FRUITVILLE to MIAKKA Preview

Start your tour at 2998 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, FL in the parking lot at the Ken Clark auditorium. The parking lot is at the corner of Ringling Blvd. and Brink Av.

Welcome to the FRUITVILLE to MIAKKA Auto Tour!

I am Marilyn Gerkin & on behalf of the Sarasota County Centennial Committee I want to thank you for taking the time to discover some of the history of Sarasota County that you may not be aware of. Our hope is that you will become more interested in the history of this area & will do your part to make the next 100 years something that future generations will be proud of. These tours would not be possible without the generous contributions of our sponsors. This tour is sponsored by the Friends of the Sarasota County History Center. It was produced by the Sarasota County Centennial Committee.

I will be talking with you throughout this tour, which starts at the Historic Marker in front of the Ken Clark Auditorium at the Sarasota County Fairgrounds at 2998 Ringling Blvd. We will then go to Pinecraft Park, Fruitville Elementary School, the original Friendship Baptist Church (now Iglesia Seguidores de Cristo), the current Friendship Baptist Church. We will then go to the Celery Fields before heading out to Old Miakka School & ending at the Old Miakka United Methodist Church & Cemetery. Be sure to enjoy the scenery along the way. Please get out at the stops where there is parking, so you can get a feel of each location. Remember to drive safely & don’t exceed the speed limit! Our first stop is right here...

The Sarasota County Agricultural Fair was formed in 1921 on 60 acres of land donated by Calvin and Martha Payne for the Fairgrounds. The first fair had extensive exhibits, a rodeo, airplane stunts, horse races, parades and competitions that attracted fair-goers. The Sarasota County Fair Association continues to hold an annual County Fair, as well as hosting numerous events for the community.

After reading the historic marker & leaving the parking lot, you will be at the corner of Brink Ave & Ringling Blvd. Turn left on Ringling & go approximately 3/10 mi to Tuttle Ave. I will have further directions for you just before the light.

At the light, turn left on Tuttle, go approximately 1 mi where you will be turning left on Bahia Vista St, there will be a light with a turn lane at the corner of Tuttle & Bahia Vista St.

Martin Paver along with his sons, Stanley & Paul, formed Paver Development Company and built Paver Park Estates, which is on your right between Tuttle & Shade Avenues. It is a quiet central location less than a mile from Ringling & Main Street in downtown Sarasota. The southern boundary is marked by an old railroad track easement that is part of the extension of the Legacy Trail connecting Venice and Sarasota. The Paver Development Company is also a sponsor of the Sarasota County Centennial Committee, which is producing these tours.

NOTE: the 30 mph speed limit is strictly enforced & also watch for the 3 wheel bikes!

Turn left on Bahia Vista you will go approx 6/10 mi before you get to Gilbert, which will be your next right turn. As you drive through this area the 30 mph speed limit is strictly enforced & also watch for the 3 wheel bikes!

After crossing the bridge over Phillippi Creek you will turn right at the 4th street, which is Gilbert, go approximately 2/10 mile & your destination Pincecraft Park, 1420 Gilbert Ave will be on the right.

NOTE: Pease drive slowly on Gilbert.

Go approximately 2/10 mi on Gilbert. Drive slowly, there may be pedestrians and bikes in the narrow street. Your destination, Pinecraft Park, 1420 Gilbert Ave. will be on the right. Go to the end where you can park and walk around the area to enjoy the view of Phillippi Creek and all the area has to offer you.

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(From the Ken Clark auditorium, 2998 Ringling Blvd. to Pinecraft Park):--After reading the historic marker & leaving the parking lot, you will be at the corner of Brink Ave & Ringling Blvd, turn left on Ringling & go approx .3 mi to Tuttle Ave. --At the light, turn left on Tuttle, go approximately 1 mi where you will be turning left on Bahia Vista St, there will be a light with a turn lane at the corner of Tuttle & Bahia Vista St.--Turn left on Bahia Vista you will go approx .6 mi before you get to Gilbert, which will be your next right turn. As you drive through this area the 30 mph speed limit is strictly enforced & also watch for the 3 wheel bikes!--After crossing the bridge over Phillippi Creek, it is just a short distance before you will turn right on Gilbert, --Go approx .2 mi & your destination Pinecraft Park, 1420 Gilbert Ave. will be on the right.Go to the end where you can park & walk around the area to enjoy the view of Phillippi Creek & all the area has to offer you.

