The Biorseth family

Carrie and Carl Biorseth settled here in 1894. Carl would eventually be known as “The Bee-man” because of the large bee business he and Carrie would develop.

Carrie is given credit for actually starting the bee business. In about 1910 she caught a colony of wild bees. In time she enlarged it to several colonies and proceeded to sell honey.

About that same time, Mr. Biorseth, a former newspaper editor, was having a difficult time supporting his family in the tiny community of Englewood. It was decided Carrie and the children would continue to run the farm at their homestead on the Mystic River (later to be renamed Forked Creek), while Carl would move to Sarasota. He would work doing wallpaper hanging, painting and carpentry.

On a regular basis Carrie would hitch up Prince, the horse, to a wagon, ford Mystic Creek and drive herself to Sarasota on a sandy, rutted, cow path of a trail to bring her husband supplies. The trip took all day and required an overnight in Sarasota. Along the way she would sell or barter some of the produce from the farm to other settlers. Soon the honey started being sold on these trips and was an instant success.

Carl was quick to pick up on the success of the honey. He developed several bee yards, or apiaries, here in Englewood and went into the bee business full time. He also opened a retail store in Sarasota where he sold all the supplies for raising bees. In just a few years Carl acquired a statewide reputation in Florida’s huge bee industry and even became the state bee inspector.

by Diana Harris 
Vintage photos from the collection of Diana Harris.

The Chadwick Family

The Chadwick family settled in Englewood at the turn of the last century. They ran a very successful fish business in Englewood and Punta Gorda.  Over the years they acquired a large amount of land on Manasota Key. In 1926 they started developing their property which was called the Chadwick Beach Subdivision.

At first they ferried perspective customers from the mainland to the Key by ferry boat, a 26-foot gasoline-powered open boat. They soon decided in order for their subdivision to be successful it would be more advantageous to build bridges across Lemon Bay.  By 1927, Englewood had it’s first mainland-to-key connection thanks to the enterprising and foresighted Chadwick brothers. There were two bridges built. One was a large one that went from the mainland to what we now know as Sandpiper Key. A shorter one went from Sandpiper Key to Manasota Key.

Capt. Clay Chadwick, who worked on building the bridges, remembered, “The bridges cost the Chadwick family $48,000, a hugh sum of money for the 1920s.” The bridges being private, allowed the Chadwicks to collect a toll of 50 cents which the locals thought extremely expensive.  The structures were built, but what terrible timing for the Chadwicks and their subdivision. The Florida Land Boom ended and the stock market crashed. Along with so many the Chadwicks lost everything and Charlotte County would eventually acquire the bridges.

When the Intracoastal Waterway came through Lemon Bay, in 1964, the middle of the Chadwick bridge was cut out. Then Charlotte County Commissioner Bill Anger, who was from Englewood, worked hard to save the two remaining ends of the bridge for fishing piers. He succeeded and the piers were named for him.

However, since then Englewood has lost one span of the old wooden bridge.  Although no bridge was ever officially named after the Chadwicks, recognition has been given to the family by naming one of Englewood’s public beaches Chadwick Beach.