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| Historic
Site List |
Parks
Locations |
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| Location: West side of Bayshore Drive at Myrtle St. |
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5000
years ago, prehistoric Indians seasonally came to these shores,
drawn by freshwater springs, bays teeming with fish and shellfish,
and woods rich with game. By 1000 A.D. their middens, ceremonial
mounds, and a village place stood nearby. European diseases
and war eventually decimated these Floridians. Centuries later,
Seminoles and Spanish fishermen worked at ranchos or fish camps
often built on old Indian sites. The rancho industry supplied
mullet, roe, and other seafood to Cuban markets. One rancho
near here became the site of Fort Armistead (1840-1841), a Second
Seminole War post.
Extensive land purchases occurred during the 1880s. Recognizing
the nature of the shell heaps, Dr. F. H. Williams of Connecticut
named this area Indian Beach. With others in 1891 he platted
a subdivision. The new residents built homes and docks along
the bay, established a winter colony, and in 1906 operated a
post office serving fewer than a hundred residents. In 1913
the Indian Beach Land Company was formed to sell upland lots
as DeSoto Terrace, advertised as an ultra-exclusive residential
section. The Town of Indian Beach was incorporated in 1919 and
annexed into the City of Sarasota in 1925.
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