Casey Key House

The population of the Nokomis/Casey Key area was 3,334 for the year 2000 census with 1,544 households, and 955 families residing in the CDP (census-designated place). A CDP is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are populated areas that lack separate municipal government, but which otherwise physically resemble incorporated places. The Nokomis/Casey Key area is part of the Bradenton–Sarasota–Venice Metropolitan Statistical Area. The island of Casey Key is shared with Osprey Florida, but seperated by the intracoastal waterway. Nokomis is located at 27°07'25" N 82°26'20" W?.

U.S. Army Captain John Charles Casey, an English born army officer who graduated from West Point with General Robert E. Lee was sent to the island around 1849 to survey it and to remove the Seminole Indians (led by Chief Billy Bowlegs) from Florida. Casey and the Chief managed to create a trust in each other and the Chief told Casey that Seminole Indian families vacationed on the island and that they hunted bobcats, panthers and raccoons there.

A toll bridge was built by E. C. Warren in 1923 to connect the south end of the island with the mainland (this bridge has since been replaced by the Albee Road Bridge). All previous access to the island was by boat. The Blackburn Point Road Bridge was built on the north end of the key in 1926. It is one of the very few swing bridges in operation in the United States and it bears the number 01000290 on the National Register of Historic Places. It is supported by a caisson in the middle of Sarasota Bay (the Intracoastal Waterway) and it swings open to allow boats to pass. A sight to see! Most of the island north of the Albee Road Bridge is a conservation district that was established in the early 1970’s. There are no high rises or condominiums. A total of 400 or so single family homes are tucked in among the palm trees and other tropical greenery. The weather is sunny and warm most of the time and the sunsets are spectacular.

Gulf-to-Bay property could be purchased for $20,000 in the 1950’s; today real estate on Casey Key averages in the millions, and up to $25 million for a small estate. It is a place where the rich and famous relax. A number of the estates even have their own private beach.

The residents have formed a close community and man their own volunteer fire department, security patrol and water system. When the Florida Department of Transportation announced in 1989 that it intended to replace the Blackburn Point Road swing bridge with a modern one “all hell broke loose." The bridge was refurbished.

In 1984 film director Victor Nunez, thought that Casey Key so resembled a 1950’s era small Floridian community, that he filmed the movie adaptation of John D. MacDonald’s novel “Flash of Green” there. The film rated three and a half stars.

In addition to the two beaches, there is a small village at the south end of the key with mom and pop motels and places to eat. There is waterfront, al-fresco dining in the style of old Florida at the Casey Key Fish House. While dining you can watch the sailboats slowly go by, or the occasional dolphin or manatee, and forget about everything.
Casey Key Stats:
County - Sarasota
Area - Nokomis
Zip Codes - 34274-34275
Total Land Area - 2 sq mi (5.1 km²)
(2000) Population - 3,334