Sarasota County, Florida: History
The area that is now known as Sarasota County has been inhabited by humans for some 10,000 years. Evidence of human remains, as well as a burned out log at the Warm Mineral Springs in North Port, were discovered that date to the early Archaic period.
Although the name was associated with the area from the beginning of European contacts, the origin of the name "Sarasota" is unknown. An early map of the area from 1763 shows the word "Zarazote" across present-day Sarasota. In the early twentieth-century, a fanciful story was created to go hand-in-hand with a pageant held in Sarasota. The story held that the town was named after the daughter of famous explorer Hernando de Soto's daughter Sara.
Following Spanish exploration, the area was occupied by fishing camps, called ranchos. During the Second Seminole War, the area was occupied by the U.S. Army and Fort Armistead was built near Sarasota Bay. In 1842, the Armed Occupation Act was passed, which deeded land to settlers who were willing to cultivate and defend land in Florida. The act brought American settlers to Sarasota.
After acquisition of Florida Territory by the United States with the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1819, the area now included in Sarasota County had been part of St. Johns County (1821), Alachua County (1824), Hillsborough County (1834), and Manatee County (1855) as new counties were created from older counties to accommodate population growth and settlement in new areas. Sarasota County was created in 1921 from the southern part of Manatee County.