1

A Historical Geographyof Southwest Florida Waterways

VOLUME ONEAnna Maria Sound to Lemon Bay

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written byGustavo A. Antonini

David A. FannPaul Roat

art production byTom Cross, Inc.

design & Illustrations byPatti Cross

edited byCathy Ciccolella & Paul Roat

A Historical Geographyof Southwest Florida Waterways

VOLUME ONEAnna Maria Sound to Lemon Bay

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Table of Contents

7 Introduction

10 Historical Development of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway10 The Boating Geography of Southwest Florida

Before Coastal Development12 Dredging History of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway16 Dredging of Access Channels and

Residential Canal Development22 Land and Water Changes Along the Waterway28 Land Use and Land Cover Changes Along the Shoreline29 Prominent Features of the Boating Waterfront37 Photographic Record of Waterway Changes

46 Inlet Dynamics46 Inlet Locations and Status48 Inlet Features49 Type of Inlets50 Historical Changes

59 Altering Land and Water for Coastal Development:Venice, Florida59 Physical Geography61 Land Reclamation or Waterway Navigation?62 Changes on the Waterways and Along the Waterfront

68 Loss of Seagrasses

70 Cortez: A Working Waterfront

74 Charting Sarasota Bay74 Historic Methods of Charting76 Mid-20th Century77 Charting in the 1990s78 The Near Future

79 Glossary

80 Scientific, Technical and Boating -Related Information on the Waterwaysof Southwest Florida

4Acknowledgments

This project has benefitted from the advice and gen-erous assistance of many representatives of federal, stateand local public agencies, individuals with non-govern-mental organizations and private citizens. Their interestand assistance in presenting this historical geography ofSouthwest Florida waterways is gratefully acknowledged.

Leonard Zobler (professor emeritus, Columbia Uni-versity) and Will Sheftall (formerly Sea Grant agent withCharlotte County, now natural resources agent with LeonCounty) were partners in the seminal discussions that ledto combining history with cartography to describe thechanging nature of the bay’s boating environment. JohnMcCarthy (Sarasota County Department of Parks andRecreation) worked with Gustavo Antonini, the seniorauthor, on a pilot analysis of Lido Key using this approach.Chuck Listowski (West Coast Inland Navigation District,WCIND) offered encouragement and support to broadenthe project area to include the waters from Lower TampaBay to Lemon Bay. We wish to thank Jim Cato, Directorof Florida Sea Grant, for his support of the BluewaysProject.

Archivists at the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) and the Library of Congress wereespecially helpful with researching historic maps, charts,aerials, and ground photographs. They include: ScottClark and Tyrone Holt (NOAA, Hydrographic SurveysBranch, Data Control Section); Joan Rikon (NOAA,National Geodetic Survey, Information Services Branch);Robert Richardson, Deborah Lelansky and Richard Smith(National Archives, Cartographic Branch); James Hastings(National Archives, Still Pictures Branch); and Mary AnnHawkins (National Archives, Federal Records Center,Southeast Region). The U.S. Army Corps of EngineersJacksonville Office staff — Tom Gaskin, Don Fore andLouis Novak — provided references on early dredging bythe Corps in the region. Victorina Basauri (Florida SeaGrant) assisted with this phase of the research.

Historic maps, aerials and ground photographs werealso obtained from state and local sources. They include:Florida State Archives, Photographic Collection (JodyNorman); Florida Department of Transportation (JamesMickler); Manatee County Records Library (KathySlusser); Sarasota County Historical Resources Depart-ment (Ann Shank); Venice Archives (Dorothy Korwek);Ringling Museum of Art (Deborah Walk); Longboat KeyHistorical Society (Ralph Hunter); Sarasota County, SoilConservation Service (Gary Reckner); New College,Sarasota, Division of Natural Sciences (John Morrill); andCharlotte Harbor Area Historical Society (U.S. Cleve-land). Two area residents — Diana Harris, Englewood,and Jim Armstrong, Manasota Key — provided histori-cal commentaries and photo annotations.

Contemporary aerial photographs were obtained fromGEONEX, St. Petersburg, Florida, and EarthData Avia-tion/Technologies, Hagerstown, Maryland. Ted Harris(Florida Department of Transportation, Photogramme-try Unit) and Evan Brown (formerly with WCIND, nowwith the Sarasota County Transportation Department)scanned the historic aerial and ground photographs.

The Florida Marine Research Institute and the South-west Florida Water Management District provided geo-graphic information system (GIS) coverages of seagrassand mangrove. Thanks to Chris Friel and Steve Dicks atthe respective agencies. Florida Sea Grant cartographic

staff members Bob Swett and Charles Sidman providedvaluable technical advice in GIS analysis and mapping.Sharon Schulte, also with Florida Sea Grant, preparedgraphics illustrating inlet dynamics and performed sup-porting GIS analyses of Sarasota Bay depth and seagrasschanges.

A special note of thanks to Ernest Estevez (Mote Ma-rine Laboratory, Sarasota), Jim Cato (Florida Sea GrantProgram), and Max Sheppard (University of FloridaCoastal Engineering Department) and Sam Johnston (EdBarber & Associates, Bradenton), who reviewed the manu-script for technical accuracy.

The research was financed by grants from the NOAACoastal Services Center, Charleston, South Carolina andthe University of Florida Sea Grant Program. The WestCoast Inland Navigation District provided funds for pub-lication of this book through the Regional Waterway Man-agement System Program.

About the authorsGustavo A. Antonini is a professor in Geography. Gus

received B.S., M.A., and Ph.D dregrees from ColumbiaUniversity in New York City. He has been with the Uni-versity of Florida since 1970 and is a recipient of Univer-sity of Florida Research Achievement Award. Gus teachescourses on remote sensing, air photo interpretation andmapping.

Prior to 1988, he worked mostly in the Caribbean andLatin America on natural resource and watershed man-agement issues. Since 1988, Gus has focused on Floridacoastal management and marine recreation planning as aSea Grant senior scientist on policy-directed research andextension education projects dealing with boat live-aboards, derelict vessel removal, hurricane recovery, arti-ficial reef monitoring, anchoring, waterway managementand boat traffic evaluations.

Gus has boated in Florida for 25 years and has cruisedthe Caribbean, Bahamas and U.S. eastern seaboard aboarda Cheoy Lee Cruisaire 35, La Vida, which also serves as aself-contained field station for the waterway research. Gusholds a Merchant Marine Master’s Ticket (100 tons), andis a 25-year member of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

David Fann has been a research associate with FloridaSea Grant, University of Florida, since 1996, engaged infield data collection, GIS analysis, quantitative analysisand cartography. David has also created educational prod-ucts that encourage nature-based tourism by Florida’s rec-reational boaters. He graduated from the University ofFlorida, Gainesville. Before 1993, he was a technicalwriter/editor in the aerospace industry. David is a life-long resident of Florida and enjoys fishing or sailing mostsaltwater regions of the state.

Paul Roat is a Florida native who has spent most of hislife on the barrier islands of Manatee and Sarasota coun-ties. Paul graduated from the University of South Floridawith a degree in photojournalism and has spent 22 yearswriting or editing community newspapers, magazines andbooks. Paul works with Tom Cross, Inc., a consulting firmspecializing in environmental and marine writing andgraphics. He is news editor for the Islander Bystander, acommunity newspaper based on Anna Maria Island.

A publication fundedin part by the FloridaSea Grant Program,pursuant toNational Oceanicand AtmosphericAdministration(NOAA) Grant No.NA 76RG-0120.The views expressedare those of theauthors and do notnecessarily reflectthe views ofNOAA or any ofits sub-agencies.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCENational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationCoastal Services Center2234 South Hobson AvenueCharleston, South Carolina 29405-2413

Linking People, Resources and InformationURL http://www.csc.noaa.gov/

National Ocean Service National Marine Fisheries Service National Weather ServiceOcean and Atmospheric Research National Environmental Satellite Data Information Service

Sarasota Bay has been described as “Paradise Found” because of the profound natural beauty ofthe system. The first explorers as well as the first European settlers of southwest Florida weredrawn to Sarasota Bay because of the diversity and abundant productivity of the region’s naturalresources. These same attributes continue to draw settlers. Whether or not this dramatic areacontinues to be both compelling and productive has a lot to do with our understanding of thecomplexity of the Bay system and the ways in which future development can impact the naturalenvironment.

While portions of the Sarasota Bay system have changed little in the past 100 years, in some areasit appears as if society’s primary goal is to see how much we can change nature to meet our needs.Massive dredging and fill projects have reshaped the land and waterways. We have made landwhere nature did not, and dug waterways in areas nature picked to be seagrass beds.

A historical perspective is necessary if we are to grasp the real effects of this change, for alter-ations of this magnitude do not happen overnight. Change occurs in seemingly little, yet irrevers-ible steps — a dredging project this year, new waterfront lots the following year. New spoildisposal sites are needed, the vegetation slowly changes and salinity and the natural flushingaction of the small bays are altered.

As a society, we have traditionally depended on the geographer and the anthropologist to help usunderstand that which lies around us in the landscape but which is not readily observable orcomprehensible. With this book, author Gustavo Antonini, Ph.D., is giving us a telescope thatallows us to look at Sarasota Bay Past as we chart Sarasota Bay Future.

A Historical Geography of Southwest Florida Waterways, Volume One: Anna Maria Sound toLemon Bay is about the strong relationship between human dreams and the endlessly changingcoastal environment. Dr. Antonini unveils the complex story of the past one hundred years ofhuman alterations to this interesting and beautiful area. For those of us who care about the SarasotaBay system, the historical, environmental, cultural and geographic information provided in thisbook can help us realize how the aspirations of society can impact the future of this naturalresource system. Armed with this information, citizens can do a better job of shaping a future thatincludes the safeguards needed to maintain a healthy environment and growing communities.

