Palmer Ranch

Perhaps the single most influential person in developing Sarasota into what it is today is the namesake of the Palmer Ranch community: Bertha Honoré Palmer. The wife of Chicago businessowner Potter Palmer, Bertha first arrived in Sarasota in 1910 and was immediately entranced by its natural beauty. Soon after, she purchased 80,000 acres of land in Sarasota, with plans to bolster Florida’s burgeoning cattle and citrus industries, as well as expand its railroad system south of modern-day Manatee County through to Venice. In the years after her passing in 1918, much of her land was preserved and designated part of Florida’s state parks, including the Myakka River and Oscar Scherer State Parks.

In 1972, a few years before becoming owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hugh Culverhouse purchased 12,000 acres of the Palmer estate’s remaining land, roughly half of which would be developed into Palmer Ranch a decade later. Today, Palmer Ranch consists of over 30 communities with a strong focus on preserving Florida’s wildlife and educating its residents on conserving local wetlands. Since 2000, the Palmer Ranch Master Association has also won Sarasota’s Civic Beautification Award seven times thanks to its manicured maintenance of greens and buildings.

The Palmer Ranch development is also home to two of its very own golf courses: TPC Prestancia, a PGA-built course that hosted Tour events for over a decade, and Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club, which began a modernization project for its course in April 2024. Running through the heart of Palmer Ranch is the aptly named Legacy Trail. Stretching from Sarasota to Venice, this hiking and biking trail sits alongside the very railroad tracks Bertha Palmer was instrumental in building in 1911 to promote local agriculture. With its proximity to many major roads such as I-75, Tamiami Trail, and Clark Road, Palmer Ranch is just a short distance from many of Sarasota’s iconic sites, including Historic Spanish Point – the winter home of Bertha Palmer – and award-winning Siesta Key Beach and its soft sugar sand shores. All in all, through its appreciation for nature, focus on community, and reverence for history, Palmer Ranch stands out as a model development along Florida’s Suncoast.