Longboat Key

Longboat Key, Florida
Town
View of Millar bay and Sister Keys from a Longboat Keys residence
Location in Manatee County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 27°23′49″N 82°38′41″W / 27.39694°N 82.64472°W / 27.39694; -82.64472Coordinates: 27°23′49″N 82°38′41″W / 27.39694°N 82.64472°W / 27.39694; -82.64472
Country	United States
State	Florida
Counties	Sarasota, Manatee
Government
• Town commissioner	7 Total
Area
• Total	16.0 sq mi (41.4 km2)
• Land	4.1 sq mi (10.7 km2)
• Water	11.9 sq mi (30.7 km2)
Elevation	3 ft (1 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	6,888
• Density	1,668/sq mi (643.9/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	34228
Area code(s)	941
FIPS code	12-41150
GNIS feature ID	0286084
Website	www.longboatkey.org

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 Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The town's population was 6,888 at the 2010 census, down from 7,603 at the 2000 census.

Longboat Key was originally inhabited by Native Americans. The area what is now Longboat Key was scouted by Juan de Añasco who was the first known white man to explore the key and Hernando De Soto's scout. He spent about 2 months attempting to find a landing site, he was also most likely the first man to see and explore Sarasota Bay, Boca Ceiga Bay and the Manatee River. According to local legend he believed the Indians were hostile and when they reached land on the island and fled leaving their Longboat in a bayou. Pirate Jean Lafitte was said to have been shipwrecked near or on Longboat Key. For the next 304 years it was ignored.