Longboat Key in Manatee County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Longboat Key’s First Home

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. Longboat Key’s First Home Marker

Inscription. This area was first settled by Thomas Mann and his sons in 1882. He received a homestead grant of 144 acres that extended south to the present Spanish Main Yacht Club. Mann sold his land in 1905 for five hundred dollars. The titles of all Village properties start with the name of Thomas Mann.

John Savarese of Tampa, owner of a shipping fleet, built a home near here that was destroyed in the hurricane of 1921. Attorney John Walters and eight others built homes of concrete block on Broadway in the early 1900s which still stand today. These unique concrete blocks were poured on the street with the forms shared by the neighbors.

Erected by Town of Longboat Key and the Longboat Key Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Notable Buildings • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1882.

Location. 27° 26.213′ N, 82° 41.005′ W. Marker is in Longboat Key, Florida, in Manatee County. It is on Broadway Street 0.1 miles south of Poinsettia Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 630 Broadway St, Longboat Key FL 34228, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Florida’s Gulf Coast

and on Tampa Bay.

It is also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies

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: The Abutments Of The Old Longboat Pass Bridge (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Town Dock (approx. ¼ mile away); Birthplace of Resorts and Condominiums (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Village of Cortez (approx. 2 miles away); The 1890 Bratton Store / The 1912 Cortez Rural Graded Schoolhouse (approx. 2.1 miles away); Propeller from the 1892 Steamboat 'Mistletoe' (approx. 2.2 miles away); Pillsbury Boatshop/Pillsbury Tienda de Barcos (approx. 2.2 miles away); Pillsbury Boatshop (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Longboat Key.

Also see . . . A Rich History. (Submitted on November 16, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. Longboat Key’s First Home Marker

One of the original concrete block homes built on Broadway Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

3. One of the original concrete block homes built on Broadway Street

Credits. This page was last revised on May 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 16, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 258 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 16, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.