Page 6A
Longboat Key News
Friday, July 28, 2006
Early Indian and Real Estate Wars
It is important to remember that Florida was originally Indian Country.
The peoples who would later become known as
Indians in Florida originally came from northeastern
Asia and migrated south.
It is now known that as early as 8200 BCE, PaleoIndians lived on the land surrounding Sarasota Bay.
Eventually they built mounds. On top of those
mounds they built their villages. You have to look
at the wisdom of their decision, reminiscent of latter-day dwellers in the 20th Century being asked to
build their homes up on stilts to avoid flooding.
Christopher Columbus named the early dwellers
when he landed at Hispaniola in 1492. He called
them Indians because he thought he had discovered a new route to India, the “islands” became the
Indies.
His rulers — Isabella and Ferdinand — felt that
the Indians should be converted to Christianity and
treated as subjects. However, if they did not convert
they would be considered “enemies of the people.”
Even though slavery was not permitted, that did
not stop Spanish colonial slave practices to work the
plantations south.
Civil right’s demonstrations began in the New
World when Bartolome de Las Casas published pamphlets speaking out against cruelty to the Indians.
Tired of being victimized, the Indians fought
back.
By 1521, when Ponce de Leon landed on the Gulf coast
near Charlotte Harbor, he found Indians who knew a
few words of Spanish, and eventually died from wounds
he received by Gulf coast warriors.
Florida passed from Spanish hands to British hands
in 1763. Land was sold from Spanish inhabitants to the
new British inhabitants, who came to the New World.
And, with that became disputes.
An old Spanish map written on sheepskin was used
to help prove the right of land ownership on a land title
dispute on property north of Sarasota.
It is interesting that this document as part of the many
records of the “Committee of Lords on Plantation Affairs”
was the first written document, which was found to use
the word Sarasota for this region of Florida.
The word was “Zarasota,” instead of Sarasota. No one
knows the meaning of Zarasota, or where it originated.
So, it was Zarasota Pass before it was Sarasota Pass
— really.
And, Longboat Key was depicted as Palm Island, and
Siesta Key was known as Clam Island.
After the First and Second Seminole Wars were fought
and won, the Congressional Armed Occupation Act of
1842 opened the doors to settlers from the North and
from the West to colonize Florida in some safety.
Shoemakers, boat builders, real estate developers and
cowboys came to Sarasota Bay.
What used to be Indian Country was now the New
Frontier.
Florida became a state in 1849, and required that
Indians stay on their “reservations.”
Congress offered 200,000 federal acres for free,
if settlers would stay five years and build, farm and
defend the land from Indians.
The offer was only open for one year.
Three claims were registered at Sarasota Bay.
Two Spanish fishermen — Manuel Olivella and
Jose Elzuardi — claimed 160 acres each. They
claimed land on the bay front, which extended
to Whitaker Bayou. They began what came to be
known as “fish rancho.”
Benjamin Fuller also claimed land near present-day
Bowlees Creek.
One of the more lucrative fish ranchos operating
was situated first on Manatee River and then on
Palm Island, which became Longboat Key. It was
owned by a former Baltimore sea captain by the
name of William Bunce.
The fish rancho made $6,000 a year. He employed
Seminoles and other Indian workers.They were suited to the work, and the environment. The rancho
prospered until tensions arose between renegade
Indians and the new interests of the colonists.
Eventually it was not safe to work in this remote
area, and Bunce asked for protection.
The Third Seminole War brought Sarasota families
little peace. In 1861, Florida seceded from the Union
with South Carolina and Mississippi.
LongboatLetters
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Longboat Key, FL 34228
Phone: 941-387-2200
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Villa Di Lancia Petitioners
Dear Mayor Webster:
This letter will serve as your official notification that
27 of the 38 unit owners (71%) at Villa Di Lancia have
signed a petition urging the commissioners to seek an
alternative to the proposed rock groins.
