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The Worcesters had visited Sarasota from Cincinnati, Ohio, several winters before deciding to build a home on Bird Key. Davie Worcester designed much of the building and named it New Edzell after his wife's ancestral home in Scotland. She died in 1912, and her husband completed the construction. The Sarasota Times gave front-page coverage to the opening social event in February 1914. "Combining the useful with the beautiful, as was the order of her life, stands a monument made with hands, set in one of nature's fairest temples, to the memory of a gifted and good woman." Thus did the writer introduce the home as a labor of love. Davie's paintings, one of which portrayed the ruins of the original Edzell Castle, hung on the walls.

New Edzell introduced a degree of comfort and convenience little experienced in Sarasota at the time. Steam heat warmed winter temperatures, and hot and cold water was available throughout the house. With an electrical generating system, there was both electric and gas lighting. At a time when the city of Sarasota had very limited electrical service, a writer for the newspaper was impressed with the sight across the bay. "The spacious grounds and high dwelling flamed with electric lights (and gave the arriving visitor) the sensation of approaching enchantment."

John Ringling purchased Bird Key in the early 1920s and made the next in the series of changes. His idea to convert New Edzell into a summer White House for President Warren Harding failed to materialize before Harding's death in 1923. The Bird Key mansion then became the home of John Ringling's sister, Ida Ringling North, until her death in 1950. When Ringling built the first causeway and bridge to St. Armands Key, he included an extended Bird Key in the project. No longer was the island isolated from automotive traffic.

In the late 1950s, Arvida Corporation purchased the bulk of the Ringling properties in Sarasota, including Bird Key. After considerable debate in the press and City Hall, Arvida proceeded with the most dramatic of the changes than had been wrought on Bird Key. A massive dredge and fill operation build on the shallow grass flats enlarged the Key to nearly ten times its size at the beginning of the century. A modern Bird Key Yacht Club replaced the fading mansion and more than 500 building lots became available for a growing Sarasota population.

Special Thanks to Ann A. Shank, County Historian, Sarasota County History Center for her research and time devoted to writing this article.

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