Cortez History

Beginning in the early 1880's, several families migrated primarily from Carteret County, North Carolina and settled in Florida at Hunter's Point (later renamed Cortez by a Washington bureaucrat when a post office was requested). Cortez is a point of land located on Sarasota Bay facing the southwest, perfect for sheltering boats. There were plenty of wild turkeys and deer and it is assumed that is how it came to be known as Hunter's Point.

Over the next 50 years, a steady stream of relatives and former neighbors made their way to Cortez. The fish were plentiful, and so were the mosquitoes. They mostly fished with gill nets and caught mullet, but there was also pompano, croaker, redfish, sheepshead and trout. In the early days, the fishermen poled their boats throughout the bay and offshore until they found a school of fish.

Recent Events

November 2, 1996... Recent major productions in the area have included Great Expectations. The crew shot for several weeks in Sarasota, Florida at The Ca'd'Zan (a famous building that was built by John Ringling of Ringling and Barnum Bailey Circus fame. Filming then took place in Cortez. The shots of Robert De Niro on the beach were shot on Coquina Beach. The movie is an adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic taking place in modern times, from about the 1970 to present day. Filming also took place in New York City.

Palmetto starring Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Schue which was also filmed in Cortez Village, Anna Maria Island, and downtown Bradenton.

Florida History

Notable Events in Florida History

1513. Juan Ponce de León, seeking Fountain of Youth, lands near present St. Augustine; names area Florida; claims it for Spain.
1528. Pánfilo de Narváez comes ashore near Tampa Bay.
1539. De Soto lands at Tampa Bay; marches north.
1564. French Huguenots build Fort Caroline near St. Johns River.
1565. Pedro Menéndez de Avilés erects fort at St. Augustine, first permanent white settlement in North America; captures Fort Caroline, kills colonists.
1586. Sir Francis Drake loots and burns St. Augustine.
1698. Spanish build Fort San Carlos near Pensacola.
1702. English from Carolina unsuccessfully besiege St. Augustine; destroy Spanish mission in 1704; raid northern Florida in 1725.
1740. English from Georgia raid northern Florida.
1750. Creek Indians from Georgia migrate to Florida; become known as Seminoles.
1763. Spain trades Florida to Britain for Havana. Florida divided into East and West Florida.
1768. Andrew Turnbull, with nearly 1,500 colonists, settles at New Smyrna; project fails in 1776.
1776. Florida remains loyal to Britain during American Revolution.
1778. British repel invasion by Gen. Robert Howe.
1779. Spanish attack West Florida; occupy it in 1781.
1783. Britain cedes Florida back to Spain.
1812. Americans in Florida form Republic of Florida.
1814. Andrew Jackson seizes Pensacola in War of 1812; invades Florida to subdue Seminoles in 1818.
1819. Spain cedes East Florida to United States; Jackson completes formal transfer at Pensacola in 1821.
1822. Territory of Florida created; governor, William Duval; Tallahassee selected as capital in 1824.
1835. Seminoles resist removal to Indian Territory; Dade Massacre starts seven-year Seminole War.
1839-45. Main part of first State Capitol built.
1845. Florida becomes 27th state, March 3; capital, Tallahassee; governor, William D. Moseley.
1850. United States Swamp Land Act gives state 22 million acres of land.
1853. University of Florida founded at Gainesville.
1860. Florida Railroad crosses state, Fernandina to Cedar Keys.
1861. Florida secedes from the Union.
1864. Major Civil War battle is fought at Olustee.
1868. State readmitted to the Union.
1881. Florida sells 4 million acres of land to developers.
1884. Phosphate deposits found on Peace River. Henry B. Plant completes Kissimmee-Tampa cross-state railroad; Henry M. Flagler opens Jacksonville-Miami line in 1896; reaches Key West in 1912.
1889. Lue Gim Gong develops new variety of orange.
1906. Draining operations begun in the Everglades.
1925-26. Land boom brings flood of settlers.
1938. Overseas Highway to Key West opened.
1947. Everglades National Park created.
1954. Sunshine Skyway across Tampa Bay opened.
1957. Sunshine State Parkway (now Florida's Turnpike) opened.
1962. First astronauts orbited from Cape Canaveral.
1968. Present constitution adopted; effective in 1969.
1977. New State Capitol occupied.
1988. Voters approve amendment to state constitution making English the official language of state government.
1990. A record-breaking 41 million people from around the world visit Florida.
1992. Hurricane Andrew, costliest natural disaster in United States history, devastates south Florida, causing more than 20 billion dollars in damage.