately to a project to stabilize and preserve the metal roof on the 1901 Crocker Memorial Church building at Pioneer Park in Sarasota. The heritage building, which is under the protection of the Historical Society, is the headquarters for the Historical Society and is used almost daily by the community for weddings, civic and cultural club meetings, music recitals, theater rehearsals, history book club, and for monthly membership meetings of the Historical Society as well as for Historical Society sponsored educational programs (including docent-led tours) that are open to the public.
“The Crocker Memorial Church building is our town’s model of a historical building that has eluded the wrecking ball through adaptive use,” said Site Manager, Linda Garcia. “Ever since it was built by Peter Crocker and his neighbors in 1901 at what is now the corner of Bee Ridge Road and US 41, it has been in constant use, first as a place of worship for several different congregations and since 2006 as a community gathering place. The building has been moved three times over the decades but now has a permanent home at Pioneer Park on 12th Street where the Historical Society is charged with protecting and preserving it.”
The grant money from the John Ringling Towers Fund at the Arts and Cultural Alliance has been combined with member and community donations from the Historical Society’s annual appeal to make critical repairs to the Crocker roof. We thank the Alliance and our members and supporters for helping us keep a Sarasota landmark dry and safe!
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Earlye Musicke in Historic Crocker Church
On Wednesday, April 1, 2015 the Sarasota Earlye Musicke Consort will be performing for the third season in a row for members and guests of the Historical Society of Sarasota County. The program will be presented at the Crocker Memorial Church in Pioneer Park, 1260 12th Street (between US41 and Cocoanut Avenue) beginning at 7pm.
This is a viol de gamba!
The members of this consort, performing in period costume, play music dating from the 14th century to the 21st century on recorders and viols. This concert is free for HSOSC members; a $5 donation is requested from guests. The group is led by Charlotte Trautwein.
The Sarasota Earlye Musicke Consort was recently awarded a 15 year certificate by the National American Recorder Society, recognizing the ensemble’s contribution to Sarasota and the surrounding communities. The Sarasota chapter of ARS recently hosted the national board meetings for ARS at the Crocker Memorial Church, where they gather for class and group playing for intermediate and advanced players every week.
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Could YOU survive a shipwreck of the Atocha in 1622 Florida?
We are thrilled to present, at the next Brown Bag Book Lunch (BBBL), the author of a thrilling historical adventure novel, Henry Duggan.
On Wednesday March 18, from 11:30a to 1:30p, enjoy Mr. Duggan’s tales of historical research and novel writing that havebrought forth Silver’s Odyssey. Bring your lunch and join Mr. Duggan on the Back Porch for a casual lunch after his talk and book signing. Beverages are provided by the Historical Society. BBBLs are free to members and $5 for guests.
Henry Duggan writes of Silver’s Odyssey: Florida Wilderness Survival From the 1622 Atocha Shipwreck
A howling hurricane in 1622 tosses young Lt. Luis Armador overboard, washing him onto Florida’s savage shores. Meanwhile, his silver-ladened Atocha galleon sinks at sea, with 260 going to a watery grave.
A desperate quest for survival now begins in the wilderness, amongst bold native Americans–a world few Europeans had confronted. Wrenched to have left his betrothed’s pleadings in Seville, he now feels a sense of remorse, but realizes he must gird up for the coming physical challenges.
Indian slavery humbles him, and he becomes obsessed with escape. It comes, but with a price, as his fellow escapees meet misfortune. Pieces of eight, carried from the ship, become resentful reminders of his plight, and a mission to cache them in an underground stream almost takes his life.
Though surrounded by tremendous beauty in the New World, he suffers further grief, both at an Indian mission and then at St. Augustine. However, brandishing his sword, he is dauntless in his quest, while maturing in the process.
Duggan’s novel has earned 4.4 stars out of 5 on Amazon.com. It has garnered such reviews as
This is one of the most captivating books that I’ve read in a long time. The research that must have gone into this book was most impressive as was the flair that the author had for putting the reader right into the middle of the adventure.
This writer has managed to give us not only an excursion through the history of Ole Florida, but also a fantastic story of a man’s struggle and determination to survive. This is truly one of those “can’t put it down” novels.
Get a look inside Silver’s Odyssey here. You can buy it here, download it to your Kindle reading app here, or even, if you are an Amazon Prime member, borrow it for free here. (But whatever you do, DO NOT loan it to your male companion/ partner/spouse first. I did that, and now I have to wait for him to finish it, he loves it so!)
The Historical Society of Sarasota County 