Editing Longboat Key, Florida (section)

=== 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" />