Newtown is a predominantly African American community in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

Emma E. Booker Elementary Emma E. Booker Elementary School is a public elementary school in Sarasota, Florida, which opened in the fall of 1989. It is one of the Booker Schools, with a middle and high school of the same name nearby. It is a part of Sarasota County Schools ...

, Booker Middle School, and Booker High School are in Newtown and named for educator Emma E. Booker. A farmer's market has been held in Newtown. A historical marker commemorates the community's history. Historical trolley tours have been offered along the Newtown African American Heritage Trail by the Newtown Alive organization. The

Rosemary Cemetery The Rosemary Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Sarasota, Florida. The cemetery is located at the northwest corner of the original plat of the town of Sarasota. History The cemetery was acquired by the town of Sarasota in 1903. The cemetery is ...

where Owen Burns is buried is nearby and the Robert L. Taylor Complex is in Newtown. The Newtown Historic District was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in April 2024. It includes Galilee Cemetery.

History

Newtown was preceded by

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and Overtown, both areas African Americans were forced out of. Newtown Plat was filed with Manatee County April 20, 1914 and included 96 building lots. On August 6, 1914, an addition was added creating an additional 74 lots. Segregation excluded African Americans from area beaches. In 1951, Newtown residents organized wade-ins to protest their exclusion from Lido Beach and other areas. In 2011, two British tourists were murdered in the area drawing media coverage. In 2021, Sarasota County sought to develop an area of Newtown with multi-family housing. Greater Hurst Chapel AME Church on Links Avenue was built in 1928.

References

{{Sarasota, Florida Neighborhoods in Sarasota, Florida

History

See also

References