Editing Longboat Key, Florida (section)

== History ==

=== Early history ===

Longboat Key was originally inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. The area of what is now Longboat Key was scouted by [[Juan de Añasco]] who was the first known European to explore the key and [[Hernando de Soto|Hernando De Soto's]] as his scout. He spent about two months attempting to find a landing site, and he was also most likely the first European man to see and explore [[Sarasota Bay]], [[Boca Ciega Bay]] and the [[Manatee River]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The History of Longboat Key|url=https://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/the-history-of-longboat-key.html|access-date=2021-05-11|website=Longboat Key History|language=en}}</ref> According to local legend, he believed the Indians were hostile. When the party reached land on the island, the Indians fled leaving their [[Longboat]] in a bayou. Pirate [[Jean Lafitte]] was said to have been shipwrecked near or on Longboat Key.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Longboat Key - History and Place to Visit|url = http://www.longboatkeychamber.com/community/longboat-key/|website = Longboat Key Chamber|access-date = December 14, 2015|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222164410/http://www.longboatkeychamber.com/community/longboat-key/|archive-date = December 22, 2015}}</ref>

Prior to 1842, Cuban and Spanish fishermen along with some squatters resided on the island. A fishing camp and a trading post for Native Americans existed in the northern part of the key located in what is presently the Longboat Village. At the time, the area was referred to on maps as "Saraxola" and "Zarazote". An 1839 map compiled by order of General [[Zachary Taylor]] during the [[Second Seminole War]] called the island Palm Island.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=Ralph |title=From Calusas to Condominiums: A Pictorial History of Longboat Key |date=2002 |publisher=Royal Palm Publishing Co., Inc. |location=Longboat Key, FL |isbn=0615122388 |page=17}}</ref>

There is little known about the island after 1848 and until the 1880s, because a hurricane hit the area and destroyed most of Longboat Key. The only thing known is that Charles Abbe had a plantation at an unknown location on the island where citrus and pineapples were grown.<ref name=":0" />

=== Late 1800s and early 1900s ===

The first people of European descent to claim land on the island were Colin and Rowlin W. Witt, claiming {{Convert|7.15|acres}} on the north end of the island in 1882.<ref name=":0" /> Several others would claim land on the island during the late 1800s, but none of them are known to have lived on the island permanently.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2013-06-11|title=Lore: Mann became first Longboat Key homesteader in 1891 {{!}} Longboat Key|url=https://www.yourobserver.com/article/lore-mann-became-first-longboat-key-homesteader-1891|access-date=2021-05-08|website=Your Observer|language=en}}</ref>

In 1884, Thomas Mann claimed {{convert|144.5|acres|0|abbr=on}} on the key. He and his family moved there in 1888, becoming the first known permanent residents on the key. His home was located somewhere on the north end of the key.<ref name=":0" />

Mann was a carpenter by trade who was originally from Indiana and later moved to Minnesota. During the [[American Civil War]] he served the Union under the [[7th Minnesota Infantry Regiment]]. Mann and his family moved to what is known today as Bradenton in 1872. He left because of either a local [[yellow fever]] epidemic or prejudice against him from being from the Northern United States. Mann died in 1908 in nearby [[Cortez, Florida|Cortez]].<ref name=":1" /> His son, James, claimed {{convert|143.5|acres|0|abbr=on}} south of his father's land in 1891.<ref name=":0" />

With a passage being dug in 1895 from [[Sarasota Bay]] to [[Tampa Bay]], [[steamship]]s and [[Paddle steamer|paddle boats]] could access the island. Soon, a mail service was established that brought residents mail from [[Cortez, Florida|Cortez]]. Thomas Mann sold his land in 1898 to May and June Pointevesant of [[Ocean Springs, Mississippi]].

