Lakewood Ranch, Florida

Lakewood Ranch is an unincorporated community master planned community in southeastern Manatee County, Florida, United States, built on part of what was previously a timber ranch owned by members of Milwaukee's Uihlein family. It is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population for the 34202 ZIP Code Tabulation Area, in which Lakewood Ranch is located, was 15,335 at the 2000 Census.

Started in 1995, Lakewood Ranch has an 8,500-acre (3,400 ha) master-planned community within it, consisting of seven villages.

History

Lakewood Ranch is located within the Manatee County region in Florida. Manatee County covers almost 900 sq mi (2,300 km²) including waterways, which provided transportation. Railroads, bridges, and roadways were later added for easier access in and out of the area.

Along with transportation development came a rapid growth in population during the early 1920s.

The first neighborhood development, Summerfield, went up in 1995. As the area expanded and population increased, a master-planned community was created called Lakewood Ranch.

Del Webb

Delbert Eugene "Del" Webb (May 17, 1899 – July 4, 1974, aged 75) was an American real estate developer and a co-owner of the New York Yankees baseball club. He is known for founding and developing the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona, and for many works of his firm, Del E. Webb Construction Company.

Early years

Webb was born in Fresno, California, to Ernest G Webb, a fruit farmer, and Henrietta S. Webb. He dropped out of high school to become a carpenter's apprentice, and in 1919, he married Hazel Lenora Church, a graduate nurse. In 1920, Webb was a ship fitter, and they were living with his parents and two younger brothers in Placer County, California. At the age of 28, he suffered typhoid fever, and as a result moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to recover.

Career

In 1928, Webb began his namesake company which was a construction contractor. He received many military contracts during World War II, including the construction of the Poston War Relocation Center near Parker, Arizona. Poston interned over 17,000 Japanese-Americans and at the time was the third largest “city” in Arizona. Webb was associated with Howard Hughes and played golf with Hughes, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Robert and Barry Goldwater.

Lakewood

Lakewood may refer to:

Places

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Ranch

A ranch is a type of farm and an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in Mexico, the Western United States and Canada, though there are ranches in other areas. People who own or operate a ranch are called ranchers, cattlemen, or stockgrowers. Ranching is also a method used to raise less common livestock such as elk, American bison or even ostrich, emu, and alpacas.

Ranches generally consist of large areas, but may be of nearly any size. In the western United States, many ranches are a combination of privately owned land supplemented by grazing leases on land under the control of the federal Bureau of Land Management. If the ranch includes arable or irrigated land, the ranch may also engage in a limited amount of farming, raising crops for feeding the animals, such as hay and feed grains.

Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota (/ˌsærəˈsoʊtə/) is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, connections to the Ringling family, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the southern end of the Tampa Bay Area, north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its current official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013 Sarasota had a population of 53,326. In 1986 it became designated as a certified local government. Sarasota is a principal city of the Sarasota metropolitan area, and is the seat of Sarasota County.

The islands separating Sarasota Bay from the gulf near the city, known as keys, include Lido Key and Siesta Key, which are famous worldwide for the quality of their sandy beaches. The keys that are included in the boundary of Sarasota are Lido Key, St. Armands Key, Otter Key, Coon Key, Bird Key, and portions of Siesta Key. Previously, Siesta Key was named Sarasota Key. At one time, it and all of Longboat Key were considered part of Sarasota and confusing contemporaneous references may be found discussing them.