Anna Maria Island, is a

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...

on the coast of

Manatee County, Florida Manatee County is a county in the Central Florida portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county ...

, in the United States. It is bounded on the west by the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, on the south by Longboat Pass (which separates it from

Longboat Key A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest boat ...

), on the east by Anna Maria Sound, and on the north by

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

. Anna Maria Island is approximately long north to south.

History

Anna Maria Island was part of the

Safety Harbor culture The Safety Harbor culture was an archaeological culture practiced by Native Americans living on the central Gulf coast of the Florida peninsula, from about 900 CE until after 1700. The Safety Harbor culture is defined by the presence of Safety H ...

area for many centuries before the arrival of Europeans in Florida. Both the

Narvaez expedition Narvaez is a surname of Spanish and also Basque origin, and may refer to: *Darcia Narvaez, American psychologist *Francisco de Narváez (born 1953), Colombian-born politician and businessman *Kiko (footballer, born 1972), born Francisco Miguel Na ...

, in 1527, and the

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

expedition, in 1539, entered the mouth of Tampa Bay, north of Anna Maria Island, passing the island by to make their landfall on the mainland. Anna Maria Island was first settled in the mid-nineteenth century by Confederate Deputy Marshall and Tampa Mayor

Madison Post Madison Post (January 22, 1815 – September 10, 1867) was the fifth mayor of Tampa, Florida Charles Roser Charles Martin Roser (November 16, 1864 – April 12, 1937), also known as C. M. Roser, was an Ohio food maker, Florida real estate developer and philanthropist. He was born in Elyria, Ohio and died in St. Petersburg, Florida. Early career in Oh ...

, a wealthy real estate developer from

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, to form the Anna Maria Beach Company in order to develop the area. The company laid out streets, built sidewalks and houses, and installed a water system. Playing in the sand at Anna Maria Beach LCCN2011660934

Playing in the sand at Anna Maria Beach LCCN2011660934

In 1921, actor

Paul Gilmore Paul Gilmore (1873 – 1962) was a popular stage actor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who also appeared in no fewer than 10 silent films. Additionally, he owned and managed for many years the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City – giv ...

purchased of land where present day Coquina Beach is, with the intent to build a film colony named Paul Gilmore’s Oriental Film City, later renamed Gil-Mor Isle. He did get one movie to be filmed here by '' Character Picture Corporation'', ''

The Isle of Destiny ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' with Gilmore himself appearing in the movie. However, the movie was unsuccessful, never getting national distribution. Gilmore had no luck with getting other movies filmed there, and later the

Florida land boom The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble. This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned ...

crashed. The first bridge that was built to connect Anna Maria Island to mainland Florida began construction in the summer of 1921. A heavy storm wiped out half the bridge, but construction was able to continue. The bridge was finished as scheduled in 1922. It crossed the bay to what now is Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach to the fishing town of Cortez. More people then began to visit the island, which caught the interest of several businessmen. Holmes Beach is a planned community that was started by John E. Holmes, Sr. after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was named after him. Holmes Beach would be incorporated on March 13, 1950 after a meeting was held about incorporating the community. 46 would vote in favor, 13 voted against incorporation while 1 person voted to abstain. Despite a request being made to not use a name, Holmes Beach was decided on. Names that were proposed for Holmes Beach were: Palm City, Mid-Island Beach, Coquina Beach and Tarpon Beach. Bradenton Beach would be incorporated the following year on December 21, 1951 after voting 84-56 to be a city.

Name origin

Legend states that "a Spanish explorer" named the place "Ana Maria Cay" in honor of the Virgin Mary and her mother, Ann. A common myth reported that

Ponce de León Ponce may refer to: *Ponce (surname) * *Ponce, Puerto Rico, a city in Puerto Rico ** Ponce High School ** Ponce massacre, 1937 * USS ''Ponce'', several ships of the US Navy *Manuel Ponce, a Mexican composer active in the 20th century * British sla ...

(died 1521) named the island for Maria Anna von der Pfalz-Neuburg (born 1667), the queen of

Charles II of Spain Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War o ...

(born 1661), the sponsor of his expedition. In the past, pronunciation of the name differed: old timers said "Anna Mar-EYE-a," but most people today say "Anna Mar-EE-a".