Margaret DavidsonDirector, NOAA Coastal Services Center

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But the pull of the Mangrove Coast is not its history, for neither the historians nor itsown people have laid claim or put great value on its past. Its attractions lie in its

intangibles: the gleam of the white sand, the softness of southwest winds,pink and turquoise sunsets, and the abiding simplicity of its people.

In some curious way, the coast has managed to retain a simplicity in standards andoutlook that seems to date back to the early days of the century or, perhaps, instinctively

to reach forward into the decades ahead of us all.

—The Mangrove CoastKarl A. Bickel

©1989Omni Print Media Inc.

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INTRODUCTION

The Sarasota Bay system — barrier islandsand estuaries from Anna Maria Sound southto Lemon Bay — is perhaps the most preciousjewel of the southwest Florida coast. This 56-mile stretch of Gulf of Mexico coastline com-prises a generally narrow and shallow stringof bays, estuaries, lagoons, inlets and islands.

In some areas the human populationdensely occupies the shore and even the wa-ter; in others, the original occupants — mostvisibly shorebirds, fish, dolphins and mana-

tees — are often sighted. Some areas have lushseagrass meadows and thriving mangrove islands,

while others have barren bay bottoms and shoreshardened by seawalls protecting fabulously expen-

sive land that did not even exist mere decades ago.Some areas have shorelines and channels that havechanged little in the past 100 years, and others nowhave extensive waterways created by man.

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) provides di-rect passage through the entire Sarasota Bay system, link-ing natural deep water sections through a series ofmanmade channels, canals and cuts. The ICW was origi-nally intended to facilitate commercial shipping to andalong the southwest Florida coast and to join the regionwith the rest of the intracoastal network that now stretchesfrom Maine to Texas. Today, however, the vast majority ofthe Gulf ICW’s functionality is devoted to recreational ac-tivities: power boating, sailing, fishing, water skiing, kayakingand canoeing.

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began dredg-ing in 1890 what would eventually become the ICW, theywould hardly have imagined the ultimate extent of thetask they had commenced. Alterations to the waterwaycontinue today from Tampa Bay to Gasparilla Sound. Thechannel, which once hopscotched from one bay to an-other along sparsely populated mainland shores and vir-tually deserted barrier islands, punctuated by shallows,oyster bars, mangrove thickets and other barriers origi-

nally impassable, would eventually form acontinuously navigable waterway for sizablevessels. The ICW’s development paralleled— and contributed to — a population boomthat remains one of the most vigorous in theUnited States. Shallow parts of the estuarybottom were dredged and redeposited to en-large existing islands or create new islets andin many cases covering bay habitats. Thisnewly created shoreline ultimately becamehighly valued waterfront home sites for thou-sands of people. At the same time, it alteredthe environmental characteristics of the es-tuary, where the fresh water from the landmixes with the saltwater from the sea.

The ship’sfigureheadis a statue orcarving decoratingthe bow of a ship.

Aerial viewsof Sarasota Bay.

Sarasota Island Park anchorage. Sarasota bayfront. October 7, 1926.

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Some of most compelling attractions of the region arethe bays and beaches. Sailors find the large, deep reachesof Big Sarasota Bay a perfect “lake” for afternoon regat-tas. Cruising mariners have safe anchorages scatteredthroughout the region, and fine waterfront amenitiesabound. Fishermen wade or boat to thousands of secretholes where they catch redfish, trout, snook, tarpon andmany other species. Water skiers slalom in the protectedareas near City Island or Skiers Island. The area near LongBar Point in Big Sarasota Bay is ideal for canoeing andkayaking, and the winding shore of North Casey Key andthe nearby Neville Marine Preserve offer some of thenation’s best birding.

From the vantage of the shore or a boat on the watersof the Sarasota Bay system, the dawn sun peeks throughthe trees on the mainland. During the day, the high build-ings of Sarasota, seaside Venice and other urban areas glintkaleidoscopically. Sunsets on the sparkling Gulf of Mexicorival those anywhere on earth. Boaters and shore residentsappreciate the beauty of the system, but also see the ef-fects of man’s presence from waterfront development.They have expressed a desire for further insights into theregion and for a means to share these insights with eachother and with visitors.

This book and the pocket guide and map, “SarasotaBay Blueways: Recreational Opportunities around theBay” provide a window to the past and present SarasotaBay system. Historical maps and photographs illustratethe changes occurring from the “pre-development” pe-riod of the late 1800s to today. The historical develop-ment of the ICW is explored, from the first major dredg-ing effort in 1890 to the major residence and businessdevelopments of the 1960s and 1970s to the beachrenourishment projects of today. Prominent features ofthe Sarasota Bay system from Anna Maria Island to LemonBay are described in words, pictures and maps.

A chapter is devoted to inlets, their dynamics and theirimportance to the bay system. Distances between thesepasses that link the bays and Gulf are provided from themariner’s perspective, as well as to offer a better under-standing of the vital role inlets play in the estuarine envi-ronment.

A “snapshot” of land-based coastal development andits importance to the bay system uses the city of Venice asan example. With more than 80 percent of the bay waterarea having changed (deepened, shoaled, disappeared, etc.)in its vicinity, Venice represents the extreme case of alter-ing land and water for shoreline growth.

The Hover Arcade, at the foot of lower Main Street inSarasota, was built by Dr. Walter Hover and two of hisbrothers in 1913. It was later purchased by the city andhoused City Hall. When Sarasota County was created in1921, the arcade served temporarily as the courthouse. Itwas destroyed in the late 1960s.

Ca’d’Zan.John andMableRinglingwinter home.

Cortez fishing village.

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A juxtaposition of development practices other thanVenice is provided in the working waterfront of the vil-lage of Cortez. This area, homesteaded in the 1880s by agroup of fishermen originally from North Carolina, haschanged little in the past 100 years, and many of thevillage’s homes, shops and fish houses are included in theU.S. Registry of Historic Places.

Nautical charts are important tools mariners use tosafely reach unfamiliar destinations and to find the way

home. Charting Sarasota Bay describeshistorical and modern means of deter-mining water depths and locations ofcoastal landmarks. How marveloustoday’s hand-held Global PositioningSystems and solid state electronic depthsounders are, compared to the need foralmost 7,000 “pole soundings” ofSarasota Bay depths in order to compilea hydrographic chart in earlier times!

The importance of seagrass beds and mangroves is alsodiscussed, and the potential seagrass coverage of 1890sSarasota Bay is illustrated for comparison with actual dis-tribution today. A map also provides a look at areas ofseagrass that have suffered damage, largely from propel-ler scarring.

The Sarasota Bay system of tomorrow? Through theefforts of federal, state, regional and local authorities, aswell as private interests, the Sarasota Bay system is chang-ing. The days of rampant waterfront growth throughmassive dredge and fill projects have come to a halt. To-day, we focus on improving the quality of the bay whilemaintaining a delicate balance among shore development,waterway use and environmental integrity. We havelearned that our actions on the land and water affect bayresources; to our regret, we see that the effects are usuallyadverse. A growing awareness exists among the area’s resi-dents that Paradise could easily be lost without a wide-spread feeling of stewardship and continuing efforts torestore and maintain the bay. Shorefront zoning changesand regional waterway management systems are beingimplemented to foster sustainable use, with the ultimategoal of attaining that balance where nature and peoplecan coexist far into the future.

This is the first in a series of publications that willcover the waterways of southwest Florida. Other publica-tions, produced by the West Coast Inland Navigation Dis-trict and the Florida Sea Grant Program, will explore ad-joining waterways. These publications are in support ofthe State of Florida’s Blueways initiative, which is a pro-gram to encourage stewardship of the state’s recreationalwaterways.

Beachcombers on AnnaMaria Island in the early1900s.

Venice Fishing Pier.

Caspersen Beach

Anna Maria Pier and cottages in 1924. Stretching nearly 800 feet into Tampa Bay, thepier also served as a walkway for the two adjacent “cottages.” The two cottages later fellinto disrepair and were torn down prior to the piers being rebuilt in the 1930s.

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Longboat Inlet

Palma Sola(Sarasota) Pass

Lower Tampa Bay

New Pass

Big Sarasota Pass

Little Sarasota Pass

Sarasota

Phillippi Creek

The Mangroves

Gulf of M

exico LittleSarasota Bay

(12 miles)

Big SarasotaBay

(21 miles)

One must go back in time to 1890 to regain a sense ofthe pre-development state of the waterway we refer to asthe Sarasota Bay system. At that time, this 54-mile reachof the coast, from lower Tampa Bay to Gasparilla Sound,enclosed three separate inland bays of varying navigabil-ity (Map 1):

1. Big Sarasota Bay, on the north, is 21 miles long andstretches from Palma Sola (Sarasota) Pass at the mouth oflower Tampa Bay to Phillippi Creek (south of Sarasota);

2. Little Sarasota Bay, in the middle, is 12 miles longand ranges from Phillippi Creek to Roberts Bay (present-day Venice);

3. Lemon Bay, to the south, is a 16-mile-longembayment from Alligator Creek to the Bocilla Pass areasouth of Grove City.

Each of these bays historically was separated from theothers through a series of natural barriers. Boat trafficbetween Big and Little Sarasota Bays was impeded by “TheMangroves,” a cluster of islands at the mouth of PhillippiCreek. The only means of traverse was a crooked, narrowchannel barely 50 feet wide and 0.3 mile long that wasmostly obstructed by mangroves. The channel was non-navigable at low water. No inside waterway passage ex-isted between Little Sarasota and Lemon Bays. A five-mile land barrier existed from Roberts Bay just belowCasey’s Pass to Alligator Creek, which was the head ofnavigation of northern Lemon Bay.

Settlers along this coast were forced to sail the outsidepassages between Big Sarasota Bay, Little Sarasota Bay andLemon Bay. Big Sarasota Bay could be entered fromTampa Bay by Palma Sola (Sarasota) Pass, a natural half-mile-wide channel with a 4-foot controlling depth. En-trance to Big Sarasota Bay from the Gulf of Mexico wasfrom Longboat Inlet (300 feet wide, 5-foot depth), NewPass (450 feet wide, undetermined depth) and Big SarasotaPass (1,200 feet wide, 7-foot depth). The width of BigSarasota Bay ranged between one-half and three miles.Prevailing water depths in the bay were from six to 10feet, with deeper narrow channels near the passes; six feetprevailed over mid-bay shoals.

