Englewood, Florida

History

Archeological digs in what is now Englewood discovered ceramics belonging to both the Weeden Island culture and Safety Harbor culture.

One of the earliest white settlers in the area was William Goff, who arrived by schooner from Tampa in 1878. He settled a piece of land a few miles south of where Englewood would be platted. On July 3, 1895, a post office was established in the area as well. The Great Freeze of 1894 and 1895, along with a bad freeze in 1896, led to the decimation of many local orange plants. For this reason, by 1897, a Manatee County General Directory listed fish as the chief product for Englewood.

The original plat of Englewood was recorded and filed on August 17, 1896. The home lots were 1 acre, and the grove lots—likely intended for citrus—were 10 acre. The area was developed by three brothers, and the name Englewood came from their hometown, Englewood, Chicago. Some streets, such as Dearborn, Harvard, and Yale, are named after those in Chicago.

In 1898, the Englewood Inn was opened, a relatively large hotel with 16 rooms. The hotel serviced visitors from up north until it burned down in 1909.

Both Sarasota and Charlotte Counties were created in 1921. Englewood was initially more on the Sarasota side of the modern county line; as it expanded, it came to be more equally in both counties.

In 2024, heavy rainfall from Hurricane Helene followed less than two weeks later by storm surge from Hurricane Milton caused extensive damage to Englewood. A number of houses were flooded during Helene and then destroyed during Milton.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 33.8 km2, of which 25.4 km2 is land and 8.5 km2, or 24.99%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, Englewood had a population of 20,800 with 10,173 households which resulted in a rate of 1.92 persons per household.

By age the population was split with 1.2% under 5 years old, 6.3% under 18 years old, and 57.5% 65 years and older. 50.3% of the population were female persons. By race, the population was split with 95.5% white, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 1.9% two or more races, and 1.3% Hispanic or Latino. There were 2,626 veterans living in the city and 7.2% of the population were foreign born persons.

The CDP had an owner-occupied housing unit rate of 85.6%. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $233,800. The median gross rent was $1,068. 93.1% of households had a computer and 84.5% had a broadband internet subscription.

94.2% of the population 25 years and older were High School graduates or higher and 30.2% of that same population had a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

Education

The Englewood Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) is a special district created by the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners in 1999 on the Sarasota side of Englewood. The Sarasota and Charlotte County School Districts have an interlocal agreement allowing some Charlotte County residents to use the Englewood Elementary School and the Sarasota County students to use the Middle and High School located in Charlotte County. Englewood has a private utility company, the Englewood Water District, and the Englewood Fire District that serve the community.

Englewood contains multiple public elementary schools and one public high school (Lemon Bay High School). Several private schools are also located within Englewood. Englewood Christian Academy, Heritage Christian Academy, and Genesis Christian Academy offer grades K–12. L.A. Ainger Middle School, a public school serving grades 6–8, located in nearby Rotonda West, Florida, is the nearest public middle school.

Notable resident

• David E. Demag, US Marshal for Vermont

References

References

1. (August 30, 1995). "Englewood's beginnings". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
3. {{GNIS. 2402455
4. Bullen, R. P.. (1969). "Southern Limit of Timucua Territory". The Florida Historical Quarterly.
5. (1990). "An Historic Resources Survey of the Coastal Zone of Sarasota County, Florida". Sarasota County Department of Historical Resources, Department of Environmental Regulation.
6. (August 30, 1995). "Englewood's Beginnings...The Proud History of Today's Thriving Community". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
7. Deming, et al (1990). p. 123.
8. Shank, Ann. "The Nichols Brothers of Englewood". Sarasota History Alive!.
9. (March 2025). "Our History". Charlotte County, Florida }}{{dead link.
10. Cassell, F.A.. (2019). "Creating Sarasota County". The History Press.
11. Kimel, Earle. (October 12, 2024). "One-two punch: Hurricane Milton storm surge finishes destruction Hurricane Helene started". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
12. O'Neil, Ty. (October 12, 2024). "Beachfront community in Florida destroyed after Hurricane Milton". AP News.
13. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Englewood CDP, Florida". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder.
14. "Census of Population and Housing". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
15. "QuickFacts Englewood CDP, Florida". United States Census Bureau.
16. Dr. Charles McCombs. "About GCA". Self-published by Genesis Christian Academy.
17. Office of the Press Secretary. (1 July 2009). "President Obama Nominates Three U.S. Marshals". The White House.
18. (17 May 2018). "Obituary, Alice M. (Renault) Demag". [[The Burlington Free Press]].