Charles Martin Roser (November 16, 1864 – April 12, 1937), also known as C. M. Roser, was an

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The s ...

food maker,

Florida Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...

real estate developer and philanthropist. He was born in

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in the Greater Cleveland metropolitan statistical area and the county seat of Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located at the forks of the Black River in Northeast Ohio 23 miles southwest of Cleveland. As of the 2020 ce ...

and died in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

Early career in Ohio

Charles Roser had part interest in a cheese business in

Wellington, Ohio Wellington is a village in Lorain County, Ohio. The population was 4,799 at the time of the 2020 census. History Some say the village was named after William Welling, a local resident, while others believe the name is derived from the title of ...

, before he went into the business of making candy and cookies in

Kenton, Ohio Kenton is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Ohio, United States, located in the west-central part of Ohio about 57 mi (92 km) northwest of Columbus and 70 mi (113 km) south of Toledo. Its population was 7,947 a ...

. The cookie business became part of what is now

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...

in the 1890s. Roser is credited by some with having invented the

Fig Newton Newtons are a Nabisco-trademarked version of a pastry filled with sweet fruit paste. "Fig Newtons" are the most popular variety ( fig rolls filled with fig paste). They are produced by an extrusion process. Their distinctive shape is a charact ...

(actually a pastry) or at least the process or machinery to make it, but Nabisco has never acknowledged these claims. In any event Roser left his cookie business a very rich man.

Later career in Florida

In the early part of the 20th century Roser and his wife, Ruth, arrived in St. Petersburg where he built several hotels downtown as well as an office building and cafeteria on Central Avenue. He opened his C. M. Roser Real Estate office at 695 Central Avenue in the building he had built. Roser also built and donated a nurse's home for Mound Park Hospital as well as the first building for Mercy Hospital.

Roser Park in St. Petersburg

Unlike other local residential developers who started with large tracts of land, Roser slowly acquired the parcels he needed to create his Roser Park subdivision, which is now recognized as the Roser Park Historic District. He had the streets and sidewalks there paved with brick, which was quite expensive then. He built his own large house there and donated lands for a school and parks.

Anna Maria in Manatee County

On the northern end of the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mi ...

island of Anna Maria in Manatee County, though, Roser had the opportunity to develop an entire community., which is now the City of Anna Maria. In 1892, George Emerson Bean had homesteaded the northern of Anna Maria Island and became the island's first resident. Bean died in 1898 and his son, George Wilhelm Bean inherited the property. In the early part of the 20th century, Charles Roser came down from St. Petersburg and partnered with him to form the Anna Maria Beach Company to develop the property by laying out streets and selling lots. Since the only access to the island then was by boat, Roser built a pier in 1911 at the end of Pine Avenue which jutted out into

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 i ...

to accommodate the boats bringing the expected influx of visitors and potential residents. Roser had a real estate office within easy walking distance of the pier on the south side of Pine Avenue. In 1913 as a memorial to his mother, he buil
Roser Memorial Community Church
which was the first church on the island. It has been enlarged and still serves the people of Anna Maria Island. Today Anna Maria is a residential community as well as a year-round vacation resort.

References

External links

Early History of the City of Anna Maria

City of Anna Maria Website

Official Website of Historic Roser Park

Roser Memorial Community Church website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roser, Charles M. People from Elyria, Ohio People from St. Petersburg, Florida 1864 births 1937 deaths