The Boating Geography of Southwest FloridaBefore Coastal Development

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OFTHE GULF INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY

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Casey's Pass

Dona Bay

Roberts Bay

(Venice)

Buzzard Lake

Alligator Creek

Palm KeyEnglewood

Grove City

Stump Pass

Bocilla PassGasparilla Sound,Charlotte Harbor

The Cutoff

Lemon Bay(16 miles)

LandBarrier

(5 miles)

(Big) New Pass

(Little) New Pass

Mariners entered Little Sarasota Bay from the Gulfeither by Little Sarasota Pass (90 feet wide, 5-foot depth)or Casey’s Pass (90 feet wide, 3-foot depth). These passeswere subject to changes both in location and depth, andwere entirely closed for short periods. The bay’s widthranged from 300 feet to three-quarters of a mile. Depthsin Little Sarasota Bay were from 4 to 8 feet, but shoals 1to 2 feet deep created numerous obstructions. LittleSarasota Bay in the south broadened into two small bays,which extended in an easterly direction. To the west wasDona Bay, to the east Roberts Bay. Dona had a depth ofabout 5 feet and Roberts from 2 to 5 feet.

Lemon Bay — a long, narrow bay ranging from 200feet to one mile wide — was separated from the Gulf atits upper end by a long peninsula (Palm Key, also calledPalm Ridge), and at its lower end by a range of keys from50 feet to one mile wide. Passage between the bay andGulf was available at Stump Pass, 10 miles south of Alli-gator Creek (controlling depth from 4 to 7 feet), and at[Big] New Pass, a half-mile south of Stump Pass (depthof 7 to 10 feet). Periodically other inlets would bebreached, such as at [Little] New Pass, 2.5 miles from the

south end of the bay (2.5-foot depth), and at Bocilla Pass(4-foot depth). Within Lemon Bay, depths ranged from0.5 to 15 feet. A three-foot draft could be carried fromNew Pass north to about 2.75 miles above Englewood;from there northward to Buzzard Lake (today named RedLake) depths gradually shoaled to 1 foot. The southernportion of the bay was also very shallow.

The channel connecting Lemon Bay with GasparillaSound to the south was an effective barrier to navigation.This one-mile-long channel, between 40 and 250 feet wideand which dried at low water, was known as “The Cut-off.” An alternate connector route, sometimes availabledepending on prevailing inlet openings and closings, couldbe followed by using relict inlet channels leading to andfrom old Bocilla Pass north to Lemon Bay and south toGasparilla Sound. Only light-draft vessels drawing lessthan four feet made the trip from Tampa to Sarasota.

These were the general conditions that prevailed be-fore changes were made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers with navigation improvements as the principal goal.

Map 1.Boating Geography Before Coastal Development

Sarasota Bay is anestuary —“a semi-

enclosed body ofwater which has free

connection with the opensea and within which

seawater is measurablydiluted by freshwaterfrom land drainage.”Estuaries are among

the most productive ofall the earth’s systems:more than 80 percentof all fish and shellfish

use estuaries eitheras a primary habitat

or as spawning ornursery grounds.

12Dredging Historyof the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

The hydrographic charts produced by the U.S. Coastand Geodetic Survey in 1883 provide an invaluablebaseline of information on waterway conditions in south-west Florida. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was as-signed responsibility for surveying and improving water-ways judged to have national importance through theGeneral Survey Act of 1824 and the Rivers and HarborsAct of 1878. In 1889 the Corps undertook the first in aseries of detailed field studies to determine the engineeringfeasibility and economic justification for waterway improve-ments. Expenditures of funds for these improvements werebased on safety of vessels at sea and commerce.

The creation of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, a 9-foot-deep by 100-foot-wide channel stretching from lowerTampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor, began in 1895 and wascompleted in 1967. Over that span of time, dredging towiden, shorten and deepen the channel was undertaken ina sporadic manner. The chronology of events is summa-rized in Table 1 and illustrated in Map 2. The objective ofthe initial dredging was to provide a 5-foot-deep by 100-foot-wide channel between Tampa Bay and Sarasota. Cutswere made at “The Bulkhead” at Lower Tampa Bay and atLongbar in 1895 (the latter segment was realigned in 1919to conform to the present route of the waterway).

The second stage of dredging, which created a 3-foot-deep by 75-foot-wide channel from Sarasota to Venice,began in 1896 and took more than 10 years to complete.The 14 dredged “cuts,” where the existing water depthswere less than the project depth were, from north to south,Clam Bar, The Mangroves, Stickneys, White Beach, Oys-ter Bars 1 and 2, North Creek, Blackburn, South Creek,Bell Point, South Flats, North Lyons, South Lyons andLyons Bay (Map 2). The major impediment to naviga-tion was a one-third-mile-long shoal at the mouth ofPhillippi Creek.

The region’s settlers recognized the advantages affordedby an inland navigation route in sheltered waters thatcould provide safe passage to light-draft vessels unable towithstand the battering of the open Gulf of Mexico. Suchan inside passage between Tampa Bay and Charlotte Har-bor did not exist during the pre-development period inthe late 1800s. As coastal settlements were established,the transport of goods and services became a high prior-

ity. Local communities requested assis-tance from the federal government to

improve the waterways in order tomove local products — such as cit-

rus, vegetables, livestock, lumberand fish — to market.

Lower Tampa Bay

Sarasota

Phillippi Creek

Venice

The Mangroves

The Bulkhead1890

(5 x 100)

Longbar CutOriginal 1890 dredged channel

(5 x 100)

1896 Authorized Channel(3 x 75)

1967C-1 Connector

(9 x 100)

1919RelocatedChannel

Stickneys

White Beach

Oyster Bar

North Creek

Blackburn

South Creek

Bell Point

South FlatsNorth Lyons

Lyons Bay

South Lyons

Clam Bar

BowleesCreek

WhitakerBayou

Hog Creek

Hudson Bayou

13

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1962

1964

1967

Map 2.Dredging History of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

Table 1.

Englewood

Grove City

Red Lake

1964-65Lemon Bay(9 x 100)

Gasparilla Sound,Charlotte Harbor

Note: (9 x 100) = Channel dredged to 9-foot depth and 100-foot width

14

Construction andmaintenance of

canals and channelspermanently displace

natural wetlands.Continued spoil

disposal prolongs andextends shoreline-

wetland loses. Spoilsplaced in wetlands

also promote invasivespecies of trees.

Channels can reverselocal currents and

change salinity andflushing in small bays.

Aboard ship, theboatswain (aka “bosun”)is responsible forthe hull, rigging andanchors. When heblows his whistle,sailors jump tobe aware ofpossible danger!

All dredging was done by the U.S. steam snagboat anddredge “Suwanee,” a shallow-draft, square-bowed scow100 feet long, with a 24-foot beam and four-foot draft.Although under-powered, she was suited to her task. The“Suwanee” was put together inexpensively as an experi-ment in creating a general-purpose vessel for the variedminor works performed on bays and smaller rivers. Hersuction dredges discharged the raised slurry upon the bay’sshore through pipes swung perpendicular to her sides,while the “Suwanee’s” derrick provided the lifting powerto raise rocks and snags from the bay bottom. The ship’scomplement included a 10-man crew which operated thesnagboat, a launch, float boat and two rowboats.

By just before World War I, a 5-foot-deep by 100-foot-wide maintained channel stretched from lower TampaBay to Sarasota, and a 3-foot-deep by 75-foot-wide chan-nel existed from Sarasota to Venice. The Corps of Engi-neers surveyed Lemon Bay in 1899 but determined insuffi-cient economic justification for dredging the southern in-land waterway sector to Gasparilla Sound.

Initial channel improvements in Big Sarasota Bay be-fore the turn of the century permitted an increase insteamer traffic to three sailings per week between Sarasotaand Tampa. Small sailboats acted as feeders for the steamerline between Sarasota, Osprey, Venice and intermediatepoints. In the early 1900s, Englewood and Grove Citywere relegated to weekly sloop sailings that brought insupplies. By 1910, daily sailings were underway fromSarasota to Tampa. By the closing years of World War I,channel improvements had been completed betweenSarasota and Venice; several boats operated regularly, prob-ably 100 launches ran at irregular intervals and two regu-lar boat lines carried freight and passengers. The auxiliarysloop “Phantom” made a regular weekly trip betweenTampa and Osprey, and a gasoline launch made threetrips weekly between Sarasota and Osprey with interme-diate stops.

Aerial photo of Intracoastal Waterway. Sister Keys, Sarasota.

15

Except for stabilizing theinlet at Venice, very few addi-tional waterway improvementswere made during the periodbetween the World Wars. TheBoard of Engineers for Riversand Harbors did recommend a9-foot-deep by 100-foot-wide im-proved Intracoastal Waterway forthe Florida west coast in 1939, butfunds were not authorized until1945.

A second dredging period, begunin 1962, created the Gulf IntracoastalWaterway as it presently exists. Twodredges and crews operated concur-rently. One dredge began at “The Bulk-head” at South Tampa Bay and workedsouthward to complete improvements toVenice in 1965; the other dredge workednorthward from Gasparilla Soundthrough Lemon Bay, reaching Red Lakeby 1965. The five-mile connector channellinking Red Lake and Venice was completedin 1967.

A West Coast Inland Navigation Dis-trict (WCIND) was created in 1947 bythe Florida Legislature as a special tax-ing authority to maintain the water-way right of way. The WCIND origi-nally encompassed the counties ofPinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Char-lotte and Lee, but Pinellas droppedout of the District in the 1970s. TheDistrict’s mandate over the years hasbeen broadened to include other wa-terway management functions, such as deal-ing with anchorages, boat traffic, inlets and beaches.