Geography

Fauna

2017 Sarasota Cortez Beach Seagulls 1 FRD 7001

From May through October in Florida, sea turtles come ashore to nest. The island is a bird sanctuary. There are

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

s, multiple types of cranes,

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

feral parrot A feral parrot is a parrot that has adapted to life in an ecosystem to which it is not native. The birds are often descended from pets that have escaped or been deliberately released. Many species of parrots are highly social, and like to gathe ...

sandpiper Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...

s, and a nesting pair of

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

Bottlenose dolphin Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...

s are in the Intracoastal Waterway, the Gulf, and Bimini Bay. There are

roseate spoonbill The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Taxonomy The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own ...

snowy egrets The snowy egret (''Egretta thula'') is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, , which is a diminutive of , 'heron'. The species name ''thula'' is the Araucano term for the black-necked swan, app ...

, and

wood storks The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found in ...

. Marine animals include

redfish Redfish is a common name for several species of fish. It is most commonly applied to certain deep-sea rockfish in the genus ''Sebastes'', red drum from the genus ''Sciaenops'' or the reef dwelling snappers in the genus ''Lutjanus''. It is also app ...

, snapper,

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

black drum The black drum (''Pogonias cromis''), also known as the drum or drummer, is a saltwater fish similar to its cousin, the red drum. It is in the genus '' Pogonias''. Though most specimens are generally found in the 5-30 lb (2–14 kg) ran ...

snook Snook, Snooks, or Snoek may refer to: Fishes * Family Centropomidae (snooks) ** Common snook * Family Esocidae (pikes) ** '' Haplochromis insidiae'' ** Northern pike * Family Gempylidae (snake mackerels) ** Blacksail snake mackerel or black ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

, and

amberjack Amberjacks are Atlantic and Pacific fish in the genus ''Seriola'' of the family Carangidae. They are widely consumed across the world in various cultures, most notably for Pacific amberjacks in Japanese cuisine; they are most often found in the ...

Adjacent islands

Adjacent to Anna Maria Island's bayside is the island of Key Royale, formerly known as School Key. It was uninhabited until 1960, when a bridge was built joining it to the Holmes Beach section of Anna Maria Island and development began. It is included in the city limits of Holmes Beach.

lies at the very southern edge of the island, connected by the Gulf Drive drawbridge. Just to the east of the drawbridge lies Jewfish Key.

Municipalities

Anna Maria Island today is divided into the three cities of Anna Maria in the north, Holmes Beach in the middle, and

Bradenton Beach Bradenton Beach is a city on Anna Maria Island in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The population was 908 at the 2020 census, down from 1,171 in 2010. It is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

in the south. In 2005 the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

estimated the combined population of the three cities at approximately 8,500.

Demographics

As of 2020 the United States Census Bureau reported the population at 1,092. The age range of majority of residents is 55-84 years old.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, Anna Maria Island is between a tropical climate with a dry winter and a mild temperate climate that's fully humid with a hot summer.

Hurricanes

* 2022-

Hurricane Ian Hurricane Ian was a large and destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane that was the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. Ian caused widespread damage across western Cuba and the southeast Unit ...

- The storm did damage to many nearby parts of Florida, but damage here was minimal. * 2021-

Hurricane Elsa Hurricane Elsa was the earliest-forming fifth named storm on record in the Atlantic Ocean, surpassing Edouard of the previous year, and was the first hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. It formed over the central tropical Atlantic, ...

- There was flooding and storm surge in the area, but no serious damage or injuries. * 2017-

Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...

- This caused damage, but not very severe. The city pier, a large attraction in the area, was destroyed and closed for three years to repair. This ended up costing 6.8 million dollars. * 2016-

Hurricane Hermine Hurricane Hermine was the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, and the first to develop in the Gulf of Mexico since Hurricane Ingrid in 2013. The ninth tropical depression, eighth named storm, and fourth ...

- This storm caused severe flooding due to extensive rainfall and in turn, home damage. * 2004-

Hurricane Frances Hurricane Frances was the second most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic during 2004 and proved to be very destructive in Florida. It was the sixth named storm, the fourth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hu ...

and Jeanne- These two hurricanes happened within about a week of each other. The combined effects of these resulted in dune and beach erosion, but no major structural damage.

Education

The only school located in Anna Maria Island is Anna Maria Elementary School and it is in the Manatee school district. This is a public school in Manatee County that offers kindergarten to fifth grade classes. There are 203 students attending as of 2021. There are no middle schools or high schools on the island, but there are a couple options still in Manatee County. There is Martha B. King Middle School in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

. There is also Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida. There are also a few private schools in the area, but again, not on the island. There are also no higher education options available, but off the island there is State College of Florida - SCF Bradenton. This is also in Manatee County.

