My, how you’ve grown! Happy Birthday, Longboat Key!

In 1915, 14 families lived on Longboat Key.

40 years later, on November 14 1955, the Town of Longboat Key was incorporated.

In 2011, there are over 8000 homes and condo units on the island.

Click to learn about Longboat from their historic association web site.

A catch worth catching on film, Sarasota 1903

The town of Sarasota was incorporated today in 1902, although the incorporation did not become effective until January 1, 1903. (All those ducks had to be put in a row, right?)

Scofflaws in Sarasota lodged here.

SarasotaHistoryAlive has a great essay on their site by Ann Shank on what the laws were like then. Click the photo of the Sarasota jail, 1903, to read.

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.

July 27 1886  The first plat of the new town of Sarasota (December 1885) was recorded.

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.