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Englewood,through time.

5 eras · 1878–2026 · every fact sourced · compiled from the sources shown, not yet reviewed by a historian

Start in 1878
Populationfrom 1990

—

Pioneers on Lemon Bay

1878–1895: Pioneers on Lemon Bay

Era 1 · 1878–1895

Pioneers on Lemon Bay

The Goff family settled on the shore of Lemon Bay in 1878, living in a tent before building a log cabin, with the nearest neighbors far away. Settlers hoped lemons would pay, but the cold winters of 1894 and 1895 killed the lemon trees.

Key moments

  1. The Goff family settles on Lemon Bay

    William and Mary Goff, Englewood's first known white settler family, moved to Lemon Bay. The trail they wore became Dearborn Street.

    Source

    1. A Look Back at Englewood's Historic Dearborn Street, Sarasota Magazine (courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources) (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Lemon dreams at the Chicago fair

    At the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the Nichols brothers of Englewood, Illinois, saw an exhibit promoting lemon growing in Southwest Florida.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. Freezes kill the lemon trees

    The cold winters of 1894 and 1895 killed the lemon trees, and the Nichols brothers turned to attracting wealthy tourists instead.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. A Look Back at Englewood's Historic Dearborn Street, Sarasota Magazine (courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Pioneers on Lemon Bay

Era 2 · 1896–1922

The Nichols Brothers' Town

The Nichols brothers platted Englewood in 1896 and opened an inn and a general store. With no roads to other towns, goods arrived by boat, and Peter and Florence Buchan's store and dock on Dearborn Street became the town's commercial center.

Key moments

  1. The Nichols brothers plat Englewood

    Herbert, Howard and Ira Nichols of Englewood, Illinois, platted a new town on Lemon Bay in 1896 and named it after their hometown. They used the Goff family's trail as the southern edge of the residential area and named it Dearborn Street.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Englewood post office opens

    Englewood's first post office opened in the back of the Lemon Bay Trading Company on Yale Street, with John S. Gibbons as postmaster.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. The Buchans buy the town store

    The Nichols brothers sold the town's only supply business and the post office rights to Peter and Florence Buchan for $315.

    Source

    1. A Look Back at Englewood's Historic Dearborn Street, Sarasota Magazine (courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources) (accessed 2026-11-09)
2 more from this era

  1. Buchan's Landing on Dearborn Street

    Peter Buchan built a two-story store at Dearborn Street on Lemon Bay with a 250-foot pier, where supplies arrived by boat. It became known as Buchan's Landing.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Englewood's first county commissioner

    Peter Buchan was appointed the first Sarasota County commissioner from Englewood. He served 21 years and helped bring a paved road to Sarasota.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. A Look Back at Englewood's Historic Dearborn Street, Sarasota Magazine (courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. A Look Back at Englewood's Historic Dearborn Street, Sarasota Magazine (courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources) (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: The Nichols Brothers' Town

Era 3 · 1923–1944

Boom, the Trail and the Bypass

As the Tamiami Trail was built, Englewood incorporated in 1925 to strengthen its case to be on the route, and the trail first ran down Dearborn Street. By the mid-1930s the highway had bypassed the town, and the Depression brought hard times.

Key moments

  1. Englewood incorporates

    Englewood incorporated with 13 square miles, becoming the second-largest town in Sarasota County by area, to strengthen its case for the Tamiami Trail route.

    Source

    1. A Look Back at Englewood's Historic Dearborn Street, Sarasota Magazine (courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources) (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Lemon Bay Woman's Club opens its clubhouse

    The Lemon Bay Woman's Club, founded in 1918, dedicated its new clubhouse with an open house attended by about 200 people. It became a center of community life.

    Source

    1. Lemon Bay Woman's Club, Clio (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. Tamiami Trail celebration stops in Englewood

    As part of the celebration marking the trail's opening, the governor's motor arcade paused in Englewood, with speeches on the porch of Ziegler's store on Dearborn Street.

