This is the Wanderer, a schooner of the Civil War era, as was the USS Stonewall. Click to read about the Wanderer.
Aug 2 1864 The schooner, U.S.S. Stonewall, moved up the Manatee River and destroyed a sawmill, a gristmill, and a sugar mill that reportedly belonged to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. No Federal casualties were reported. Read about the U.S.S. Stonewall.
Lewis Colson came to Sarasota with his wife Irene. He drove the first stake into the ground to assist Richard Paulson in platting the town of Sarasota at Five Points in 1885. Sarasota was platted by the Florida Mortgage and Investment Company, a Scottish entity. More on Lewis Colson.
This photo was taken in 1886 of the Whitaker family, considered the first documented permanent residents of European descent in this area, and the Brownings, who came from Scotland with the Ormiston Colony in December 1885. By this time, William Whitaker and his wife and children had lived in Sarasota for over 40 years. More on the Whitakers.
Sarasota is a young place, by anyone’s standards. Most of us have come from towns and counties with much more history, and some visitors are amused by what we consider “old.” But there’s an up-side to having a short history: it can be told, amusingly, Continue reading
Matt Greenwood, a Sarasota history buff, collector, and friend of HSoSC Director Greg Dickinson, has set some of his extensive collection of vintage postcards of Sarasota to music in this great video and invited us to present it for your enjoyment.
