Editing Sarasota County, Florida (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Sarasota, Florida}}
[[File:Onetower.JPG|thumb|Downtown Sarasota, the county seat, from the [[John Ringling Causeway]]]]

The area that is now known as Sarasota County has been inhabited by humans for some 10,000 years. Evidence of human remains as well as a burned out log at the [[Warm Mineral Springs (spring)|Warm Mineral Springs]], in [[North Port, Florida|North Port]], were discovered that date to the early [[Archaic period (North America)|Archaic period]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Royal |first1=William |last2=Clark |first2=Eugenie |title=Natural Preservation of Human Brain, Warm Mineral Springs, Florida |journal=American Antiquity |date=October 1960 |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=285–287 |doi=10.2307/276213 |jstor=276213 |s2cid=162336066 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/276213 |access-date=April 4, 2022}}</ref>

Although the name was associated with the area from the beginning of European contacts, the origin of the name "Sarasota" is unknown. In the early twentieth-century, a fanciful story was created to go hand-in-hand with a pageant held in Sarasota. The story held that the town was named after the daughter of famous explorer [[Hernando de Soto (explorer)|Hernando de Soto]]'s daughter Sara.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chapline |first1=George F. |title=The Legend of Sara DeSoto |url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/index.php?src=directory&srctype=detail&refno=1337&category=Articles&view=history&back=history |website=Sarasota History Alive |access-date=January 3, 2023}}</ref>

An early map of the area from 1763 shows the word "Zarazote" across present day Sarasota.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barth |first1=John Jr. |title=The Origin of the Name, Sarasota |url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/articles/the-origin-of-the-name-sarasota/ |website=Sarasota History Alive |publisher=Sarasota County Historical Resources |access-date=April 5, 2022 |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625042337/http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/articles/the-origin-of-the-name-sarasota/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Following exploration, the area was occupied by fishing camps, called ranchos.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stack |first=Margaret |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4558&context=etd |title=An Archaeological and Archival Appraisal of "Spanish Indians" on the West Coast of Florida in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries |year=2011 |pages=10–13 |chapter=Chapter 2: Background History}}</ref> In 1842, the [[Armed Occupation Act]] was passed, which deeded land to settlers who were willing to cultivate land in Florida. The act brought settlers to Sarasota but also led to the [[Seminole Wars|Second Seminole War]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sarasota County Public Records |title=Harrison and Laura Watson Residence |url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/buildings/harrison-and-laura-watson-residence/ |website=Sarasota History Alive |access-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625040009/http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/buildings/harrison-and-laura-watson-residence/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Armed Occupation Act |url=https://myfloridahistory.org/date-in-history/august-04-1842/armed-occupation-act |website=My Florida History |date=April 15, 2015 |publisher=The Florida Historical Society |access-date=April 7, 2022}}</ref> During the war, the area was occupied by the U.S. army and Fort Armistead was built.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Burger |first1=Bill |title=A Military Post on Sarasota Bay |url=http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/articles/a-military-post-on-sarasota-bay/ |website=Sarasota History Alive |access-date=April 5, 2022 |archive-date=June 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625040551/http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/history/articles/a-military-post-on-sarasota-bay/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Sarasota County was created in 1921 from the southern part of [[Manatee County, Florida|Manatee County]]. After acquisition by the United States as a territory, the area now included in Sarasota county had been part of [[St. Johns County, Florida|St. Johns County]] (1821), [[Alachua County, Florida|Alachua County]] (1824), [[Hillsborough County, Florida|Hillsborough County]] (1834), and [[Manatee County, Florida|Manatee County]] (1855) as new counties were created from older counties to accommodate population growth and settlement in new areas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Florida Counties|url=https://tenthcircuitflhistory.org/the-evolution-of-the-state/|access-date=April 18, 2021|website=Tenth Judicial Circuit of Florida Historical Society}}</ref>