    Source

    1. A Look Back at Englewood's Historic Dearborn Street, Sarasota Magazine (courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources) (accessed 2026-11-09)
1 more from this era

  1. The Tamiami Trail bypasses Englewood

    Despite promises at the highway's 1928 opening, the Tamiami Trail was rerouted to bypass Englewood by the mid-1930s. Dearborn Street remained the town's commercial center.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. A Look Back at Englewood's Historic Dearborn Street, Sarasota Magazine (courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Boom, the Trail and the Bypass

Era 4 · 1945–1963

Postwar Englewood

After the war Englewood got its first post office building, an Army surplus barracks moved from Buchan Field, and the county bought land for Buchan Airport for mosquito-control spraying. The beach pavilion that burned in 1945 was rebuilt as the three-story White Elephant.

Image shown for this era: 1956 topographic map of Englewood: the red-tinted town grid with the Englewood school on Lemon Bay, Manasota Key and Punta Gorda Beach along the Gulf, Stump Pass, Grove City and the Sarasota-Charlotte county line. 1956 · U.S. Geological Survey, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Key moments

  1. Beach pavilion burns and is rebuilt

    The Lou Woods casino at Englewood Beach, on the site of the Chadwicks' bathing pavilion, burned and was replaced by the three-story building now known as the White Elephant.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. County buys land for Buchan Airport

    On Peter Buchan's advice, Sarasota County bought 93 acres of the never-built Hygeia subdivision for an airport for aerial mosquito spraying, and named it for Buchan.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Postwar Englewood

Era 5 · 1964–2026

Bridges, Beaches and a Revived Dearborn Street

The Tom Adams Bridge to Englewood Beach opened in 1964 and the town kept growing. In the 1990s civic and government leaders began reviving historic Dearborn Street, and in 2024 Hurricane Milton buried much of Manasota Key in sand.

Image shown for this era: The white wood-sided 1926 Lemon Bay Woman's Club clubhouse at 51 Maple Street, with a sign reading Lemon Bay Woman's Club Established 1918, under pines and oaks. 2010 · Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA · Source

Key moments

  1. Tom Adams Bridge to Englewood Beach

    The Tom Adams Bridge crossed Lemon Bay to Englewood Beach and Manasota Key.

    Source

    1. Tour of Historic Englewood, Florida, floridahistory.org (accessed 2026-11-09)

  2. Reviving historic Dearborn Street

    In the 1990s civic and government leaders began a program to revitalize historic Dearborn Street, Englewood's original downtown.

    Source

    1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)

  3. Hurricane Milton buries Manasota Key in sand

    After Hurricane Milton, sand was piled to the first floor of most homes on Manasota Key off Englewood, and devastation was widespread.

    Source

    1. Manasota Key 'utterly devastated' after Hurricane Milton made landfall nearby, NBC News (accessed 2026-11-09)

Sources

  1. Englewood History, Lemon Bay Historical Society (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. Manasota Key 'utterly devastated' after Hurricane Milton made landfall nearby, NBC News (accessed 2026-11-09)
Correct this era: Bridges, Beaches and a Revived Dearborn Street

Then & Now

Englewood, 1896 to 2026

The Nichols brothers plat Englewood · drag to compare

1956 topographic map of Englewood: the red-tinted town grid with the Englewood school on Lemon Bay, Manasota Key and Punta Gorda Beach along the Gulf, Stump Pass, Grove City and the Sarasota-Charlotte county line
The Elsie Quirk Public Library in Olde Englewood, just off Dearborn Street: a low pink building with a green metal roof, palms and pines, and an American flag under a blue sky
18962026

Then image1956 · U.S. Geological Survey, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

Now image2017 · Vlorand1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA · Source

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This timeline is compiled from the public records cited on each era and event. Every quote is checked against its source automatically, and items marked Reviewed have also been checked by a person. Images are public domain or openly licensed, each with its credit. If you know something we’ve missed or got wrong, or you hold records of your own, we’d like to hear from you.

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