Pinecraft Park, (1420 Gilbert Ave) (parking & restrooms)

There is a kayak launch and walking trail accessible from the parking lot. You may even catch a shuffleboard contest in progress and don't miss the beautiful mural.

It began in the 1920s, Amish and Mennonite farmers were persuaded to come to Sarasota where they settled along Phillippi Creek to use the land for agricultural purposes, primarily to grow celery, a common Amish crop. When they arrived, they found the soil was not suitable for extensive celery crops, but the weather enticed them to stay… or at least visit on a regular basis. You can still purchase fresh produce & their famous pastries, especially the pies in the area. Our tour will take you past a few of these restaurants on our way to our next stop. They are also famous for their handmade quilts and quality custom made furniture.

They set up the community of Pinecraft, as very small area of about 500 tiny homes in a planned grid at the intersection of Beneva Road and Bahia Vista Street – occasional, highly competitive auctions attested to the stiff competition for getting one of the lots. Few homeowners live here year-round; many homes are rented to others within the order. The community used to be removed from the city of Sarasota, but the city has grown up around it. The Amish community of Pinecraft is more liberal than its northern counterparts, and always wonderfully tolerant and kind to residents and visitors alike.

Go back up Gilbert the way you came in, to the second cross street which is Bahia Vista. Turn right on Bahia Vista.

Continue on Bahia Vista for approximately 2.4 miles, then you will turn left onto Honore Ave. You will be traveling through Pinecraft past Yoder's & Dutch Heritage Restaurants, which are both known for their delicious pies!

The Legacy Trail, which you will again cross, was formerly a railroad corridor that passes through a variety of unique habitats. In November, 2018, voters passed a Bond Referendum allowing the acquisition of land to connect the trail from Venice into Sarasota. We will pass over this trail many times on our tours throughout the county. How refreshing to see people walking, running & inline skating, as they are keeping physically fit, while enjoying nature along the way.

Continue on Bahia Vista past McIntosh Rd.

Continue on Bahia Vista. At the NW corner of Bahia Vista & Honore, where you will be turning left, there will be Sunnyside Village Senior Living Community which has been serving the community for over 50 years.

There will be a traffic light at Honore with a left turn arrow, Turn left, then you will proceed for approximately 3/10 mile,

Go through a roundabout & continue on Honore. Fruitville School will be on the right.

At the Traffic Circle continue straight to stay on Honore Ave. (Fruitville School will be on the right.)

Fruitville School will be on the right & this is where the historic marker is located & the gate will probably be closed, so continue on just past the school, there will be another roundabout & exit to the right onto Sawgrass Rd, you may park at the Apostolic Church immediately on the left & listen to the audio.

(From Pinecraft Park to Fruitville School --stop is at parking lot of Apostolic Church):--Go back up Gilbert the way you came in, to the second cross street which is Bahia Vista. Turn right on Bahia Vista.--Continue on Bahia Vista for approximately 2.4 miles, then you will turn left onto Honore Ave. --There will be a traffic light at Honore with a left turn arrow, Turn left, then you will proceed for approximately .3 mile,--Go through a roundabout & continue on Honore.--Fruitville School will be on the right & this is where the historic marker is located & the gate will probably be closed, so continue on just past the school, there will be another roundabout & exit to the right onto Sawgrass Rd. --Make an immediate left and park in the Apostolic Church parking lot.