After 75 years of sporadic waterway improvements,an inland passage was finally achieved, permitting safenavigation between Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harborthrough the sheltered waters of Lemon Bay and Littleand Big Sarasota Bays. Though the original concept wasto create a commercial water thoroughfare for passengers,goods and services, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in thisregion of southwest Florida has helped stimulate a regionaltransportation infrastructure investment.

Dredging and filling alongshorelines creates uplands andfingerfill canals for residential

and commercial uses; theseactivities also cause permanent

wetland loss. Constructionpromotes turbidity, and deep

canals in the area are filledwith ”muck” that animals

cannot inhabit.

16

Dredging of Access Channelsand Residential Canal Development

Anna M

aria Island

SchoolKey

The BulkheadPe

rico

Isla

nd

Palma Sola Bay

Cortez

LeffisKey

LongboatPass

LongbeachTidy Island

SistersKeys

JewfishKey

Longboat Key

BiminiBayA

nna Maria Island

Per

ico

Isla

nd

Palma Sola Bay

Cortez

LongboatInlet

LongboatBeach

OtterIsland

Long Key

LeffisKey

JewfishKey

PalmKey

Pre-Development 1990s

As the main intracoastal waterway channel was im-proved to connect lower Tampa Bay and Sarasota, littletime was wasted before local land-development interestslearned that dredging could create valuable waterfronthome sites. Earliest dredge-and-fill work occurred in thepre-World War I years on the mainland in Sarasota, onPhillippi Creek, from Post Office Point to Hudson Bayou,Cedar Point, Stephens Point and on north Sarasota (Si-esta) Key at Bayou Louise and Bayou Hansen (Map 3).

A second phase of activity, during the land boom ofthe 1920s, was associated with Calvin Payne and JohnRingling, who transformed the barrier islands betweenBig Sarasota Pass and New Pass. Payne had the channel atNew Pass dredged, creating City Island in the process;the deep-water harbor on the mainland (due east of thepass) was created to accommodate Sarasota’s growingmarine industry. Known as Payne’s Terminal, this facilityhas housed boat construction and maintenance yards, pro-vided fuel sales and served the boating public for decades.

17

Sarasota Bay

BowleesCreek

StephensPoint

WhitakerBayou

HudsonBayou

QuickPoint

PayneTerminal

Golden GatePoint

Sarasota

FisheryPoint

BigSarasota

Pass

Siesta K

ey

PhillippiCreek

Butto

nwoo

d

Harb

or

NewPass

BirdKey

CoonKey

Lido Key

St. ArmandsKey

CityIsland

BayouHansen

BayouLouise

Long Key

MangrovePoint

QuickPoint

NewPass

StephensPoint

Snell'sBayou

Hudsons'sBayou

Post OfficePoint

Butto

nwoo

d

Harb

or

Big SarasotaPass

SarasotaPoint

Sarasota K

ey

TheMangroves

PhillippeCreek

Minnie's FordShoal

BowleesCreek

Sarasota Bay

Sarasota

BirdIsland

Cedar Point

LittleSarasota

Bay

Cerol Isles

Intertidal

0 to 3 feet

>3 to 6 feet

>6 feet

Land

Map 3.Waterway Conditions for the Pre-Development (1890) and

Contemporary (1990) Periods(Map 3 continued on pages 18 and 19)

Note: The Pre-Development map shows the spellingof the historic names of the Sarasota Bay system.

1 10 2 3

Miles

18

Bird IslandPass

NorthCreek

SouthCreek

Casey'sKey

Salt CreekDonaBay

LyonsBay

Casey'sPass

RobertsBay

BuzzardLake

Horseand

ChaisePoint

Alligator Creek

LittleSarasota

Bay

MidnightPass

(Closed)

BirdKeys

NorthCreek

SouthCreek

Casey'sKey

Shakett CreekDonaBay

LyonsBay

VeniceInlet

Curry Creek

RobertsBay

RedLake

Horseand

ChaisePoint

Alligator Creek

Pre-Development 1990s

19

Map 3.Waterway Conditions for the

Pre-Development (1890) and Contemporary (1990) Periods(Map 3 continued from pages 16 and 17)

Forked Creek

RockyPoint

Palm

Ridge

Englewood

Rocky Creek

Crooked Creek

Oyster CreekKettleHarbor

StumpPass

BocillaPass

Buck Creek

Lemon B

ay

Grove City

Forked Creek

Man

asot

a K

ey

Englewood

Gottfried Creek

Rock Creek

Oyster Creek

StumpPass

Buck Creek

Knight Island

The Cutoff

Lemon B

ay

Intertidal

0 to 3 feet

>3 to 6 feet

>6 feet

Land

1 10 2 3

Miles

20

Lido Key and St. Armands Key illustrate some of themost dramatic changes resulting from dredge-and-fill ac-tivities in the Sarasota area. Those keys, as such, did notexist 100 years ago; instead, a loose group of small isletscalled the Cerol Isles were west of the mainland. Duringthe 1920s, Ringling converted Lido Key into a continu-ous island, and in 1925 he built a causeway from the main-land to serve it. A feeder causeway was extended to BirdKey, and the first ambitious island home was built therein 1914. Ringling and partner Owen Burns dredged chan-

nels and filled land as part of the proposed Ringling Islesdevelopment (Map 4). For a time, they operated a dredgefrom Otter Key; the wrecked remains of the vessel’s boil-ers are a popular fish haven today.

Ringling’s dream failed in the real estate crash of 1929,but the boat channels adjoining the filled land on Lido,St. Armands, Otter and Coon Keys have left an indelibleimprint of land and water changes. Dredged potholes andback-and-fill scars can be detected on the Sarasota Baybottom to this day.

Map 4.Ringling Isles Development Plan

ST.

A RM A

N DS

K EY

L ID O

KE Y

O TT E

R

K EY

C OO N

K EY

A conflict existsbetween access and

habitat. On oneside of the issue is

the increasingpopulation in the

Sarassota Bay area,and the increasingdemand for more

access points so morepeople can use the

bay and beach. Onthe other side is the

importance ofprotecting andpreserving the

natural resources ofthe region, whichare threatened bythis increased use.

The telescope, aninstrument used forobservation ofdistant objects.

21Map 5.Proposed Development of Otter Key, 1971

The third, and by far the most extensive, phase of resi-dential canal development, began in 1945 after WorldWar II, accelerating in the 1950s and 1960s. Grand Ca-nal, a 10-mile-long waterway system on Siesta Key, wascreated early in this period. Dredging on Curry Creek bythe U.S. 41 bridge began in the 1940s as well. In theearly and mid-1950s canal construction in the Grove Cityarea was underway, and north Longboat Key was beingdredged. Bimini Bay on north Anna Maria Island wasdeepened in the early 1960s, and the canal communityof Key Royale transformed the former School Key. By1969, work on the South Creek and Grand Canal (SiestaKey) systems appears to have been completed.

A major residential waterfront development of the1960s was financed by the Arvida Corporation, whichpurchased the southern half of Longboat Key, most ofLido and all of Bird, Otter and Coon Keys from theRingling estate for $13.5 million. Bird Key was trans-formed into a waterfront community with five miles ofinterconnected canals; eight miles of residential canals andbasins were dredged on south Longboat Key. In 1971,Arvida proposed an exclusive development on Otter Key(Map 5), but that effort failed and Sarasota County in 1974purchased the land, including South Lido, and created a publicpark there. Otter Key has been left undisturbed.

By the early 1970s, public concern about this form ofdredge-and-fill coastal development prompted legislationto control dredging and protect the environment. In 1972,Congress enacted the Clean Water Act, which effectivelyput a halt to dredge-and-fill activities and alteration ofbay habitat. However, by that time approximately 26 per-cent of mangroves and 92 percent of salt marsh had beenlost in the Sarasota Bay system.

Siesta Key 1995Siesta Key 1940

22

Cortez

Anna Maria

Sarasota Bay

Longboat Pass

Sarasota Bay

Longboat Key

Map 6. Waterway Change Analysis:

Part 1

Land and Water ChangesAlong the Waterway

Map 3 presents land and water conditions beforedredging occurred. The year 1890 is used as the “pre-development” benchmark year; modern times are in the1990s. Shoreline and water depths are rendered based onthe earliest coast surveys (for pre-development times) andthe latest bathymetric surveys and studies (for contem-porary conditions). Comparisons between these differ-ent eras are possible since large-scale, detailed maps andcharts are available for each.

Bathymetry obtained from pre-development charts isrelative to a datum of “mean low water” — the average ofall low tides occurring over an observed period. Moderndepths were derived from a nautical chart that uses a da-tum of “mean lower low water” — the average of the lowerof two low tides occurring each day where tides are semi-diurnal, as in the Sarasota Bay system. The difference be-

tween the two datums is approximately 0.3 feet alongthis coastline. It would be necessary to subtract 0.3 feet

from the modern depths to make the old and newbathymetry data directly comparable. This smalldifference — within the one-foot resolution of bothpre-development and modern surveys — was ignoredin the depth change analysis presented.

St. Armands and Lido Keys in midground,Coon Key (lower right) and Otter Key (lower left).

Sound

23

Sarasota

Sarasota Bay

Sarasota Bay

Roberts Bay

LittleSarasota

Bay

Roberts Bay

Little Sarasota B

BigSarasota

Pass

Bowlee

s Cree

k

1 0 1 2 Miles

Deepening Water

Land to Water

No Change

Shoaling Water

Water to Land

1990s Shoreline

Spoil

Boating Region Boundary

Map 6.Waterway Change Analysis:

Part 2

For map comparisons between eras, water depths arecategorized as:

° Intertidal (uncovered at low tide)° Zero to 3 feet° Greater than 3 feet to 6 feet° Greater than 6 feet

The category “land” comprises the mapped barrier is-lands and other islands, but also an arbitrary distance in-land for the mainland. (Therefore, percentage changesbetween eras were calculated based on water area; the pre-development era water area was consistently used as thebasis for such analyses.) Place names may be pre-develop-ment (no longer used) contemporary (only today), orcommon to both periods.

