In our effort to help home buyers relocating from different areas of the country, we have developed an 11 part video series to highlight the various cities we cover on the Gulf Coast of Florida. This is our second video and it highlights the Greater Sarasota area.
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Most of Florida was inhabited Native Americans were the first inhabitants of the area that is now Sarasota, Bradenton, and the beaches, including the violent Timucuan tribe. Prehistoric mounds and shell middens can be found along the coastline and throughout the keys. Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto is the reported first European to discover the region; seeking treasure, de Soto landed at Shaw's Point in 1539. Local legend says Sarasota was named after de Soto's daughter Sara.
Josiah Gates became Manatee County's first permanent white settler in 1842. The city of Bradenton was named for sugar planter Dr. Joseph Braden, whose fortlike home served as a refuge for early settlers during Indian attacks. Today's Bradenton was formed in 1943, when the Florida legislature merged the cities of Manatee (incorporated in 1888) and Bradentown (incorporated in 1903). The Manatee River area flourished with sugar plantations, and even the Civil War could not curtail its agricultural benefits; the region began to boom when the railroad arrived in the late 1880s.
In 1885, the Florida Mortgage and Investment Company launched a campaign in Scotland promoting the area to immigrants. Scottish families boarded steamers for Sarasota, only to turn away when they saw the primitive settlement, which lacked homes, stores, or streets. Yet a few stayed, including John Hamilton Gillespie, a Scottish aristocrat, lawyer, and member of the Scottish Queen's Bodyguard. Gillespie built the De Soto Hotel and the first American golf course in Sarasota, and was elected the city's first mayor in 1902. Sarasota became incorporated in 1901.
In the early 20th century the region began attracting some of the country's wealthiest citizens, including Bertha Palmer, widow of Chicago developer Potter Palmer; Mrs. Palmer's lush former estates have been restored into today's Historic Spanish Point and Myakka River State Park.
Owen Burns came to Sarasota for its fishing, and stayed for the rest of his life. Burns dredged the harbor and created new bay fronts with reclaimed soil. His developments, including Burns Court, Burns Square, and the Times Building, helped attract tourism and commercial prosperity.
Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus fame, settled in the area in the 1920s. He and his wife Mable built their Venetian- style mansion on Sarasota Bay, and established the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art to house their collection of 17th-century Italian and Flemish masters. Ringling used circus elephants to help build the first bridge from the mainland to St. Armands Key, which he then developed as a commercial and residential center. In 1927, the Circus moved its winter quarters to Sarasota, and the city became known as a "circus town." Currently, Sarasota is called the "Circus Capitol of the World" and many circuses are housed there. Sarasota County is the only public school system in the U.S. that sponsors an after-school youth circus program.
The region experienced the same 1920s boom, Great Depression-era crash, and 1950s second boom as much of Florida. Although the region has suffered from the 2008 real estate crash, the two counties currently precede the rest of Florida and the nation in growth of firms, employees, and payroll.
If you are looking for real estate in the Greater Sarasota area or the beaches, please call or e-mail!
Steve Eckhardt, Broker, Luxury Real Estate Professional
Contact me at (813) 765-1182
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