Fruitville Elementary School (601 Honore Ave) began as a converted corn crib in the late 1880's. Charles L. Reaves, a pioneer of the Fruitville area with his wife Martha Tatum of Tatum Ridge, established the school and hired Miss Josie Clower as the first teacher. Their children and neighborhood children attended. The school soon moved to the Friendship Baptist Church at the present-day intersection of Honore Avenue and Palmer Boulevard. In 1898, prior to Sarasota County separating from Manatee County, the Manatee County Board of Public Instruction built a school about one mile west called the Live Oak School and hired Frances Roberts as the teacher. Reflecting the primitive conditions of the time-no window screens, no paved roads, no electricity, and no heat in the school-winter classes met around a school-yard bonfire.

In 1905, the school board erected a new school west on Simmons Avenue and north of Fruitville Road on land donated by Charles Reaves, who in 1895, had become postmaster and had handled mail for 115 residents from his home for this community which he named Fruitville. The new school was called the Fruitville School and enrolled about 20 students. Fruitville community citizens petitioned the Sarasota County Board of Public Instruction in 1937 for construction of a more modern school.

Built with Work Projects Administration funding, this school was built at its present location on about one acre of land purchased from Otis and Bernice Howell for the sum of "One dollar and other valuable consideration." Built of stuccoed concrete block, the new Fruitville Elementary School contained six classrooms, an auditorium, a small library, an office and flush toilets. Completed in 1941, the new school included grades one through six and consolidated the Tatum Road and Miakka elementary schools. Fruitville Elementary was the county's first school to serve migrant worker families and continues to educate children of circus performers.

Exit the church parking lot & turn left on Sawgrass go 2/10 mile to Ponder Ave and turn right.

Turn right onto Ponder and go for 1/2 mile, you will cross Palmer Ave, and continue, on the left at the corner of Alta Vista & Ponder will be the location of the Old Friendship Baptist Church, which is now the small church of Iglesia Saeguidores de Cristo.

You will cross Palmer Ave, and continue, on the left at the corner of Alta Vista & Ponder will be the location of the Old Friendship Baptist Church, which is now the small church of Iglesia Saeguidores de Cristo.

(From parking lot of Apostolic Church to Old Friendship Baptist Church--Iglesia Saeguidores de Cristo Church): --Exit the church parking lot & turn left on Sawgrass go .2 mile to Ponder Ave.--Turn right onto Ponder and go for 5/10 mile, you will cross Palmer Ave, and continue, on the left at the corner of Alta Vista & Ponder will be the location of the Old Friendship Baptist Church, which is now the small church of Iglesia Saeguidores de Cristo Church. --Pull in and park on the grass.

Pull in and park on the grass. The original location of Friendship Baptist Church (1001 Ponder) is now Iglesia Seguidores de Cristo and was organized in 1875, by John Hendry. Members erected a small log structure and services were held one weekend each month. This plot was obtained through the efforts of Charles Reaves, Fruitville’s first settler. Another structure was built in 1887 on land donated by the Florida Mortgage and Investment Company. John Hamilton Gillespie, who was a soldier by trade and laid out the first golf course in America, offered land ½ mile south for a new church, which will be our next stop just around the corner. To see the new church:

Turn around in the grass parking lot & go back the way you came in on Ponder to Palmer for approximately 2/10 mile,

Turn right on Palmer.

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Continue on Palmer Blvd. for 3/10th of a mile, the current Church will be on your right at #5700, pull into the second driveway.

Turn right into church parking lot

(From Old Friendship Baptist Church to New Friendship Church):--Turn around in the grass parking lot & go back the way you came in on Ponder to Palmer for approximately 2/10 mile,--Turn right on Palmer.--Continue on Palmer Blvd. for 3/10th of a mile, the current Church will be on your right at #5700, pull into the second driveway.

Current location of Friendship Baptist Church

Current location of Friendship Baptist Church was built due to the need for a cemetery. This site was a “place of public church worship, school and burial ground”. Members earned building funds from the sale of 100 barrels of lime produced from burned oyster shells to build this newer structure. The church had land for an adjoining cemetery, so the graves of two infant sons of Charles and Martha Reaves could be moved from their yard & buried next to the church. Take the time to read the historic marker & walk through the cemetery.