24

MidnightPass

(Closed)

North Creek

South Creek

Little Sarasota B

ay

Blackburn Bay

LittleSarasota

Bay

BlackburnBay

Venice

Venice

VeniceInlet

Lemon Bay

Map 6.Waterway Change Analysis.

Part 3

These maps add geographic detail to trace and inter-pret the evolution of the waterways from pre-develop-ment to modern times.

Map 6 presents a synthesis of the depth changes thathave occurred in water areas during the past 100 years inthese categories:

° Deepening water° Pre-development (1890) land to (1990s) water° No change° Shoaling water° Pre-development (1890) water to (1990s) land° “Spoil,” which may represent either shoaling of water or change of water to land

The 1990s shoreline is shown for orientation. Thedifference between the 1990s Gulf Coast shore-line and the western edge of the map-coloredsymbol (1890 shoreline) may be considered asa seaward accretion in the barrier island landarea and is shown in white (no color) withinthe area bounded by the 1990s shoreline.This is especially noticeable at Anna MariaIsland and Siesta Key.

The map categories “deepening wa-ter” and “land to water” may be the re-sult of either dredging or the naturalprocess of erosion. Similarly, “shoal-

ing water” and “water-to-land” cat-egories may be products of filling

or the natural process of deposi-tion. Spoil occurs where

dredged material is deposited.

The fish house Spur was laid out by the United States and West IndiesRailroad immediately after it brought its main tracks into Sarasota in 1903.The Spur was put down west on Strawberry Avenue across Gulf StreamAvenue out onto a dock.

25

Lemon Bay

Lemon Bay

Alligator

Creek

Forked

Creek

Manasota K

ey

StumpPass

Englewood

1 0 1 2 Miles

Deepening Water

Land to Water

No Change

Shoaling Water

Water to Land

1990s Shoreline

Spoil

Boating Region Boundary

Map 6.Waterway Change Analysis:

Part 4

The distinction between dredge-and-fill and naturallyoccurring erosion/deposition in some cases may be obvi-ous, as in the dredge-and-fill examples of north AnnaMaria Island by Bimini Bay and School Key (today KeyRoyale), Stephens Point and the downtown Sarasota main-land, City Island adjoining New Pass, Bird Key, GrandCanal on Siesta Key and the main channel of the GulfIntracoastal Waterway.

The naturally occurring processes of erosion and depo-sition associated with longshore drift are most commonlyfound near tidal inlets such as at Longboat Pass, NewPass, Big Sarasota Pass and Stump Pass. Jetties have beeninstalled at Venice Inlet in an attempt to reduce the natu-ral process of shoaling at the inlet mouth. However, thespoil sites adjoining the inlet and the difference betweenthe present shoreline and the historic barrier island areaattest to the deposition of sediments by longshore drift atthis Gulf Coast location.

26

No Change50%

Water to Land5%

DeepeningWater19%

ShoalingWater17%

Land to Water

9%

No Change62%

Water to Land6%

DeepeningWater16%

ShoalingWater14%

Land to Water

2%

No Change41%

Water to Land14%

DeepeningWater14%

ShoalingWater11%

Land to Water20%

No Change46%

Water to Land7%

DeepeningWater15%

ShoalingWater22%

Land to Water10%

No Change44%

Water to Land9%

DeepeningWater

7%

ShoalingWater29%

Land to Water11%

No Change19%

Water to Land20%

DeepeningWater18%

ShoalingWater15%

Land to Water28%

No Change57%

Water to Land6%

DeepeningWater

8%

ShoalingWater23%

Land to Water

6%

No Change56%

Water to Land7%

DeepeningWater14%

ShoalingWater17%

Land to Water

6%

Study Area

Anna Maria

Sarasota Bay

Roberts Bay

Little Sarasota Bay

Blackburn Bay

Venice

Lemon Bay

(Percentage Basis: Pre-Development EraWater Area per Boating Region)

Map 7.Summary of Depth Changes by Boating Regions

STUDY AREA

27

Map 7 summarizes relative (percentage) depth changesfrom the pre-development 1890s era to the 1990s for theentire region. Boating areas identified are Anna MariaSound, Big Sarasota Bay, Roberts Bay, Little Sarasota Bay,Blackburn Bay, Venice and Lemon Bay. Table 2 showsthe following overall trends. More of the water area (56percent) has not changed in depth than has changed (44percent).

Big Sarasota Bay (from Cortez Bridge on the north toSiesta Key Bridge to the south) and Little Sarasota Bay(Stickney Point Bridge at the north to Blackburn PointBridge on the south) show the least change, largely be-cause of the large bay areas where depths have remainedthe same. On the other hand, the most dramatic changesin the Sarasota Bay system have occurred in the Venicearea (Albee Bridge on the north to Hatchett Creek Bridgeto the south). There, 81 percent of the water area hasbeen transformed by deepening, shoaling or the creationof land by fill or natural deposition.

The other boating regions follow the same overalltrend. Where changes have occurred, the predominantprocesses in the boating regions have been through deep-ening of water, found in Anna Maria Sound, Big SarasotaBay and Roberts Bay. Changes spurred by shoaling ofwater have occurred in the Roberts Bay, Little SarasotaBay, Blackburn Bay and Lemon Bay; water-to-land trans-formation has taken place in the Venice area.

segnahCevitaleRfoyrammuS.0991dna0981neewteBshtpeDretaWni

noigeR )%(egnahCoN )%(egnahC

airaMannA 05 05

yaBatosaraS 26 83

yaBstreboR 14 95

atosaraSelttiLyaB

75 34

yaBnrubkcalB 64 45

*ecineV 91 18

yaBnomeL 54 55

noigeReritnE 65 44

lanac1-CsedulcxE*

Table 2.

Sarasota bayfront. October 7, 1926.

28

Land Use and Land Cover ChangesAlong the Shoreline

The Bay Island Hotel, built in 1912 adjacent to Hansen’s Bayou.The Bay Island Hotel was one of the area’s finest.

A sparsely settled coastline greeted late-19th-centurymariners nearing southwest Florida and what is today theSarasota Bay system. Windswept dunes and beach veg-etation such as sea oats and seagrapes covered the westernshores of the barrier islands off the coast. Much of thebarrier islands’ eastern shore was fringed with mangrove,with shrub and brush land vegetation covering the is-lands’ interior.

The mainland was largely covered with pine forest,but land along the bayside had been mostly homesteadedin small individual holdings (Map 8, Table 3). Sawmillswere situated on Whitaker Bayou and later at Englewood;settlements had developed at Sarasota and Osprey. As theinland waterway was improved and road and rail connec-tions established, the local economy expanded with citrus andvegetable production, lumber, naval stores and fisheriesproducts. By 1900, Cortez was a fishing village of 150people; Sarasota and vicinity had a population of 3,000and were becoming a health and tourist resort, while 150people lived at Englewood and another 80 at Grove City.

A striking difference is apparent between thepredevelopment waterfront use of 1890 and that of thebayside and barrier islands in the 1990s. The most dra-matic change visible on Map 8 is the phenomenal urbandevelopment. Table 4 summarizes the major changes inmangrove and salt marsh, two land-cover categories ofspecial interest to boaters. The significant reduction intheir distribution has implications for more than boatingenjoyment, since these ecological niches are rich nurseryhabitats for many species of marine and bird life. Althoughthe decrease in mangrove area has been ameliorated bythe appearance of new colonies in spoil areas, a sig-nificant net loss still exists. Similarly, the considerabledecline in salt marsh area has not been offset by thecreation of new suitable areas, and its relative loss isconsiderably greater.

arEIWW-erPehtgniruDsgnidnaLtaoBdnasdaetsemoH

annAairaMdnalsI

zetroC taobgnoL yeKatosaraS

)dnalniaM(atseiS

)atosaraS(yeK

tsruhxelI weivfluG sercAerohSfrahWs’etihW

frahWs’naeBfrahWs’yeroCfrahWs’pohsiB

egdoLecallaWfrahWs’sevilO

fohtroNkeerCseelwoB

gnapSyelworC

nesdaMresieH

keerCseelwoBtnioPradeCot

niggiRmahnuD.rD

ssaBnotgnihsaW

tnarGrekatihW

tnioPradeCsevorgnaMehTot

rialB.W.EdralliWllewdiB

reerGeeblAreltuB

nosrednAsenoJ

nosnaHttocffeJ

sevorgnaMehTkeerChtroNot

thgirmurDnosniboR

nosretePhsraM

rewolCnworB

keerChtroNkeerChtuoSot

bbeW.rJbbeW

htiffirGyrrebelkcuH

pmaCnrubkcalB

keerChtuoSyaBstreboRot

nocaB.rJnrubkcalB

snoyLthginKesseJ

legiHstreboR

olletsoCdrofkciB

Table 3.

29

Prominent Featuresof the Boating Waterfront

The steamer “Mistletoe, ”owned by John Savarese,was the first scheduledtransportation to servethe Sarasota Bay area,beginning in 1895.

These features, identified on Map 8, are described be-low from north to south.

1. Anna Maria Island is bounded on the north byTampa Bay, on the east by Anna Maria Sound, on thesouth by Longboat Pass and on the west by the Gulf ofMexico. The island was homesteaded in the late 1880sand is today comprised of three municipalities: AnnaMaria City, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach. Mostof the western shore was the focus of a beachrenourishment effort in 1993, while the eastern shore re-ceived major dredge-and-fill activities and canalization inthe 1950s and 1960s.

2. Longboat Key is a barrier island bounded on thenorth by Longboat Pass, on the east by Sarasota Bay, onthe south by New Pass and on the west by the Gulf. Home-steading took place in the northern part of the key in thelate 1890s at an area known today as Longbeach Village.The eastern shore has been heavily dredged and filledthrough creation of canals, while the western beaches havebeen the recipient of two beach renourishment effortssince 1991.