Longboat Key's first post office was established in 1907 at Byron Corey's pier at the southern end of the island, where he owned {{convert|153.5|acres|0|abbr=on}} of land beginning in 1903. Corey also served as Longboat Key's first postmaster.<ref name=":0" /> The post office on the sound end lasted until 1921, when it was destroyed by a hurricane.

During the 1910s, the key saw a surge in development and changes to it. The Pointevesants sold their land to Rufus Perry Jordan and Annie Jordan in May 1911. Rufus laid out a community named '''Longbeach''', filling the plat in November 1911. During 1913, another subdivision named Shore Acres that covered 170 acres of land was developed at the "narrowest" part of the island, and was finished by the next year. Another community was also started at about the same time, named '''Island Beach''', located south of it.<ref name=":0" /> Longbeach gained its own post office in 1914.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Marsh|first=Ola|url=https://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/uploads/3/0/5/5/3055591/lbk_post_office.pdf|title=HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ON LONGBOAT KEY, FLORIDA}}</ref> During the early 1900s and prior to the 1921 hurricane, Longboat Key had a significant farming presence, with local residents growing a variety of products. A 1912 ''Sarasota Times'' headline read: "From a lonely Key, it is now a center of trucking and fruit growing."<ref name=":0" />

=== 1920s ===

In 1921, the key lost most of its agricultural land and buildings during a hurricane. That same year, the island was split between two counties, Sarasota and Manatee.

Starting in 1923, John Ringling purchased a large amount of land on Longboat Key.<ref name=":0" /> In February 1926, Ringling entered a contract to develop a luxury hotel named the Ritz-Carlton on the south side of the island. The hotel was to have 200+ rooms, docking facilities and a railroad leading to it to bring guests there. The hotel began construction in March 1926, with a completion date before December 15, 1926 as specified in the contract. An 18-hole golf course would be built next to the hotel as well. Ringling found himself preoccupied with other financial interests, and during that year the Florida land boom began to slow down as well. In November he ordered construction to be stopped on the hotel, and later claimed he would resume construction, but never did.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Mark D.|title=Ringling's Ritz-Carlton {{!}} Sarasota History Alive!|url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/articles/ringling-s-ritz-carlton|access-date=2021-05-10|website=Sarasota History Alive|language=en-US}}</ref>

There were no roads that led to the key until 1929, when a bridge was built to [[St. Armands Key|St. Armands]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Farming on Longboat till 1921|url = http://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/farming-on-longboat-till-1921.html|website = longboat key history.com|access-date = February 24, 2016|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304125621/http://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/farming-on-longboat-till-1921.html|archive-date = March 4, 2016}}</ref> A bridge across Longboat Pass was built in April 1929 and would exist until March 1932.

=== 1930s and 1940s ===

Starting in 1935, a former Chicago insurance agent named Gordon Whitney started buying up property to construct a series of cottages on the northern end of the island. The area was given the name of Whitney Beach. Whitney intended to have the cottages serve as part of a resort.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Whitney Beach|url=https://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/whitney-beach.html|access-date=2021-05-09|website=Longboat Key History|language=en}}</ref>

In 1936, for the first time, telephone service was brought to the southern part of the island.<ref name=":0" />

In 1937, [[John Ringling North]], the head of the estate of John Ringling, who had died in 1936, announced that Martin Sweeney had an interest in finishing the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Sweeney said the hotel would have two 18 hole golf courses, an airport, a club and facilities for fishing, along with 235 rooms when completed. However, these plans would never transpire and the hotel remained in its then-current state.<ref name=":2" />

By 1939 or 1940, telephone service was brought to the North End.<ref name=":0" /> Longboat Key got its first newspaper, ''Gulf Gale'', in 1941; it would run until 1944.<ref name=":0" />

In [[World War II]], Longboat Key had a bombing range. In 1942, it was used by [[Martin B-26 Marauder|B-26]] planes, and from 1943 to 1945 by [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk|P-40]] and [[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51]] planes. The range was used between 8am and 5pm, which meant that residents on the northern side of the island could not go south of it until after its training sessions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/world-war-ii.html|title=World War II|website=longboat key history.com|access-date=May 13, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708211600/http://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/world-war-ii.html|archive-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

