Longboat Key

History

Longboat Key was originally inhabited by Native Americans. The area of what is now Longboat Key was scouted by Juan de Añasco, the first known European to explore the key and 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. 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. 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. There is little known about the island between 1848 and the 1880s, since 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. In 1884, Thomas Mann claimed 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. 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."…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 74.19%, of which is water. Longboat Key is located north of St. Armands Key, with its circle of shopping and dining, and Lido Key, and south of Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach, and Anna Maria, which are located on the adjacent Anna Maria Island. The nearby cities of Sarasota and Bradenton and the Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport rounds out Longboat Key's varied list of geographic amenities. State Road 789 (Gulf of Mexico Drive) runs the length of the island, with ancillary boulevards branching off to residential neighborhoods. From some locations one can see both Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. At other points the island widens and accommodates various homes owned by both singly and in condominiums, hotels, and sports clubs. Some Longboat Key residents are "snowbirds", who vacation at or own second homes on Longboat Key, and are present only during the winter months. Others are homesteaders, utilizing the various homestead exemptions provided to Florida citizens who own and occupy their principal residences within the state, as set forth under the Florida Constitution. Most of the Gulf side of Longboat Key consists of beaches. The southernmost area of the key is mostly part of the Longboat Key Club. File:Longboat Key FL beach bdwk01.jpg|Boardwalk to beach File:Longboat Key FL beach03.jpg|Beach on Gulf side of key File:Longboat Key FL beach01.jpg|Beach expanse Jewfish Key is an island that covers located within city limits. The island is only accessible via boat and the eastern part of the key is a nature reserve. Electricity is provided via underwater cables and there are no landline phone lines to the key. Residents of the island get water from…

Largest nearby schools

• PALMETTO HIGH SCHOOL
  High · PALMETTO · 2,100 students · 22.8:1 ratio
• MANATEE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · BRADENTON · 1,983 students · 21.8:1 ratio
• MANATEE SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS
  High · PALMETTO · 1,968 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• SOUTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL
  High · BRADENTON · 1,716 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• BAYSHORE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · BRADENTON · 1,435 students · 20.5:1 ratio
• TEAM SUCCESS A SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE
  Other · BRADENTON · 1,222 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• W. D. SUGG MIDDLE SCHOOL
  Middle · BRADENTON · 1,010 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• LOUISE R JOHNSON K-8 SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
  Elementary · BRADENTON · 936 students · 14.9:1 ratio