| William Whittaker, a young adventurer, becomes one of the first to settle in the Sarasota area. |
John Hamilton Gillespie, a Scottish aristocrat and member of the Queen’s Bodyguard for Scotland, settles in Sarasota. |
Gillespie becomes the first mayor of Sarasota. |
The Ringling Causeway Bridge that connects the mainland with St. Armand’s Key is named after John Ringling of “Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus” fame. |