THE SETTLING OF SARASOTA (9th in a series)

THE DEMISE OF THE ORMISTON COLONY

The last installment of “Settling" ended with the 68 Scottish colonists experiencing a snowfall on January 9, 1886. Dead fish washed ashore and Selvin Tate, the nephew of the Archbishop of Canterbury and promoter of the Florida Mortgage and Investment Company (FMIC) disappeared. The high hopes of the colonists, who had left Scotland three months ago, were dashed.

One reason for the failure of the colony is that the families were of the upper middle class. Not one had ever been a farmer. If housing had been available as promised, the colonists might have stayed. Nearly all had left by May 1, 1886.

Weeks before the intended arrival of the Colonists, Sir John Gillespie an official of the FMIC had ordered A. C. Acton, their local manager, to erect temporary housing for the colonists. He was also ordered to have a dock ready to moor the arriving shipload of Scotsmen. Acton was a very sick man, however, and unable to get much done.

In January 1886, John Hamilton Gillespie, Sir John Gillespie’s son was sent to Sarasota to relieve Acton and he began to lay out roads and sidewalks in the “downtown” area, build the DeSoto Hotel on Main Street (inset ca.1886), and more. A number of the colonists were employed in the building program.

Had the “Colony” arrived six months later, or the construction begun six months earlier, it might have been a success. Lumber for the dock and hotel was brought by schooners to the foot of Main Street, thrown overboard and floated to shore where it was transported by mule “powered” wagons to its final location.

Construction of the dock was backbreaking work that required the workers to stand in the cold water as deep as chest high. For this they earned $2.00 for a long day. A warehouse was built at the end of the dock to house merchandise.

Immediately upon its completion the side-wheel steamer Erie began making regular stops at Tampa and Sarasota.

In 1886, Dr. Thomas Wallace, who came with the colonists had a 1½-story house built on Main Street and placed a cot in one of the rooms where patients could be treated. He also established the first drug store.

Furman and Bill Whitaker opened the first General Store, aside from the Company Store. Hamlin Whitaker opened a market where he sold meat from a freshly butchered steer (ice was not available).

The first blacksmith, cobbler, and wagon builder whose name was Jack Tatum, came to town in 1886. He could shoe the most stubborn mule, remake any part of a wagon, mend any saddle and fix any sewing machine. It was said that he had a “wheel” left over after fixing a clock and it still kept good time.

In 1888 the FMIC issued a promotional booklet touting the weather, investment and recreational opportunities. It pointed out that Massachusetts’s death rate was 1 in 254, New York’s was 1 in 473, and Florida’s was 1 in 1,457. Establishment of these numbers was not explained.

In 1894, the Inn on Main Street hosted its’ first convention, a group of Baptists. The DeSoto Hotel had 30 rooms to rent.

The DeSoto Hotel and its furnishings cost 5,000 pounds (about $15,000). Tourists returned annually to spend 2 or 3 months to shoot birds, catch fish, and sail the calm waters of Sarasota Bay. Others came to fight tuberculosis or rheumatism.

Steamers carried passengers from the dock at the Hotel’s front door to the Tampa terminus of the railroad. The Mary Disston, known as the Dirty Mary, that also hauled freight, was one of the steamers.

Sarasota was becoming a “boom town.”

DeSoto Hotel - Credit: Sarasota County Historical Resources.

To be continued..

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THE SETTLING OF SARASOTA (7th in a series)

THE SCOTTISH COLONY ARRIVES
In the previous installments, -it was stated that through chicanery, the Governor of Florida deeded 700,000 acres, some of which included properties' of the Sarasota's pioneer homesteaders, into the hands of land speculators. This led to the formation of the Vigilance Committee and the subsequent shotgun killing of Harrison T. Riley and Charles Abbe who were suspected of cooperating with the speculators.

Although not a party to the trickery, an organization that benefited from the "re-deeding" was the Florida Mortgage and Investment Co. (FMIC) a British concern whose president was Sir John Gillespie (inset). The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Dean of the Guild of Edinburgh were directors of FMIC. The economy of Scotland in the 1880's was very poor and an advertisement by the FMIC in an Edinburgh newspaper in August 1885 seeking colonists for the "wonderful new town of Sarasota in the richest and most. beautiful section of the entire State of Florida" drew great interest. Colonists were promised a 40 acre ,estate and a lot in town in exchange for 100 pounds sterling (equivalent to 500 U.S. dollars) before departure. Twenty three Scottish families (totaling 68 people) headed by John B. Browning sold their businesses and personal possessions, paid 100 pounds sterling and met in Glasgow for the steamship crossing. The group was called the Ormiston Colony, after the estate of Sir John Gilespie.

The colonists sailed from Glasgow on the steamship "Furnesia" on November 25, 1885 and arrived in New York on December 10th after a very stormy trip. They passed through customs, were met by Selven Tate, one of the promoters of the colonization scheme, and taken to a hotel. After three days of marveling at the sights of New York, they sailed on the steamship "State of Texas" for Fernandina, Florida, arriving on December 17.

From there, they traveled west across the state on a narrow gauge railroad known -as 'two streaks of rust"- ending-up at Cedar Key on December 18th.

At Cedar Key, Tate told them that they would have to wait several weeks for lumber needed to build portable houses in Sarasota. This was very disquieting, as they had been told that accommodations were awaiting them in Sarasota. Christmas came and went with no lumber.
The colonists chartered the small (less than 100 feet long) side-wheel steamer, "Gov. Stafford" for the trip to Sarasota. The -women and children spent the night in the overcrowded cabin. The men slept on top of the luggage in the engine room.

The next morning Mrs. Lawrie opened a 100-pound chest of tea that she had brought along, asked the captain for boiling water, and made tea for everyone. It helped to cheer the colonists. On December 28th, The "Gov. Stafford" crept to anchorage, 100 yards from shore. It was the first steamer ever to arrive in Sarasota and there was no dock for it to tie up to. After being ferried to shore in small rowboats, they looked for the model town that was shown on the maps given them in Scotland. There was only the company store and an abandoned fish oil plant at the waterfront.

The colonists gathered at the company store and demanded the truth from A. C. Acton, the local representative of the FMIC, who told them that they had come earlier than expected.

The native Whitakers and others who had heard the steamboat's whistle arrived and rafted the colonists' trunks and boxes to shore. When the luggage was unloaded, the "Gov. Stafford" lifted anchor, blew the whistle, and disappeared behind the keys.

Mrs. Lawrie opened her tea chest again, Mr. Acton brought boiling water from the company store, and there was tea for all.

(To be continued)..

(C) Copyright, 2007 - Leland Desmon.

The information on this page may not be reproduced or republished on any other webpage, website, or publication. Please LINK TO US instead.