Sarasota - Bradenton

Sarasota and Bradenton are world-class destinations for vacationers, but they are also a wonderful place to live. Both front on the stunning Gulf of Mexico and include Gulf islands just off shore. 

Bradenton is the county seat of Manatee County. The city is named for Dr. Joseph Braden, whose sturdy house was a refuge for early settlers fleeing Indian attacks. Bradenton is connected to St. Petersburg and Tampa by the Sunshine Skyway, a 5.5 mile cross-bay bridge that rises 250 feet above Tampa Bay.

Sarasota is south of Bradenton and is the seat of Sarasota County. It gained renown when John Ringling moved his circus to Sarasota in 1927. Ringling and his wife had begun spending their winters in Sarasota in 1909, and he used his wealth to build a Venetian Gothic palace that he named Cá d’Zan, House of John. The home and the Ringling art collection are available to visitors.

Bertha Palmer, wife of Potter Palmer, who built the Palmer House in Chicago, was an accomplished sophisticate who began spending winters in Sarasota in 1910 after she was widowed. She immediately purchased 80,000 acres of land and developed cattle ranches, orange groves and housing subdivisions. She invested to build the roads and infrastructure, and to this day roads and communities are named for Bertha Palmer and her family members, including Honoré, Lockwood Ridge, Tuttle, Webber, Macintosh and Palmer Ranch. As a result of economic activity, much of it begun by Bertha Palmer, Sarasota County was carved out of Manatee County. After her death, her family donated land to the State of Florida that is now the Myakka River State Park.