Longboat Key is a town in Manatee and Sarasota counties along the central west coast of the U.S. state of Florida, located on and coterminous with the barrier island of the same name. Longboat Key is south of Anna Maria Island, between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. It is almost equally divided between Manatee and Sarasota counties. The town of Longboat Key was incorporated in 1955 and is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town's population was 6,888 at the 2010 census, down from 7,603 at the 2000 census. It was back up to 7,505 in the 2020 census. History Early history Longboat Key was originally inhabited by Native Americans. The area of what is now Longboat Key was scouted by Juan de Añasco who was the first known European to explore the key and Hernando De Soto's scout. He spent about two months attempting to find a landing site, and he was also most likely the first European man to see and explore Sarasota Bay, Boca Ceiga Bay and the Manatee River. According to local legend, he believed the Indians were hostile. When the party reached land on the island, the Indians fled leaving their Longboat in a bayou. Pirate Jean Lafitte was said to have been shipwrecked near or on Longboat Key. Prior to 1842, Cuban and Spanish fishermen along with some squatters would reside on the island. A fishing camp and a trading post for Native Americans would exist in the northern part of the key located in what is presently the Longboat Village. At the time, the area was referred to on maps as "Saraxola" and "Zarazote". There is little known about the island after 1848 and until the 1880s, because a hurricane hit the area and destroyed most of Longboat Key. The only thing that is known is that Charles Abbe had a plantation at an unknown location on the island where citrus and pineapples were grown. Late 1800s & early 1900s The first people of European descent to claim land on the island were Colin and Rowlin W. Witt, claiming on the north end of the island in 1882. Several others would claim land on the island during the late 1800s, but none of them are known to have lived on the island permanently. In 1884, Thomas Mann claimed on the key. He and his family would move there