Go right from parking lot onto Palmer Blvd

On Palmer Blvd, go 1 mile. The Celery Field parking lot will be on the left.

The Packing House area ... consisted of numerous packing facilities throughout this community. Tom Bell and his brother John came to Sarasota from Sanford in 1926. Their expertise in celery production would soon make Sarasota one of the largest celery growing areas. The brothers built and operated Palmer Farm Growers Cooperative & Packing House on Packinghouse Rd in east Sarasota. Through their efforts, agriculture was once the leading industry in town. The area included an ice house for produce to be iced down after being loaded onto railroad cars to be transported to their final destination.

The current Packinghouse Restaurant (987 Packinghouse Rd) is the original footprint of a barn in the 1920’s which represents what the structures were like when that area was considered part of the agriculture area known as Bells Spur, which was named after the Bell family who had a railroad spur at the packinghouse. This area was also part of the Celery Fields.

Stay on Palmer Blvd, for 1 mile, Celery Field parking lot at 6893 Palmer Blvd is on the left.

Turn left into the Celery Fields Parking lot

(From Historical Resources to Celery Fields):-- Go back the way you came: left on Porter Way then turn right onto Packinghouse Rd, go approximately .3 mile, Detweilers Family Market will be on the corner,--Turn right on Palmer Blvd,--Go 1 mile. The Celery Fields parking lot at 6893 Palmer Blvd will be on the left.

There are restrooms at the Celery Fields & Sarasota Audubon Nature Center. Thiswas a main agriculture center for Sarasota. Early residents worked in the fields for a dollar a day and three dollars a day could feed a family of seven. In addition to celery, potatoes were also grown in the area and they were shipped to Plant City for processing. Today it is now a regional Stormwater Facility and also houses the privately operated Sarasota Audubon Nature Center. This is the highest elevations in the area and a wonderful place to walk the trails to the top to view Eastern Sarasota, which is a site to behold.

Leaving parking lot, turn left.

Go approximately 5/10 mile, turn left on East Rd (Google refers to E Rd.)

You will be passing Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary, which is an ever-growing large-animal rescue facility. Founded in 1987 by Kay Rosaire, the non-profit sanctuary is a permanent home for dozens of exotic animals, offers placement for animals in need, and works to educate the public about animal care and conservation. Big Cat Habitat is a labor of love, with all income generated by admission going to the feeding and care of the animals.

Turn left on East Rd (Google refers to E Rd.)

Turn left on East Rd (Google refers to E Rd), the Farm Bureau will be on the NW corner, you will go 1 mile passing Rim Rd. Continue until you get to Fruitville Rd, and turn right.

Turn right on Fruitville Rd. which is also FL 780 East for approximately 10 miles, enjoy the peaceful countryside,

Go for approximately 10 miles, enjoy the peaceful countryside....

Cattlemen recognized the area's rich grazing land as early as 1847. “Cracker” cowboys got their nickname from “cracking” their rawhide whips. The loud cracks could be heard for miles and were used to drive the herds in the proper direction. A good cowboy did not need the whip to touch the flanks of the cows to get them moving.

Myakka City is also the winter home of the Herrmann’s Royal Lipizzan Stallions even though this is not on our tour, it is worth a visit to witness the beauty & grace of the thrilling experience to watch these magnificent stallions perform. Go to their website for more information. A donation is greatly appreciated & goes directly to the care of these magnificent stallions.

Two places in this area that are not on our tour, but you may want to visit at a later date are Crowley Museum & Nature Center and Myakka River State Park. Both of these have an admission charge & you would want to check their websites for dates, times and activities.

Crowley Museum (16405 Myakka Road) gives you the opportunity discover pioneer history and artifacts as you explore the museum, pioneer cabin, blacksmith shop, working sugar cane mill and much more. There is hands on learning opportunities for children, a ½ mile boardwalk and an observation tower. The museum was founded in 1974 by the same Jasper Crowley who taught at the Old Miakka School. In his teens Crowley worked for Bertha Palmer at her Meadow Sweet Ranch, which later became a part of Myakka River State Park.