Transportation

2017 Sarasota Cortez Beach Sea Wall Groyne at Sunset 1 FRD 7204

The main north-south road on the island is Gulf Drive, which begins on the south end of the island at the foot of the Longboat Pass Bridge from

. Gulf Drive is the only road that runs the entire length of the island. It is State Road 789 south of Manatee Avenue (State Road 64) in Holmes Beach and Holmes Beach City 789 (a former portion of State Road 64) north of there. There are two bridges across from the mainland: the

Cortez Bridge The Cortez Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that connects the barrier islands of Bradenton Beach, and the mainland of Cortez, Florida. It crosses the Sarasota Bay, carries Cortez Road, part of SR 684, and was built in 1956, replacing a ...

, which brings State Road 684 into Bradenton Beach from Cortez, and the

Anna Maria Island Bridge State Road 64 (SR 64) extends from City Road 789 (former County Road 789) near the Gulf of Mexico in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island in Manatee County to US 27/ US 98 in Avon Park in Highlands County. State Road 64 travels from west to east th ...

, which brings State Road 64 into Holmes Beach from the Palma Sola section of

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

. Anna Maria Island is served by a free trolley-style bus that runs north and south on Gulf Drive. The trolley connects with both the MCAT (Manatee County Area Transit) system serving the greater Bradenton area, and the SCAT (Sarasota County Area Transit) system. The MCAT connects to the trolley at Manatee Public Beach, at the intersection of State Road 789 and State Road 64. The SCAT connects to the trolley at Coquina Beach, at the south end of Anna Maria Island, just before the Longboat Key Bridge. Several local taxi companies serve Anna Maria Island. Anna Maria Island was only accessible by boat until 1921, when the wooden

was constructed from the fishing village of Cortez to what is now Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach. The remaining parts of the Cortez Bridge are used as a fishing pier.

Economy

Tourism

2017 Sarasota Coquina Beach Lifeguard Station FRD 8532

Since 2002, tourism development has been targeted as a key economic goal by island, county and state officials and millions of tax dollars have been invested to draw visitors to the island with national and international advertising and publicity efforts. This success has not been without its downsides of congested traffic, noise, litter and parking complaints during peak tourist seasons. This influx of visitors has prompted developers to convert many of the original 1950s and 1960s-era houses into short-term rental units, a subject of local controversy.

In media

In 1938 Siam Garden Resort began a fish camp and in 1948,

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

brought

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

Peter Lawford Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and sen ...

Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

, and

Xavier Cugat Xavier Cugat (; 1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was a Spanish musician and bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City ...

to Anna Maria Island to film “

On an Island with You ''On an Island with You'' is a 1948 musical Technicolor romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe. It stars Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montalbán, Cyd Charisse, Kathryn Beaumont and Jimmy Durante.Miller, Frank"Articles: On an ...

." In the plot "a beautiful movie star travels to Hawaii and finds romance in this South Seas musical.” Anna Maria Island is featured in the Florida band Shinedown's video for "Second Chance". Anna Maria Island is the setting for the 2016 comedy/drama, '' Monty Comes Back'', written and directed by

native Thomas John Nudi. Longtime resident

Kathleen Flinn Kathleen Flinn (born June 1, 1967) is an American writer, journalist and chef. She is best known for the 2007 ''New York Times'' bestseller, ''The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry''. Early life Flinn was born in Davison, Michigan, to Milton ...

wrote about her family's abrupt move to the island in the 1970s after her dying father fell in love with the place in her book, ''Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good'' (

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...

Notable people

Wyatt Blassingame Wyatt Rainey Blassingame (6 February 1909 – 1985), a.k.a. W.B. Rainey, was the author of many short stories and articles for national magazines, four adult novels and dozens of juvenile nonfiction books. Early years Blassingame was born ...

, writer *

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

, writer *

Fred Hutchinson Frederick Charles Hutchinson (August 12, 1919 – November 12, 1964) was an American professional baseball player, a major league pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, and the manager for three major league teams. Born and raised in Seattle, Washing ...

, former Major League

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. *

, author and chef

Gallery

File:2017 Sarasota Coquina Beach Lifeguard Station FRD 9087.jpg, Late afternoon at Coquina Beach File:My Day on Anna Maria Island - Nov 30 2009 028.JPG, The view from Holmes Beach looking south. File:My Day on Anna Maria Island - Nov 30 2009 048.JPG, One view from the Pier Restaurant looking toward the shore. File:Late afternoon on Coquina Beach.jpg, Late afternoon on Coquina Beach (Longboat Pass)looking Southwest

References

External links

Florida History

Anna Maria Island Community
{{authority control Beaches of Manatee County, Florida Gulf Coast barrier islands of Florida Islands of Manatee County, Florida Beaches of Florida Islands of Florida