FINDING OVERTOWN – SARASOTA’S FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Few newcomers to Sarasota County would know that the Rosemary District in Sarasota was once known as Overtown and part of the original plat of the Town of Sarasota in 1885. Beginning in the 1890’s African Americans settled there. It was north just north of downtown Sarasota and known as “Black Bottom,” later to be change to Overtown in the mid-1920s. It was a vibrant community with a rich history to many of its residents and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District in 2003. It became officially named the Rosemary District in honor of the Rosemary Cemetery, established in 1886 and a historic marker was first dedicated there in 1985.
It became officially named the Rosemary District in honor of the Rosemary Cemetery, established in 1886 and a historic marker was first dedicated there in 1985. It was a segregated community and through time Overtown was lost to expanding downtown Sarasota and most of its residents relocated to Newtown. While a few of its original historic structures relate to the Overtown community remain, most were demolished and lost to time.