John Crowley, Jasper’s grandfather, was an Irish immigrant who came to this area from Pennsylvania. In Old Miakka around the turn-of-the-century, life was “grow your own or live without”. The land in the Miakka area was also known as excellent grazing. The Crowley family grew vegetables, oranges, rice, milk cows, horses, oxen, hogs, and chickens. They were happy to share when they could and teach this way of living to others, exactly as we strive to do today.

Myakka River State Park (13208 State Rd 72) is one of Florida’s largest state parks. The property was donated by Honore and Potter Palmer in memory of their mother Bertha Honore Palmer. In 1852, early settlers brought a small herd of cattle to the Myakka region for the grazing land. Today the park hosts countless varieties of birds, alligators and fish. Visitors can wander along the dense canopies where wildlife abounds. There is a cost to enter the park, this is the perfect place to go for stillness and the opportunity to enjoy nature.

Turn right on Myakka Rd, which is still FL780, Go for approximately 3/10 mile, until you reach Wilson Rd, approximately 5/10 mile, bear right & school will be on the left,

Turn right onto Wilson.

(From the Celery Fields to Old Miakka School):--Turn left onto Palmer Blvd--Take the next left onto East Road --Turn right onto Fruitville Rd/Historic FL 780East--Proceed for 10 miles--Turn Right onto Myakka Rd, then--Turn Right onto Wilson Rd. Your destination, the Old Miakka School at 15800 Wilson Rd. will be on the left

Old Miakka School (15800 Wilson Rd) (parking) still holds the charm of old Florida, with cattle and horses grazing in the pastures. Professor Lee Hall was hired for $55 a month when the building was completed. School was only in session five months out of the year, as students were needed at home to help with family crops and other chores. Jasper Crowley, who was a greatly loved teacher, served from 1931-1944. Jasper later became the first principal at Fruitville Elementary School, which we visited earlier on this tour. Teachers generally resided with families in the community. The schoolhouse is still a treasure to visit.

From the Miakka School to Miakka United Methodist Church/Cemetery, 1620 Myakka Rd: Leaving the school go to the right, back out Wilson Road, approx.. 89 feet and merge toward the right towards Miakka Rd. In 3/10 mile, the church will be on your right.

At the stop sign, continue onto Myakka Road. After the sharp curve to the right, the church will be on your right.

(From the Miakka School to Miakka United Methodist Church/Cemetery, 1620 Myakka Rd): Leaving the school go to the right, back out Wilson Road, approx.. 89 feet and merge toward the right towards Miakka Rd. In 3/10 mile, the church will be on your right.

Old Miakka United Methodist Church

(1620 Myakka Rd) (parking) is the site of the earliest worship services held in the community of Miakka around 1850. In 1886, construction was completed on the current church building & services have been held continuously since then. In 1920, it was decided the church was too close to the highway. The building was set on rollers that were pulled by horses & moved back west about 50 ft. The little church with its old fashioned bell & stained glass windows reminds you of stepping back in time. Be sure to walk around the grounds to find out why the locals love this area.

The Miakka Cemetery

is also on this property and it is very interesting to walk through & read the names & dates on the headstones of the early pioneers. Many relatives of Augustus Wilson, who was responsible for bringing the Sarasota County bill before the Florida legislature for Sarasota to break away from Manatee County & form a new County, are buried at this cemetery.

Crowley General Store

was built around 1925 on the corner of Old Myakka Rd & Rawls Rd. Operated by Jasper Crowley, it eventually contained the Post Office, carried groceries & hardware supplies. It also had two gas pumps in the front. This general store continued in operation until the late 1950’s or 1960’s according to information from Fleta Carlton.

This ends our tour. I hope you enjoyed this trip back in time and now have a better appreciation of this area of Sarasota County. Have a great day & encourage your friends to take these tours!

To get back: Exit church parking lot and turn Left, following Myakka Road, veer Right, staying on Myakka Rd for approximately 1 mile, turn Left on Fruitville Road which will take you back to Sarasota.