Curious abut the history and development of Pinecraft? It’s an unusual neighborhood in Sarasota, first settled by Mennonites in the 1920s. Many Mennonites still live there. As a religious group Mennonites are members of a small denomination, with some 300,000 members in the United States. Sarasota’s Mennonite community is composed of about 2,000 regular worshippers in the summer and twice that during the Pinecraft season.
Pinecraft has about 500 tiny homes in a planned grid at the intersection of Beneva Road and Bahia Vista Street. The bustling neighborhood is home to many authentic restaurants and is a popular destination for snow-bird Amish as well as Mennonites escaping the harsh winters of the midwest. Find out why the commuity exists, and how it came to be.
J.B. Miller is an authority on the history of the Mennonite community in Sarasota and on the history and development of Pinecraft. We are pleased to host this expert on Sunday, January 14 at 2 p.m. at the Historical Society’s Crocker Memorial Church at 1260 12th Street, between Tamiami Trail and Cocoanut Avenue in Pioneer Park, Sarasota.
The Historical Society of Sarasota County 