Englewood Beach Fun Facts

In the late 1800's, Englewood, Florida was named after Englewood, IL which was was annexed to Chicago in 1889. The name Englewood was suggested by Henry B. Lewis, a wool merchant in the Loop and Board of Education member, deriving from his association with Englewood, New Jersey.

The latitude of Englewood is 26.961N. The longitude is -82.352W.

Englewood is on Lemon Bay, at the north end of Cape Haze peninsula.

The Englewood-Cape Haze area is literally surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico.

It is the residence of 2008 Olympic Athlete Maggie Bassetti, and drummer of the alternative rock band State Your Method, Jodi Taylor. Talented actress Bailey Beck and Jen Stevenson, the lead singer of AFI Davey Havok's wife, also are residents of Englewood

Englewood is more than 100 years old, although artifacts found at the Indian Mound Park date back as far as 400 B.C., giving cause to believe that the Englewood area was inhabited then, by the Calusa Indians.

In 1927 a bridge was built across Lemon Bay, joining Manasota Key and the Gulf beaches with the mainland. The toll was 50 cents. This bridge has now been rebuilt twice, once in 1950 and again in 1964. A part of the old wooden bridge is now the Bill Ainger fishing pier.

Alexander Graham Bell's invention, the telephone, finally arrived in remote Englewood. In 1948, a Venice phone book listed 46 phone numbers for Englewood, with 22 being business phones and 24 for private use.

In 1956, the Sarasota side of Englewood had only a part-time sheriff. His full-time job was as a carpenter. He was to be available 24 hours a day, use his own automobile and provide his own gas. He made a whopping $200 per month.

In 1958, the post office was the fastest growing in the state, and by 1960, two carriers were hired to deliver the mail to the 2,864 residents. A new post office had to be built, increasing the total of boxes from 400 to 1,000.

Englewood Beach Ariel View