SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – Sarasota County kicks off its centennial celebration, Tuesday afternoon.
The roaring ’20s were not just about jazz and economic prosperity, but the decade where the story of Sarasota County began when it was just a frontier.
“No electricity, lots of mosquitoes, no Wi-Fi, no internet, no roads,” Sarasota County Historical Resources Manager Rob Bendus said. “This place was really difficult to get to and it was really difficult to live in.
July first, 1921, the Sarasota district broke away from Manatee county.
“As this district was growing, Manatee county was not paying a lot of attention to Sarasota District,” Bendus said. “So things like roads, bridges, schools, safety, all those issues that we still struggle with today were very important in 1921.”
This was a pivotal point for the state as well.
“Six counties were created in that year, all breaking off from bigger counties and there haven’t been any new counties created since 1921,” Bendus said.
And it’s all thanks to some influential pioneers.
“With the help of people like John Gillespie, Bertha Palmer, the Ringlings, Sarasota started to grow exponentially in the 1910s and 1920s,” Bendus said.
The Sarasota County library is celebrating this milestone with 100 events on the Suncoast
“The library is going to have more than 100 events going on workshops from archeology, the arts, and pioneers and to what’s next in our future,” County Library Director, Renee Di Pilato said.
Celebrations include a new initiative of sharing 100 stories from the people who live on the Suncoast now.
“We recognize that history is happening all around us today and we want to make sure we capture that history,” Di Pilato said. “So we’re interviewing residents, we want to capture their Sarasota stories, so what has been unique to them about living in Sarasota County.”
“We should all be proud to be Sarasota Citizens,” Bendus said.
Everyone has a story. So, if you’re interested in sharing your story, you can go to https://www.sarasotacounty100.com/.