The dedicated professional staff of the Sarasota County History Center has composed fascinating accounts of people, places and events from our county's remarkable past.
Sarasota History Alive! is very grateful to them for permitting us to display these narratives on our website. We, as a community are also indebted to them for all the research and patience it took to produce hundreds of these articles for your enjoyment and information. Sarasota History Alive! will continually add new stories and photos as they become available.
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If you would like to support the Sarasota County History Center please contact The Friends of the History Center. It is a nonprofit organization that helps support the staff's ongoing efforts to preserve our county's heritage. Won't you please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to assist their efforts? Call the History Center @ (941) 861-6090 for details and further information. Or, stop by and see the enormous amount of materials they have preserved to help us all appreciate a sense of place and historical perspective in our community. They are located at 6062 Porter Way, Sarasota Florida, 34232
Hurricanes have been a part of Sarasota life since the area's history was first recorded by the Whitaker family in 1845. In 1846, a major storm hit the Tampa Bay area and it was reported that the Manatee River was sucked out into the bay. The water level was so low that you could ride a horse across the river.
Read More »Woodmere is one of Sarasota County's ghost towns. Between 1918 and 1923 it was a busy sawmill town about a mile south of the present intersection of U.S. 41 and Englewood Road. Today it exists in memories and records.
Read More »Every email I ever received from Pete Esthus was signed with his signature closing that offered, "Kindest Personal Regards." Now, after his passing, that means so much more to me as I have re-read some of Pete’s frequent messages. If you did not know him, in a word he was a perfect gentleman; and a man who dearly loved his hometown of Sarasota since 1929.
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