3. The village of Cortez was founded in the late 1880sby a group of families from North Carolina. The villageon the banks of northern Sarasota Bay was once one ofthe busiest commercial fishing locations on Florida’s GulfCoast. For more about Cortez, see the section devoted tothe village elsewhere in this publication.

4. Palma Sola Pass was the first channel improvementmade by the federal government to the intracoastal wa-terway in 1895. “The Bulkhead,” a name originally ap-plied to this improvement, also refers to another dredgedcut a half-mile to the north, which was opened in the1920s to shorten and straighten the approach from southTampa Bay. The deepening of this pass provided shallowdraft commercial vessels with access from Tampa toSarasota. The steamer “Mistletoe,” owned by JohnSavarese of Tampa, in 1895 provided the first scheduledtransportation service for the Sarasota Bay area.

5. Manatee Avenue Bridge. The bridge, completed in1957, was originally a toll bridge linking Holmes Beachto Perico Island and the mainland. After tolls were re-moved in the late 1960s, the bascule structure providedfree access to the island. Florida Department of Trans-portation officials began discussing replacing the currentbridge in 1988. In 1992, after receiving approval by re-gional transportation planners, plans were more-or-lessfinalized for a new, $13.8-million bridge. The replace-ment bridge would have had a road bed about 78 feetabove the water and would have been longer and widerthan the current, with a fixed span in lieu of a draw.

Residents of Anna Maria Island objected to the largerbridge’s height, ambience and impact on the environment.They challenged the DOT in court and through an ad-ministrative hearing process and, in 1998, were able tohave the big bridge deleted from the DOT workplan.

DOT now plans to rehabilitate the current bridge in1999.

6. Cortez Bridge. The first Cortez Bridge was awooden-decked structure, built in 1921, that was the lonelink between the mainland at Cortez and Anna MariaIsland at Bradenton Beach. In 1957, the bridge was re-placed by a concrete, bascule structure with tolls collectedat its western end. The old bridge was partially demol-ished and used as a fishing pier; due to safety concerns,however, it was eventually demolished in 1978 and re-placed with a 660-foot fishing pier, the current BradentonBeach City Pier.

In 1988, the Florida Department of Transportationannounced plans to replace the bridge with a high, fixed-span bridge similar to the one proposed at Manatee Av-enue. Residents of Cortez and Bradenton Beach opposedthe structure. DOT officials changed plans and rehabili-tated the current bridge in 1996.

7. Longboat Pass Bridge, first built in 1927, washedaway in a surge tide during the March 1932 storm. Thepass had no bridge connection between 1932 and 1958,when the present structure was completed. The currentbridge is scheduled to be renovated by the Florida De-partment of Transportation in 2003-04.

8. Jewfish Key today is one bay island situated off thearea of Longboat Key called Longbeach; however, Jew-fish comprised two islands 100 years ago. These islandswere joined as a result of naturally occurring longshoredeposition as well as dredging in the 1920s, which re-aligned the improved channel of the Intracoastal Water-way to a position along the island’s eastern shore. Theisland is now home to a dozen single-family homes.

9. Sister Keys, formerly Otter Island, has been built-up along its western edge with “spoil” material dredgedfrom the Intracoastal Waterway. Mangrove habitat isfound on the natural Otter Island portion, while exoticspecies such as Australian pine (casurina) cover the spoilupland site. Sister Keys is currently a wildlife preserveowned by the Town of Longboat Key.

30

Pre-Development Era LandUse/Land Cover

1990sLand Use/Land Cover

10. New Pass is believed to have been created by thehurricane of 1848 and named by pioneer WilliamWhitaker. A channel was dredged in the 1920s from NewPass to Payne Terminal. Although the channel quicklyfilled in, the spoil removed during the dredging createdCity Island.

The following excerpts from historical documents tellthe story of the dredging of New Pass.

“Sarasotans were not satisfied with a seven-foot-deepchannel into New Pass and decided a deep-water chan-nel was needed for the city to really expand. In a specialelection Jan. 12, 1926, Sarasotans agreed to sell the mu-nicipal power plant to Florida Power & Light for $1 mil-lion. The proceeds went to R.A. Perry of United Dredg-ing Co. of Tampa, to dredge a 10-foot channel throughNew Pass to Payne Terminal, now Centennial Park, at10th Street.”

TABLE 4.

*tnempoleveD-erP **s0991 egnahC

evorgnaM .im.qs2.4 .im.qs1.3 esaercedtnecrep-62

hsramtlaS .im.qs8.1 .im.qs51.0 esaercedtnecrep-29

:secruoSb8151,a8151,b7151,a7151.oNsteehS-T,yevruScitedoeGdnatsaoC.S.U*

4991,tcirtsiDtnemeganaMretaWadirolFtsewhtuoS**

Mangrove and Saltwater Marsh Area Bordering theSarasota Bay System: Pre-Development Era and 1990s

1

5

3

78

9

2

4

6

Urban & Built–Up*AgricultureShrub, Brushland, RangelandUpland ForestWaterWetlandsMangroveBarren Land

Land Use/Land Cover

*Towns and Homesteads in Pre-Development Era

Major RoadNo Pre-Development Era LULC Data (Approx. Boundary)

Anna M

aria IslandIlexhurst

Gulfview

Cortez

LongboatPass

31

MAP 8.Land Use and Land Cover Changes:

Part 1

1 10 2 3

Miles

Sarasota

BigSarasota

Pass

Siesta Key

1011

12

13 14

1516

17

18

19

2021

22

2324

2526

27

28

Shore Acres

White's Wharf

Bean's Wharf

Butto

nwoo

d

Harbo

r

Corey's Wharf

Bishop's Wharf

Wallace Lodge

Olive's Wharf

Spang

Crawley

Madsey

Heiser

Riggen

Dr. Dunham

Bass

WashingtonSawmill

GrantWhitaker

Sarasota

CedarPoint

E.W. Blair

WillardBidwell

Greer

AbbeyAlbee

Butler SarasotaPost Office

Hanson

Jeffcott

TheMangroves

Drumright

Robinson

Costello

Bickford

32

Peterson

Marsh

Clower

Brown

NorthCreek

WebbOsprey

PostOfficeWebb, Jr.

HuckleberryCamp

Blackburn

SouthCreek

Bacon

Blackburn, Jr.

Lyons

Higel Jesse Knight

Roberts

Roberts Bay

Casey'sPass

LittleSarasota

Pass

As the old Sarasota Times reported:“A huge dredge, with a capacity of 1,000cubic yards an hour, is digging a chan-nel through New Pass. Within eightmonths Sarasota will have one of the fin-est deep-water ports on the Gulf ofMexico. The city then will be in a posi-tion to bid for some of the big steam-ship business of companies operatingvessels to all parts of the world.”

From the book Story of Sarasota: “Theharbor expert who drafted plans for theport, and advocated the New Pass en-trance, was Col. J.M. Braxton of Jack-sonville. Old-timers who knew the coastand were familiar with Gulf currentswarned Braxton time and again that theNew Pass entrance and channel eastwardto the mainland were impractical — thatshifting sands, carried by currents, wouldfill up the pass and harbor as sure as fateunless long jetties were built into the Gulfand Bay. Braxton brushed their argumentsaside — who were they to argue with him, aformer government engineer?

“The logic of the old-timers’ reasoningdidn’t change the minds of the starry-eyedoptimists, mostly newcomers, who then ruledthe city. They envisioned Sarasota as anotherLos Angeles — and they were determined thata big league harbor must be built, willy-nilly,currents or no currents.

“By autumn of 1926, the dredging was prac-tically completed, a 58-acre ‘city island’ was cre-ated at the east end of New Pass and bulkheadswere constructed. On Friday, March 18, 1927,an ‘ocean-going’ ship crept cautiously throughthe pass and anchored at Payne Terminal. Butwhat a ship! It was only 100 feet long and drewonly six feet of water: the ‘City of Everglades,’ ofthe Collier Line.”

But railroads, trucks and the silted channeldoomed the $1-million deep-water port, and nomore than 50 tons of freight ever came through it.And yes, the pass did eventually fill in with sand.

11. New Pass Bridge was first built in 1927 andlinked Lido Shores to Longboat Key. The bridge wasreplaced in the 1980s after years of debate on its sit-ing and height. The current bridge is a bascule draw-bridge design with a center clearance of 23 feet.

12. Payne Terminal was created by Calvin Paynein the 1920s to accommodate Sarasota’s marine in-dustry. A deep-water harbor, fuel sales and facilities forboat construction and maintenance served the boatingpublic for decades. The area at 10th Street and U.S. 41was used as a spoil site in the 1960s, when silt dredgedfrom Whitaker Bayou was placed there. The area wasturned into a public boat ramp in the mid-1980. Thecurrent Centennial Park provides deepwater passage intoBig Sarasota Bay; a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary station onthe south bank of the boat basin offers boating instruction.

Pre-Development Era Land Use/Land Cover

1990sLand Use/Land Cover

MidnightPass

(Closed)

Venice

2930

31

32

3334a

34b35

33

13. Lido Key was created in the 1920s from filldredged around the former Cerol Isles, as discussedelsewhere in this chapter. Several homes were builton St. Armands, a bathing pavilion was built on Lidoin 1940 and construction of a hotel, the Ritz-Carlton,was begun on Longboat Key.

14. Bird Key originally was a small island on whichthe first home was built in 1914. John Ringling dredgedand filled an extension of the island northward in 1926to connect to the causeway he built from the mainlandto Lido Key. The present Bird Key development wasdredged to its present size in 1959.

15. South Lido was homesteaded by Otto SchmidtZoldan (Otto Smith) in the early 1900s. He operated amotor-launch charter business and advertised locally to“… take a trip to the Gulf in the launch ‘Ada,’ reason-able rates for parties to any part of the bay.” Newspaperaccounts confirm that passengers “… chartered the launch‘Ada,’ with Captain Otto Smith in command, and weresoon speeding down Sarasota Bay.” This prime locationchanged ownership several times, in the process beingheld by the Ringling family and Arvida Corporation (re-sponsible for developments on Bird Key and LongboatKey during the 1960s and 1970s). In 1974, SarasotaCounty purchased the land and created South Lido Park.