Please be absolutely aware of this in your deliberations, as a great many of the owners fully intend to
actively oppose any effort to impose the rock groins on
our beaches.
Thank you for your consideration, and I have enclosed
a list of those who have signed the petition.
Nick Striglos
Villa Di Lancia
No T-head Groins!
Against the T-groin petition: signed by 44 owners
including Eileen Sorenson, Martha Comment, Mary
and Dick Nunis, Barb & Ernest Brandolini, Karin &
Wolfgang Doerschlag, Gerald & Joan Litzky, Judy &
Stanley Bernstein, Karen & Robert Loewy, Mary Ann &
Virgil Miller, Nick & Pat Striglos, Carolyn & Maynard
Sauder, Gene & Judy Toombs, Lavern Stellas, Dave &
Billie Bankoff, Susie & Ellis Klingerman, Sue & Ron Vallan,
Karen & George Levy, Herb Spaeth, Joel & Betty Welch,
Eydie Koonin, Christine Resanovich, Robert Block, Gloria
Fiorelli, Jim & Sandy Palmer, Shirley & Bob Bretches, and
Pam & Brian Sullivan.
Residents of Sleepy Lagoon
Sand Color Sub-par
Dear Town of Longboat Key:
We, the residents of north Longboat Key, including
Sleepy Lagoon, are writing to express our great sadness
over the recent beach refurbishment project. We are
extremely disappointed with the color and quality of the
sand. Sleepy Lagoon’s Gulfside Road beach access is a
prime example of what has made the residents unhappy.
We are also perplexed as to why the southern end of
Longboat Key received white sand, and the northern
end did not.
Florida beaches have always been considered to be
some of the best in the world. In fact, Florida beaches
are ranked every year by the likes of Frommer’s, the
Travel Channel, and many others. The rankings include
the quality and color of the sand as a very key component. As a matter of fact, one of our competitors in the
marketplace — Siesta Key — is consistently ranked as
“one of the world’s finest white sand beaches.”
Longboat Key has always had a long history of beautiful beaches. In fact, in talking to Gail Loefgren, the presi-
dent of our Chamber of Commerce, she said that many
of the tourists have actually called or come by to ask
her “what happened to Longboat Key’s beaches.” Either
they have vacationed here before or were told by their
travel agent that the beaches were some of the best in
Florida.
We want the beaches to have the beauty they did
before. It is our belief that this recent beach refurbishment will have long-lasting impact on the future attractiveness of Longboat Key, in particular Sleepy Lagoon.
First and foremost, we believe the allure of the coastline beauty has been compromised. Whether residents
or visitors are driving down the island, boating off
the coast, or flying in the air, Longboat’s northern-end
beaches do not meet the standards of the other four
major barrier islands.
Second, when travel agencies hear back from their
clients about the changes in our beaches, you can rest
assured that they will be finding other islands near us for
their clients to enjoy.
Third, from the perspective of property values, when
potential buyers come to look at purchasing a home and
they see our beaches, we feel that Longboat Key will be
at a competitive disadvantage. Also, when current residents try to sell their homes, buyers may decide to go to
another island with better beaches.
Fourth, when potential business owners come to
Longboat Key to look at the island, they too could
decide to find another location. As business people, they
are looking at what the draw is for their business. While
the number of residents is extremely important so is the
potential for tourism versus other island communities.
Fifth, when you stand at the water’s edge and watch
the water as it hits the shoreline, instead of seeing the
beauty of the water, you see this dark gray mixture lapping up on the beach. To us, it loses the great beauty it
had before.
Sixth, in the 2006 Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s
Guide, all the pictures are reflecting white sand beaches.
This is not what the beaches on the northern end of
Longboat Key look like today.
In closing, we feel very strongly about this issue and
have started a petition from the community at large. A
copy of this (petition) is being mailed to you, along with
a hard copy of this letter.We ask for your help in correcting this problem.
We would appreciate an opportunity to discuss this
with you at your earliest convenience.
Debra McKenna and Mary Winter
Longboat Key