Oyster Creek Golf and Country Club| Englewood FL
Oyster Creek Golf and Country Club| Englewood FL
  • A Brief History

Englewood Englewood's History

Englewood's Birthday

When the three Nichols brothers, Herbert, Howard, and Ira, of Englewood/Illinois, came to Lemon Bay, they instantly fell in love with that beautiful place on the water. It was so different compared to Illinois, of course, and they liked it so much that they platted a new town right away.


It was easy for them to find a new name - "Englewood” was the name of their old hometown. Thus, the name “Englewood” was also chosen for the new one as well." What a bummer! That was not too creative but at least it served the purpose. By the way, that was in the year 1884. 


So, finding a name was easy. Getting a business started was the tougher part; needless to say they, were looking for a business successful enough to put food on the table. Thry were not looking for a hobby.

Dearborn
A Bumpy Start
Fresh Ideas
Never Give Up!
Dreams go up in Smoke
Tamiami Trail makes a Difference
Rise of a Fishing Town
Fish may smell, but Money?
Things are Changing
New Road to Success
A Bumpy Start

At first, the brothers planned to promote the new town as a prosperous lemon producing area. Unfortunately, two severe freezes in a row killed most of their plants. Who would expect frost in Florida? Nobody. So, that business failed. Next!


"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" is a proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune. So, they tried to "make lemonade" by going different business avenues instead, but none of them was too successful either.

Learn More about Englewood, including Area Highlights, Demographics and Homes for Sale
Fresh Ideas

The three brothers decided to go into real estate and sell lots. However, lot sales were disappointingly slow. Back then, no highway or decent road was connecting the new town with the rest of the world. Englewood was easily accessible by boat. However, that was not considered a real plus for the new area.


They needed to come up with a fresh idea. Selling lumber was the solution. To create a constant stream of income, they started a lumber business. Luckily they were the only ones in the area dealing with wood. However, there was a reason why they were the only ones. Without home construction, there was no market for lumber. Well, that was not foreseeable? Well, no surprise here. That business doomed right from the start as well.

Never Give Up!

“Never give up” was their motto, but that is easier said than done. The Nichols came up with a new one, that was building the „Englewood Inn." Actually, it was no bad "plan B." In 1898 this Inn was considered "upscale." Therefore, the place attracted new settlers, fishermen, and wealthy people alike, and, for the first time, it appeared to be a sustainable business model. Everything seemed to fall into place. Finally! 


They also leased another building and used it as a general store and post office. However, after a great start all the efforts did not bring the breakthrough they had hoped for. 

Dreams go up in Smoke

Unfortunately, a few years later the Inn burned down. Their dreams went literally up in smoke. Only the charred foundation walls were sticking out of the ground; everything else was gone. Disappointed, they sold most of their businesses. They even sold the license needed to run the post office. That was probably not the best idea they had, but they were so done with their business.


Other people took over and pushed their luck. They erected a new two-story building with a store and built a new post office on Dearborn Street. The new people seemed to more luck, a better thought-out business plan, and obviously more stamina. It took a while, but many years later, Dearborn became the new commercial hub of the new town. 

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Tamiami Trail makes a Difference

The Tamiami Trail, or US 41,  was the most important project in the early 1920's. A road connecting Miami with Tampa was in deed a brilliant idea but it was also a real task at that time. 275 miles of road had to be constructed. Many obstacles, like the swamp - land of the Everglades, were a real challenge for the engineers who were building the road at that time. But they were brilliant guys and figured it out, In 1928 the road was successfully completed. Just in time before the Great Depression halted all activities. 


Although not routed directly through Englewood, the trail, like the railway before, still had a positive impact on further development of that sleepy town located on Florida's Sun Coast. Eventually SR 776 was looped through Englewood and connected this little fishing town with the US 41. That was good enough for further development!

Rise of a Fishing Town

Right from the beginning, the city was dependent on its citrus, fishing, and lumber industries. Citrus growing remained a risky business, though. Although the location of Englewood is far south, from time to time strong cold fronts from Canada go even further south than Englewood. Powerful polar vortexes can sometimes push the arctic air all the way down to the keys. That does not necessarily happen every winter, but it can happen several times within a decade. Because of those more or less frequent weather events, growing citrus was like playing Russian Roulette. 


However, fish were abundant and they didn't care about the cold spills. Not everybody could become a fisherman, but their business certainly had fringe benefits and many people could make a living with some other activities.

Fish may smell, but Money?

So, fishing became the "big thing" in Englewood. Lemon Bay was literally "saturated" with fish at all times. When in the mid-1940's the Fish Processing Plant moved from Boca Grande to Cape Haze, this step brought the long-awaited progress for the area.  


It was a big and profitable fish processing factory that moved from Gasparilla Island to Cape Haze; hundreds of pounds of fish per day were processed and shipped from there all over the country. People say that "money doesn't smell", but in this case it smelled like fish. Workers were happy, shippers were happy, surrounding store owners were happy. Happy faces everywhere in Englewood. 

Things are Changing

For many years, this Fish Packing Plant brought jobs and prosperity and boosted the economy of the area. In the 1980's, however, the lights were turned off, and the factory doors closed forever. A ban on net fishing was good for the environment, but not so good for the fishing industry. The residents of Englewood had somehow to shift their economic activities from fishing or fish processing to something else. 


But what does “something else” mean? Tourism was the new keyword. But even in the early 90’s, when we came to Englewood for the first time, it was pretty much a quiet and sleepy fishing town with only a few tourists wandering around. Englewood was far away from being touristy at that time.

New Road to Success

Over the years, the tourism industry became the number one money maker for the State of Florida. Millions of visitors from northern states, Canada, and from all over the world came to visit Florida. Why was Englewood missing all that business? "C'm on Englewood, you can do better!" That was exactly what some people thought.

 

So, the business community rolled up the sleeves and adjusted what needed to be adjusted. And it worked!  Today, thousands of tourists from all over the world are flocking to Englewood as well to enjoy the lovely beaches, the blue sky, and the sunshine. 

 

Fishing is still a big part of the activities. Commercial fishing has become less important because net fishing is still prohibited, and will be in the future. The whole ordeal is "fishing for fun." 


Many charter boats are taking anglers far out in the Gulf of Mexico, however, you'll see also many little powerboats, which are seriously equipped with fishing gear, zooming by in coastal or bay waters. Thanks to the net fishing ban and some other implemented and enforced rules, the fish population has recovered nicely again. 


Englewood, Florida - You call that a Transformation

Lemon Bay and Gulf of Mexico
Lemon Bay and Gulf of Mexico

Englewood's Beaches

All Englewood  beaches are on Manasota Key, a barrier island that is only minutes away. 

Boating in Englewood

The water around Englewood are boater's paradise. Easy to navigate and safe

Close Airports 

Three International Airports, Sarasota, Tampa, and Fort Myers, and one Regional in Punta Gorda.

Hospital, Schools...

Englewood has Lemon Bay High and several Middle and Elementary Schools to offer.