16. South Lido Park contains 100 acres bordered bythe Gulf of Mexico, Sarasota Bay and Big Sarasota Pass.Goals established for this park are to provide, protectand maintain a high-quality, environmentally sensitivearea and open space that serves passive recreational needsof county residents and visitors. The park has a numberof pristine habitats, now becoming extremely limited else-where in the Sarasota area. Brushy Bayou, in the centerof the park, is a unique estuarine environment of excep-tional diversity; the presence of certain species of marinelife reflects its healthy ecosystem. Park users may enjoybathing in the Gulf and Big Pass, picnicking in thewooded areas and hiking, bird watching and canoeing inthe Brushy Bayou area.

MAP 8.Land Use and Land Cover Changes:

Part 2

1 10 2 3

Miles

Urban & Built–Up*AgricultureShrub, Brushland, RangelandUpland ForestWaterWetlandsMangroveBarren Land

Land Use/Land Cover

*Towns and Homesteads in Pre-Development Era

Major RoadNo Pre-Development Era LULC Data (Approx. Boundary)

34

17. St. Armands Key was named for the island’s pio-neer resident, Charles A. St. Amand, who gained title tothe island in 1893. The island was purchased by JohnRingling in the 1920s along with property on Longboat,Lido and Bird Keys.

18. Indian Beach was platted in 1891 and named forthe abundance of Indian mound remnants in the area.

19. Yellow Bluffs, a prominent yellow limestone bluffwhen Sarasota’s first pioneers, William Whitaker andHamlin Snell settled in 1843, can still be seen today.

20. The Ringling Causeway was completed on Janu-ary 1, 1926, to link John Ringling’s island developmentwith the mainland. Ringling himself was the first to crossthe 8,300-foot span that linked Cedar Point (now GoldenGate Point) to Bird Key. Ringling donated the bridge tothe City of Sarasota in June 1927. The bridge fell intodisrepair, and the current bridge was built in 1959.

Florida Department of Transportation officials pro-posed replacing the four-lane, bascule bridge linkingSarasota with Bird Key with a high, fixed-span structurein the early 1990s. The decision on bridge replacementwas still pending in 1999.

21. Marina Jack occupies the site of Sarasota’s MainStreet dock, built in 1886 by a group of Scottish immi-grants. The steamers and sailing vessels that docked hereprovided Sarasota’s primary transportation link to the out-side world. The original wooden dock was replaced byone made of concrete in 1912; this became Sarasota’s CityPier. The Marina Jack facility, originally called MarinaMar, was completed in 1965. The boat docks at MarinaJack have expanded several times in the past 30 years, anda renovation of the restaurant was completed in 1998.

22. Siesta Key was known by several names in the1800s, including Clam Island, Muscle Island, LittleSarasota Key and Sarasota Key. The name “Siesta” wasassigned to the island’s northern tip in 1907 by developerHarry L. Higel. Higel’s Siesta development boasted tropi-cal surroundings, bathing beaches, excellent fishing, a largehotel and a post office. Over the years the name Siestawas applied to the entire island.

23. The current Siesta Key Bridge replaced one builtin the 1920s, which in turn replaced the original “BayBridge” built in 1917. The Bay Bridge was the first bridgelinking the mainland to a barrier island in the Sarasota area.

24. Bay Island is separated from Siesta Key by a man-made canal, Hansen Bayou. The Bay Island Hotel, builthere in 1912, was one of the area’s finest.

25. Roberts Bay is named for Captain Lewis Roberts,who was among the earliest residents of Siesta Key. Hebuilt the first hotel on the island and later was a partnerin Harry Higel’s Siesta development.

26. The Field Club was originally the estate of StanleyField, founder of the Field Museum of Natural Historyin Chicago. He used the estate as a winter residence from1927 until 1957, when it was converted to a private boat-ing club. The Field Club today also has tennis courts anda restaurant.

27. “The Mangroves” and “The Narrows” are twonames given to the part of Sarasota Bay where in pioneerdays it was possible to walk to Siesta, or Sarasota Keyfrom the mainland. To those on foot it was a blessing, butto boaters it was a curse, as it was impossible to navigatethe bay at low tide, forcing early boaters to take a longdetour in the open Gulf. After several attempts to open achannel through “The Narrows,” a navigational passagebecame a reality in the early 1900s, allowing travel be-tween Roberts Bay and Little Sarasota Bay.

28. Stickney Point Bridge was named for Uncle BenStickney, an early resident whose home was located southof the current bridge on the bayfront of Siesta Key.Stickney arrived in Sarasota in 1894 and managedSarasota’s finest hotel, the DeSoto. He later moved to thekey, where his home and grounds became the scene ofnumerous community picnics. The first Stickney PointBridge was installed in 1926; the present pair of two-lanebridges was opened to the public in 1968.

29. The name “Osprey” was chosen by John Webb, anearly settler, for this community’s first post office.

30. Casey Key was named in honor of Captain JohnCasey, a significant figure in bringing the Seminole In-dian Wars to a close.

31. Blackburn Point Bridge is named after theBlackburn family, this area’s pioneers. John S. and his sons,Benjamin Franklin and George Washington Blackburn,owned considerable bayfront acreage in this area. Thebridge, installed in 1926, is the only remaining swingbridge on Florida’s west coast.

32. Albee Road Bridge was named to honor a notedsurgeon, Dr. Fred Albee, who was responsible for the large-scale development of Nokomis and Venice during the1920s. In 1922, a private toll bridge was constructed tolink the Treasure Island subdivision on Casey Key to themainland. The present bridge was built in 1963.

Sarasota bayfront.Golden Gate Point,Cedar Point and SunsetPark, 1895.

35

33. Venice Inlet is situated south of the former CaseyPass. The federal government created the Venice Jetties in1937 to maintain this navigational link to the Gulf ofMexico.

34. Lyons Bay (a) and Roberts Bay (b) were namedafter early pioneers of Venice, who settled here in the1870s.

35. Eagle Point Club was originally owned by leadingSarasota resident and developer Bertha Potter Palmer. Sheacquired the club property in 1916 and designed the landto meet the needs of potential real estate investors. In1923 the property changed hands when it was acquiredby Cornelius and Kingsbury Curtis, who added two resi-dences. Guests came to vacation during the winter, en-joying horseback riding, golf, hunting and sailing. Whenthe Curtis family heirs sold the property to GlennGoodman and Danny Overstreet in 1989, Eagle Pointwas the oldest continuously operated resort in SarasotaCounty. Today, the property’s 24 acres retain much of theflavor of early 20th-century coastal Florida. The originalheart-of-pine clubhouse and surrounding cottages havebeen restored and are listed in the National Resister ofHistoric Places. The property is being developed to ac-commodate 50 homes that feature deep water boat dock-age, tennis courts and cypress fencing to ensure privacy.

36. Manasota Key takes its name from the old com-munity of Manasota on the mainland. When residentiallot sales failed, Manasota became a timbering commu-nity that thrived in the early 1900s. The key, originallycalled “Palm Ridge,” was the scene of many Englewoodcommunity picnics.

37. Manasota Key Bridge was originally a woodenbridge built by Sarasota County in 1926. The presentbridge was built in 1965.

38. Lemon Bay appears on maps as early as 1883, yetthe origin of its name is unclear. Some say early settlershad lemon groves along the shore; one account creditsthe abundance of lemon sharks in the bay in the earlydays for how the area received its name.

39. Englewood was settled in the 1870s, yet was notnamed until 1897, when a town site was developed bythe Nichols brothers of Englewood, Ill. Englewood’s chiefindustry in the pre-development period was fishing.

40. Tom Adams Bridge links Englewood withManasota Key. The current bridge was built in the 1960s.

41. Grove City, established in the 1880s, attractednationwide attention in 1893 through promotional ex-hibits at the Columbia Exposition in Chicago. The com-munity boasted a large hotel and sought to attract theattention of wealthy sportsmen.

It was a wild andbeautiful land along

the west coast ofwhat would become

Florida, and itbeckoned early man

with its lushlandscape and warm

sun. Prehistoricpeople surveyed the

land from theirmounds and left their

unnamed history inthe earth itself. When

the Spaniardsappeared on the newworld horizon, they

found a native peoplewho were fiercely

independent and noteasily conquered. It

was a trait thatcharacterized the

men and women whowould follow in

centuries to come.

—Edge ofWilderness:

A Settlement Historyof Manatee Riverand Sarasota Bay

1528-1885Janet Snyder Matthews

© 1983

The Whitaker family

36

Map 9.Dredge-and-Fill Photograph Locationsalong the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

36

37

bef

dc

ah

g

h fb

a

e

dcg

Photographic Recordof Waterway Changes

1. North Longboat Key. Aerials show 1998 (color)and 1940 (black-and-white) conditions. These photo-graphs illustrate both naturally occurring and human-induced changes in the waterways. Longbar Cut (a),dredged five feet deep by 100 feet wide by the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers in 1890, is still clearly visible in 1940,but more diffuse today. The present channel (b), dredgedin 1919 to nine feet by 100 feet wide, shows as a strik-ingly demarcated dark-tone (deep water) zone in 1940.The dredged material, called spoil (c), was placed side-cast and parallel to the channel, creating a linear north-west-southeast trending extension to Sister Keys, whereupland exotic vegetation, such as Australian pine, is nowthe predominant cover.

