 |
Anna Maria Island...
Located on Florida's Renowned West Coast, Seven-mile long Anna Maria
Island is situated just south of Tampa Bay and is surrounded by the Gulf
of Mexico on its western shore and Sarasota Bay and Anna Maria Bay on its
eastern shores. It is the northernmost of a string of barrier islands that
extend in a southerly direction to the Florida Keys. Did you know that
Fort De Soto is less than an hour from Anna
Maria Island?
The island's three cities (Anna Maria at the northern end, Holmes Beach in
the middle and Bradenton Beach at the southern end) are easily accessed by
three draw bridges -- one for Longboat key to the south and two from the
mainland which lie off the Island's eastern shore across from Sarasota Bay
and the Intracoastal Waterway. |
|
The northernmost entry to the island is
from Bradenton via SR 64 -- a cross-Florida link which runs almost to the
state's Atlantic coast.
With its temperate year-round weather, Anna Maria island has truly become
"My Island In The Sun" for not only visitors but year-round residents.
They have willingly surrendered their days to being entranced by the warm
lapping waters and sugarsoft sandy beaches.
Anna Maria has the distinction of being the first Anna Maria Island city
where settlers established homes. The first homesteader on the entire
island was George Emerson Bean, a world traveler from Connecticut. He
built his home near the present location of the Rod and Reel Pier in 1893
and homesteaded 140 acres, from the North Point (Bean Point) to what is
now Magnolia Avenue, where the Island Community Center is located. His
son, George W. Bean, became the first land developer and with John Roser
formed the Anna Maria Beach Company. Streets and sidewalks were laid out;
homes, businesses and a water system were built.
The Anna Maria Island Historical Society, formed in 1990, operates the
Island Historical Museum at 402 Pine Avenue, adjacent to the Old City
Jail. The museum was originally built as an ice house in 1920 and the jail
was built in 1927. It was really used to detain Islanders who got too
rowdy. It was open air and the mosquitoes almost carried them off. The Old
City Jail is now a popular landmark and a favorite subject for
photographers. This depiction is by local artist Joan Voyles.
In 1911, before there was a bridge, a dock was constructed into Tampa Bay
at the end of Pine Avenue. Excursion boats made daily trips, docking at
the pier bringing supplies and visitors to the island.
In 1913, John Roser built the first church on Anna Maria Island on Pine
Avenue. The lighted cross on the steeple of Roser Memorial Community
Church was a beacon for fishermen. Captain Mitch Davis, the first mayor of
Anna Maria City, was elected in 1925, just after the city was
incorporated. Following the incorporation, electricity was brought to the
island.
The first school was built on Magnolia Avenue in 1930, where the Island
Community Center stands today. The Island Players Theater, at the Gulf end
of Pine Avenue, was a home in the farming community of Parrish before it
was floated down the Manatee River in two sections on barges.
Transportation on the island was by horse and wagon until Cortez Bridge
was built in 1921. The rickety, wooden bridge was replaced by a modern
concrete structure in 1957. Another bridge was built at the same time in
Holmes Beach linking the island to Bradenton. The mail was brought from
the mainland in the early 30’s b y a colorful character, Harry “Uncle Sam”
Ditmas.
Sources: Anna Maria Chamber of Commerce and Anna Maria
Historical Society.
Mike Norman Realty
Anna Maria Island Vacation Rental
3101 Gulf Dr. Holmes Beach,
Anna Maria Island, Florida 34217
Tel: 1-800-367-1617
Tel: 941-778-6696
|
