Tree Trimming in Longboat Key, FL

Longboat Key was originally inhabited by Native Americans. The area what is now Longboat Key was scouted by Juan de Añasco who was the first known European to explore the key and Hernando De Soto’s scout. He spent about two months attempting to find a landing site, and he was also most likely the first man to see and explore Sarasota Bay, Boca Ceiga Bay and the Manatee River. According to local legend, he believed the Indians were hostile. When the party reached land on the island, the Indians fled leaving their Longboat in a bayou. Pirate Jean Lafitte was said to have been shipwrecked near or on Longboat Key.

Prior to 1842, Cuban and Spanish fisherman along with some squatters would reside on the island. A fishing camp and a trading post for Native Americans would exist in the northern part of the key located in what is presently the Longboat Village. At the time, the area was referred to on maps as “Saraxola” and “Zarazote”.

There is little known about the island after 1848 and until the 1880s, because a hurricane hit the area and destroyed most of Longboat Key. The only thing that is known is that Charles Abbe had a plantation at an unknown location on the island where citrus and pineapples were grown.