History and Establishment of Sarasota County

Lets start at the very beginning as that is a good place to commence the origin of Sarasota County.

It is questionable as to how the name of the city was established, but one legend connects it with Sara, the daughter of the conquistador, DeSoto.  Others wonder if it originated with an Indian word, "sara-se-cota" which means landfall easily observed. The other myth is that there was a fishing camp and Indian trading post at the end of the Long Boat Key area named "Saraxota".

John Greene Webb

Indians roamed the lush area and were enticed by the wild fruits grown here and the game that they could  hunt.  After the Seminole War, Congress adopted the Armed occupation Act, stating that they would deed 160 acres of land and six months provisions to any person who would carry arms and protect the land for five years.  The first permanent white settler of Sarasota was William H. Whitaker, who acquired 144.81 acres of land in 1851.  In the mid 1860's, more settlers traveled to area and established orange groves and grazing land for cattle.  John Webb moved to Sarasota during this time and built the first manufacturing plant to refine sugar cane.  He also opened the first Winter Resort in southern Sarasota known as "Webb's Winter Resort on Little Sarasota Bay" which he largely advertised to Northerners.

The Swampland Act reduced the effectiveness of the Homestead Act, and there was a drastic halt in more settlers living in Sarasota.  The Florida Mortgage and Investment Company of Edinburgh selected Sarasota as its key point for development and purchased 60,000 acres.  In 1885, John W. Gillespie arrived and brought his company, Florida Mortgage and Investment Co., Ltd., to revive the city by establishing steamboat and railroad connections,  Mr. Gillespie also built the DeSoto Hotel and perhaps the first golf course in the United States.

The DeSoto Hotel

The fishing industry began to flourish, and due to the connections in Tampa (just an hour north of Sarasota) during the Spanish-American War, cattlemen were herding to the area to supply meat for the soldiers.

Sarasota became a town on October 14, 1902, and Mr. Gillespie served as its first mayor.  John and Charles Ringling, of the famous circle family, invested a large Sarasota property in order to bring their family's entertainment business to the area to attract even more tourists.  Sarasota was incorporated as a city on May 13, 1913.  While the city experienced struggles during the Great Depression, it flourished in tourism during the 1960's and later in the 1980's and 1990's.  Now Sarasota is one of the most thriving counties and cities in the state because of the beauty of the environment and the thriving tourist attractions offered for the entire family.

Photo Credit: Jennifer McElroy

Source: History of Sarasota

Up next will be my experiences with working in one of the historic buildings of Sarasota County.

Thank you!

J.M.