Sarasota History

Pre 20th Century

The town Sarasota first came to the attention of gazetteers, under various spellings, in the eighteenth century. The origins of the name are unclear, although according to one theory it derives from the Spanish and originally meant 'place of dancing'. The area wasn't actually settled until 1856, when a settler planted an orange grove. The first golf course was built in 1886 by some Scottish settlers who'd settled two years earlier.

Modern

The railroad came to Sarasota in 1902, and almost immediately it began to attract holiday-makers. Sarasota became an object of desire to the Chicago elite when socialite Bertha Palmer established a ranch and orange farm there in 1910. In 1929, it became the winter home of a major circus run by John Ringling.

Recent

Ringling's circus may have left town in 1960, but the man left his mark on Sarasota, in the form of a palatial and museum of art. Tourism has come to be the engine that keeps the city humming, although subsidiary industries include shipping, manufacturing and software development. In recent times, the city has become an increasingly popular destination for retirees.