=== 1950s to the present ===

On November 13, 1955, the town was [[Incorporated town|incorporated]] by a 186–13 vote at a meeting in a fire station. The meeting itself lasted for 3 hours and 10 minutes in total. Reasons for supporting incorporation included that Longboat Key could have more say in its governmental affairs.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|last=Hartill|first=Robin|date=November 14, 2012|title=Town of Longboat Key turns 57, but who's counting?|work=[[Longboat Observer]]|url=https://www.yourobserver.com/article/town-longboat-key-turns-57-whos-counting|access-date=August 9, 2021}}</ref> It is also believed that the placement of a segregated beach for African-Americans on the island was a motivator behind incorporating it. By incorporating the entire key, they could somehow avoid the placement of the beach altogether. Residents also held meetings protesting the beach's placement.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Integration of Sarasota Beaches|url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/articles/the-integration-of-sarasota-beaches/|access-date=2021-08-09|website=Sarasota History Alive!|language=en-US}}</ref> Significant arguments against incorporation were that property taxes would go up.<ref name=":3" /> After doing the incorporation vote, Will LePage was elected as the first mayor, along with the first eight members of the Board of Aldermen.<ref name=":3" /> At the time, only about a third of Longboat Key was developed, and roughly 215 people lived on the key. When the town was incorporated, it changed its name from Longbeach to Longboat Key.<ref name="longboatkeychamber.com">{{Cite web|title=Longboat Key - History and Place to Visit|url=http://www.longboatkeychamber.com/community/longboat-key/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222164410/http://www.longboatkeychamber.com/community/longboat-key/|archive-date=December 22, 2015|access-date=January 7, 2016|website=Longboat Key Chamber}}</ref>

[[File:Swain family picnicking near the Colony Beach Club- Longboat Key, Florida (8147489474).jpg|thumb|A family at the beach on Longboat Key in 1958|right]]

In 1959, the [[Arvida Corporation]] created by [[Arthur Vining Davis]] purchased 2,000 acres, which included the southern half of Longboat Key, a majority of Lido Key, along with Bird Key, Otter Key, and Coon Key, at a price of $13.5 million.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hartill|first=Robin|date=2012-10-02|title=Key Club: 'Celebration of a dream'|url=https://www.yourobserver.com/article/key-club-celebration-dream|access-date=2021-05-10|website=Your Observer|language=en}}</ref> It was expected that the population would be increased by 12,000 extra residents.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ARVIDA (Arthur Vining Davis)|url=https://www.longboatkeyhistory.com/arvida-arthur-vining-davis.html|access-date=2021-05-10|website=Longboat Key History|language=en}}</ref> Some of the land purchased would come from John Ringling North, and on his Longboat Key land included the unfinished Ritz-Carlton Hotel. There was a proposal in 1962 by a Sarasota realtor to finish its construction and make it into a convention site for Sarasota. However, Arvida had no interest in either selling or attempting to finish the hotel. The hotel was torn down between December 1963 and January 1964. Debris from the demolished hotel would be used as fill for the city's civic center and City Island.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Mark|title=Ringling's Ritz-Carlton|url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/articles/ringling-s-ritz-carlton/|access-date=December 16, 2021|website=Sarasota History Alive!}}</ref>

In early 2024, it was announced that a new public library would be built on Longboat Key. The library is to be a part of the [[Sarasota County Library System]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kuizon |first1=Kimberly |title=Longboat Key to get its own public library: 'It's been long overdue' |url=https://www.fox13news.com/news/longboat-key-to-get-its-own-public-library-its-been-long-overdue |access-date=7 May 2024 |work=FOX 13 News |date=16 February 2024}}</ref>