The dredging, both at Longbar Cut and along therelocated Intracoastal Waterway channel, removedseagrass habitat. A side channel at (d), which served toconnect Longboat Inlet channel to the ICW in the early1900s, has shoaled and no longer exists. Jewfish Key (e)and Picket Key (f ), which appear on 19th-century charts,remained as individual islands in 1940, although a buildup of sediment was taking place (white tone in photo),in part due to the islands’ location by the inlet and tonearby dredging. Today, these islands are one feature (ef ).The striking changes in the size and shape of the northend of Longboat Key (g) and the south end of BradentonBeach (h) are due to erosion and deposition of sedimentsat Longboat Inlet. The south end of Bradenton Beach alsowas artificially filled to provide a foundation for the bridgeat Longboat Inlet. Beach renourishment commenced in1992-93 along much of the Bradenton Beach-HolmesBeach shore.

Figure 1. 1998 Aerial view of North Longboat Key

Figure 1. 1940 Aerial view of North Longboat Key

38

2. South sector of Big Sarasota Bay. The high, obliqueblack-and-white aerial illustrates late-1920s conditions.Bird Key (a), midground, was originally a small island(Map 3, Pre-development Conditions). John Ringlingdredged and filled an extension of the island (b) north-ward in 1926 to connect to the causeway (c) he built fromthe mainland to Coon Key (d) and Lido Key (e). Adredged channel (f ) provided nearshore access for the oneresidence on Bird Key. The extensive seagrass area, locallyreferred to as the “Middle Ground” (g), was an impor-tant sport fishing locale. Big Sarasota Pass (h) is in thebackground.

Figure 2. 1920s condition of the south sector of Big Sarasota Bay

a

bc

d

e

f

g

h

In Sarasota Bay,seagrass dwellers

generally inhabit anarea from the

water’s edge at lowtide to, in somecases, as deep as

seven feet. This areais home to the four

common seagrassvarieties and the

more than 170species of fish that

inhabit the bay.Seagrasses also

provide some of theoxygen required by

much of the bay’smarine life.

39

3. Otter Key, St. Armands and Lido Key: Late-1920sdredge-and-fill and land clearance. Figure 3A is a high,oblique black-and-white aerial taken during the sameperiod as the one of South Big Sarasota Bay (Figure 2on previous page). St. Armands (a) is under develop-ment (smoke from land clearance). New Pass (b) hasbeen dredged and the spoil, side-cast from the dredge,has formed City Island (c). A causeway (d) has beenbuilt from dredging the bay bottom along the northshore of St. Armands. The dredge used by the develop-ers, John Ringling and Owen Burns, is moored off thesouth shore of Otter Key (e). The entire area betweenOtter Key and Lido Key (f ) has been dredged to createfill for waterfront development. Figures 3B and 3C arevertical black-and-white aerial enlargements, taken in1948, which show remnant dredged scars (g) in the baybottom.

Figure 3A. 1920s Otter Key, St. Armands and Lido Key

Figure 3C. 1948

g

g

Figure 3B. 1948

g

g

f

g

N

a

bcd

e

f

40

4. Sarasota Bayfront, Ringling Causeway and Bird Key.High, oblique black-and-white aerial photography takenin June 1960. Bird Key (a), midground, was filled to itspresent size in 1959 by dredging the bay bottom. Thenew Ringling Causeway Bridge (b) was opened in 1959.The Sarasota bayfront (c) was dredged and filled and U.S.41 was re-routed along the shoreline. This photo predatesIsland Park and Marina Jack.

5. North Siesta Key and Grand Canal. Aerials show1995 (color) and 1945 (black-and-white) conditions.Beach ridges (a) are clearly visible on the 1945 photo;they mark former beach deposits along the Gulf shore.The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (b), marked by the darktone and parallel white border areas in 1995, did not ex-ist in 1945. Shoreline residential developments (c), theproduct of dredge-and-fill, were created after 1945. Thecreation of the Grand Canal, an extensive waterfront canalcommunity on Siesta Key (d), had begun in 1945; the feedercanal and inner loop had been dredged, but work was stillprogressing at the mouth and apparently no water connec-tion had yet been excavated to deep water. Residential de-velopment on Siesta Key in 1945 (e) was limited to scat-tered beach cottages along the Gulf shore.Figure 4. 1960 aerial of Sarasota Bayfront, Ringling Causeway and Bird Key

1945 1995

a

a

a

d

de

c

c

c

Figure 5. North Siesta Key and Grand Canal

b

a

b

c

41

6. Roberts Bay. Low, oblique black-and-white aerialshows 1962-65 conditions. Phillippi Creek is in theforeground. The 9-foot-deep by 100-foot-wide GulfIntracoastal Waterway has cut through “The Mangroves”(a), a tidal delta deposit where the creek flowed out intoRoberts Bay. Spoil, consisting of bay bottom sedimentsdredged along the waterway, has been deposited at mid-bay locations (b). Landfill on Siesta Key (c) was for resi-dential development. Bird Key is under construction (d)in the background.

7. Dredge “Charleston.” This equipment was usedbeginning in August 1966 to excavate the C-1 connectorcanal, which linked the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway atRoberts Bay (Venice) with Red Lake at the north end ofLemon Bay.

8. Dredge and spoil site. Near-vertical aerial view southof Alligator Creek, Lemon Bay, 1965. Dredge (a) is oper-ating in the long, narrow waterway separating the main-land from Manasota Key. Suction dredge is transferringslurry by pipeline to upland sites (b).

Figure 7. Dredge “Charleston”

Figure 6. Roberts Bay

Figure 8. Dredge and spoil site

a

b

c

d

N

a

b b

42

9. Dredge and dike. Low, oblique aerial view northfrom Manasota Beach, taken circa 1964-65. ManasotaKey Bridge is in the midground. This photo shows dredge(a), pipeline (b), dike or containment wall (c) and back-filled/spoil (d). This phase of dredging the IntracoastalWaterway, with the use of back-filling land along theshoreline, differed from the early dredging where spoilwas side-cast in strips or islands parallel to the route takenby the dredge.

10. Intracoastal dredging and residential waterwaydevelopment. Near-vertical aerial shows a location at thejunction of the Intracoastal Waterway and Forked Creek(bottom of photo), north Lemon Bay, 1964-65. A dikedarea (a) for containing spoil (b) from the dredging of theICW is along the bayfront of Manasota Key (formerlyPalm Ridge). A residential canal (c), constructed near themouth of Forked Creek, occupies a natural drainage chan-nel (d). Only a few waterfront homes have been built; thephoto shows many empty lots.

Figure 10. Intracoastal dredging and waterway development

a

b

c

d

ab

c

d

Figure 9. Dredge and dike

43

a

b

c

11. Natural and spoil-altered conditions at Leachs Key,Lemon Bay. Low, oblique aerials, taken in 1965, showthe effects of spoil deposition on shallow water and inter-tidal habitats. The aerial at left is of the site before spoildeposition occurred. In the photo at right, the dredge (a)is operating in the Intracoastal Waterway channel, usinga floating pipeline (b) to transport the slurry to a water-front site where deposition is filling in the area betweenLeachs Key and Manasota Key (c).

12. Intracoastal dredging and landfill at Tom AdamsBridge, Englewood. The Intracoastal Waterway (a) wasdredged through extensive seagrass beds, and spoil was de-posited on several mid-bay islands. The causeway (b) con-necting the mainland with Englewood Beach is built onspoil landfill. Wetlands have been ditched (c) for drainageand mosquito control.

13. “The Cutoff” at Placida. This high, oblique aerialshows waterway conditions before dredging occurred. TheCutoff (a), about one mile long, bared at low water. Ac-cess to Don Pedro Island from the mainland was at point(b), approximately the location of the present-day car ferry.A relict channel (c) from Bocilla Pass has been diked andland clearance is underway.

Epilogue

The past 100 years witnessed the creation of a navi-gable waterway system in the Sarasota Bay region. TheGulf Intracoastal Waterway, designed to improve coastalnavigation for safety and commerce, served as a catalystto spark shorefront land development. Access channelswere dredged, bayfront property was filled and finger ca-nals and basins were cut to extend available waterfrontfor residential purposes.

Today, the area includes the 45-mile-long ICW arte-rial, some 75 miles of collector (access) channels and 180miles of residential canals and basins. The inland water-way has helped transform the region’s physical landscapeand local economy in many ways.

c

Figure 11. Natural and spoil-altered conditions at Leachs Key, Lemon Bay

Figure 12.Intracoastal dredging and landfill at Tom Adams Bridge, Englewood

a

b

b

c

c

a

b

c

Figure 13. “The Cutoff” at Placida

c

44References(in chronological order)

1. Published Government Reports

U.S. House of Representatives, 1889, “Survey of Sarasota Bay,Florida (With Reports Upon the Preliminary Examination andSurvey of Sarasota Bay, Florida),” 51st Congress, 1st Session,Ex. Doc. No. 61, seven pages text, three maps (1:24,000 scale,approximate): 1. Palma Sola Pass; 2. Sarasota Bay, Fla. LongBar; 3. Sarasota Bay, Fla. Post Office Point to Casey’s Pass).

U.S. House of Representatives, 1900, “Examination and Sur-vey of Inside Passage Through Sarasota Bay to Lemon Bay,Florida (With a Letter from the Chief of Engineers, Reports ofExamination and Survey of Inside Passage Through SarasotaBay to Lemon Bay, Florida),” 56th Congress, 1st Session, Doc.No. 377, 12 pages text, one map (1:15,000 scale): Map of LemonBay, Florida, from New Pass to Red Lake).

U.S. House of Representatives, 1903, “Gasparilla Sound andLemon Bay, Florida, (With a Letter from the Chief of Engi-neers, Report of Examination of Gasparilla Sound and LemonBay, Florida),” 58th Congress, 2nd Session, Doc. No. 191, fivepages.

U.S. House of Representatives, 1910, “Sarasota Bay, Florida(With a Letter from the Chief of Engineers, Reports on Exami-nation and Survey of Sarasota Bay, Florida, from Tampa Bay toVenice, Thence Through Casey’s Pass to Lemon Bay, and Thenceto Gasparilla Sound),” 61st Congress, 2nd Session, Doc. No.849, 12 pages.

U.S. House of Representatives, 1913, “Lemon Bay, Fla. (Witha Letter from the Chief of En