The history of Longboat Key, a barrier island, includes the Calusa And Timucan
Indians who vacationed here in the 1500s when the Gulf of Mexico was six feet
lower than today.
Longboat Key was initially settled by hardy pioneers who were awarded land grants
under the Homestead Act of 1862.
Farming was extensive with tomatoes, guavas, avocados and citrus crops abundant.
The steamboat, Mistletoe, out of Tampa stopped at Corey’s Landing, at mid-key,
and Longbeach, at the end of Broadway, to load the crops and debark passengers
in the early 1900s.
The 1921 hurricane flooded the key and ended truck farming. That same year,
Sarasota County was created and Longboat Key was divided in half: Manatee County
in the north and Sarasota County in the south.
During World War II, the center of the island was a target range for Army Air
Force pilots flying P-40s, B-26s, and B-51s.
Tourism took over in the 1950s, the town was incorporated in 1955, and condominium
living began in the late 1970s.
Today the town has about 1,500 single family homes, 7,000 condominium units and
about 1,000 tourists.
This is a far cry from the 14 families that the Sarasota Times reported on the
key in 1915.
All Rights Reserved, Longboat Key Historical Society 2006
