Longboat Key, Florida

Longboat Key is a town in Manatee and Sarasota counties along the central west coast of the U.S. state of Florida, located on and coterminous with the barrier island of the same name. Longboat Key is south of Anna Maria Island, between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. It is almost equally divided between Manatee and Sarasota counties. The town of Longboat Key was incorporated in 1955 and is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town's population was 7,505 at the 2020 census, up from 6,888 at the 2010 census.

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.

19th century

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."

There were no roads that led to the key until 1929, when a bridge was built to St. Armands. A bridge across Longboat Pass was built in April 1929 and would exist until March 1932.

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.

In 1936, for the first time, telephone service was brought to the southern part of the island.

On November 13, 1955, the town was 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. 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. Significant arguments against incorporation were that property taxes would go up.

thumb|A family at the beach on Longboat Key in 1958

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. It was expected that the population would be increased by 12,000 extra residents. 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.

21st century

On the evening prior to, and day of, the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush stayed at the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort on Longboat Key before later visiting Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota. The Colony Resort was selected because it was a location that would be easy to secure.

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.

Geography

thumb|upright|White heron in the Durante Community Park on Longboat Key

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

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Jewfish Key

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 wells and use septic tanks.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable"

|+Longboat Key racial composition<br> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br>

!Race

!Pop. 2010

!Pop. 2020

!% 2010

!% 2020

|White (NH)

|6,715

|7,052

|97.49%

|93.96%

|Black or African American (NH)

|16

|31

|0.23%

|0.41%

|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)

|15

|0.10%

|0.20%

|Asian (NH)

|51

|88

|0.74%

|1.17%

|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)

|0.00%

|0.03%

|Some other race (NH)

|22

|0.03%

|0.29%

|Two or more races/multiracial (NH)

|24

|118

|0.35%

|1.57%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|73

|177

|1.06%

|2.36%

|Total

|6,888

|7,505

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Longboat Key had a population of 7,505. There were 3,992 females and 3,513 males in the town. The median age was 71.0 years overall, 71.7 for males, and 70.5 for females. 2.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 67.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.3 males age 18 and over.

99.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.5% lived in rural areas.

There were 4,200 households in Longboat Key, of which 4.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 61.6% were married-couple households, 11.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 6,888 people, 3,780 households, and 2,595 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the census The Mayor of Longboat Key is elected for a two-year long term by the town commission consisting of seven members who serve two-year terms each. The town commission has 7 members with each member being elected to a three-year long term. Two of the members of the town commission under the town charter are elected for at-large seats.

The United States Postal Service operates a post office on Longboat Key, with the entire island having the ZIP code of 34228. The post office was established on October 10, 1907, as "Longbeach", and was located in the community of that name on the north end of the key. On February 1, 1958, the name of the Longbeach post office was changed to Longboat Key. There was also another post office named "Longboat" established on March 27, 1914, in the Sarasota County portion of the key, but it was discontinued on January 14, 1922, and its functions were assumed by the Sarasota post office.

The quasi-governmental form of the condominium association exists in one of its most complex forms in and on Longboat Key, consisting of the Federation of Longboat Key Condominiums.

Longboat Key is served by two newspapers published year-round, the Longboat Observer and the Longboat Key News.

Currently, Longboat Key is located within two Florida counties, Manatee County in the north and Sarasota County in the south. There have been calls for the Florida Legislature to pursue an initiative to create a 68th county, "Longboat Key County," to simplify governance of the island. Neither of these initiatives is likely to be passed, however. As of February 2019, Longboat Key officials had not started any comprehensive effort to put Longboat in one county or the other. Officials did, however, ask state legislators to request the Florida Legislature's OPPAGA perform an analysis of the potential benefits and drawbacks of moving into only one county.

In recent years, it has been suggested to declare Longboat Key a national seashore, a public land operated by the National Park Service.

Education

The school district for portions in Manatee County is School District of Manatee County.

The school district for portions in Sarasota County is Sarasota County Schools.

Notable people

Al Arbour, four-time Stanley Cup-winning former coach, New York Islanders
Marilyn Bendell, impressionist painter
Lou Bender, basketball player with Columbia Lions and trial attorney
Nick Bollettieri, founded Bradenton's Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
Vern Buchanan, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Florida's 16th congressional district, which includes Longboat Key
Frank Swift Chase, post-impressionist painter
Harber H. Hall (1920–2020), member of the Illinois Senate, 1973–1979; resided in Longboat Key during his retirement
Marcella Hazan, Italian cooking instructor and cookbook author
Tom Helmore, actor
Audrey Hepburn, actress
Al Hirshberg, Boston-based sportswriter
Nathan J. Kaplan, Illinois jurist and politician
Jesse W. Markham, economist
Charlie Maxwell, former professional baseball player for 4 teams
Peter Mellor (born 1947), English-born American footballer and coach
Ed Miracle, artist
Frank Mockler, 47th governor, American Samoa
Ronna Romney, former Michigan Republican politician and sister-in-law to Governor Mitt Romney
Reb Wickersham, racing driver

References

External links

Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce