The city of Holmes Beach is three-quarters of a century old.
And the city is prepping to celebrate that milestone.
Mayor Judy Titsworth spoke with The Islander Nov. 25 about the municipality’s history and the city’s plans for its 75th anniversary celebration.
In 1896, more than a half-century before the city was formed, Sam and Annie Cobb became the first people to reside on land that would become Holmes Beach.
Others soon followed and, by 1902, the first island post office was established at the Cobbs’ residence.
However, it was not until real estate developer Jack Holmes Sr. — Titsworth’s grandfather and the city’s namesake — arrived after World War II that a broader future came into view.
Holmes created a 600-acre community and kickstarted the area’s growth.
That growth included the creation of a small airport in 1947, which allowed greater access to the island. That airport closed in 1973 due to exorbitant upkeep costs and the need for improvements.
The Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, city hall, a West Manatee fire station and a recreation field now stand in its place.
In 1948, the area was used to film portions of “On An Island With You,” a Hollywood movie directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Esther Williams, Peter Lawford and Ricardo Montalban.
The city was finally incorporated in March 1950 and was first led by Mayor Halsey T. Tichenor.
However, the municipality was not yet fully formed.
In 1954, Holmes Beach annexed three neighboring subdivisions, uniting the island’s last unincorporated lands into the municipal government.
By the 1960s, a bridge was built to connect Sand Key, later to be Key Royale, to the city’s mainland and Holmes had developed the Seaside Gardens community north of the airport land.
By 1980, the municipality had become the state’s fastest-growing community, according to Better Living Magazine.
Titsworth said it is “pretty amazing” to look back at the city’s history and witness its development over the years.
“It’s pretty crazy how we’ve grown,” she said. “And we’ve still been able to maintain our lower density and our height restrictions and still have that ‘old Florida’ feel. So it’s definitely something to celebrate.”
That celebration will be 5-9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, at city field, between 59th Street, Flotilla Drive and 62nd Street.
The event will be free to attend and open to the public. It will be sponsored by the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and Waste Pro, the city’s waste removal franchisee.
It will feature live music performed by Jah Movement and Trevor Bystrom, children’s activities like bounce houses and face-painting, as well as a host of local vendors and community booths that will provide food and beverages for purchase, among other things.
Titsworth said the anniversary celebration also will include an antique car show organized by Becker’s Car Show. The vehicles will be parked in the lot in front of city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
The city asks for attendees to bring a nonperishable donation to support the Roser Food Pantry during the holiday season.
“We are so excited about it,” Titsworth said. “This is pretty big.”
From the archives
Reporting on a Founders Day event in Holmes Beach in April 2008, the late Islander reporter and editor Paul Roat wrote:
History on Anna Maria Island is somewhat short.
Although the Island itself dates back thousands of years with Native Americans and shell mounds and fishing and mosquitoes, for Holmes Beach the history is circa 1950.
That was when citizens first gathered to decide if the area that is now Holmes Beach should be a municipality.
The meeting date was March 13, 1950.
It came about due to zoning issues between the city and Manatee County.
The votes for what was to eventually be named Holmes Beach were taken. Palm City got two votes; Mid-Island City, seven; Coquina Beach, 21; Tarpon Beach, one; and Holmes Beach, 23.
A revote between the top two had Holmes Beach the winner in the name game.
“Land grants” in Holmes Beach back in the day went to J.E. and Maud Holmes, Hugh G. and Jean C. Holmes, John E. Jr. and Betty Holmes, F.B. and Maudelle Giles, Karl and Lorna Karel, Ronald and Caroline Karel Boyer, and Peder Mickelson & Son Inc.