Cortez Schoolhouse

Welcome to Cortez, Florida on Sarasota Bay in Manatee County. Cortez is the last remaining fishing village on Florida's Suncoast. Cortez is a small Gulf coast commercial fishing village that was founded by settlers from North Carolina in the 1880s. The community was named after the explorer Hernando Cortes. Cortez, originally known as Hunter's Poin... t, is located on the northern edge of Sarasota Bay adjacent to Anna Maria Island and its three cities, Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach. Cortez is one of Florida's traditional fishing villages that has been able to retain its cultural integrity. The population in July 2007 was 5,327. of exciting attractions throughout the southern Gulf coast area of Florida including the neighboring communities of Anna Maria, Sarasota, St Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa Bay. As a joint project of the Florida Institute of Saltwater Heritage (F.I.S.H.), the Cortez Village Historical Society and R.B. "Chips" Shore, Manatee County's Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Florida Maritime Museums mission is to gather, preserve and interpret Florida Maritime Heritage, with special emphasis on the historic fishing village of Cortez as a traditional maritime community within the greater context of Floridas Maritime History, maritime history in general, and the natural world. Cortez Village Historical Society PO BOX 663 Cortez, FL 34215 Formed in 1984 by descendants of original settlers who came to the area one hundred years before, the CVHS has become a focal point in the community. Helping preserve both the historical structures in the community and the unique way of life. The Cortez Schoolhouse was constructed in 1912. The building was the second schoolhouse for the community of Cortez, which was established in the 1880s as a fishing village. It originally housed two classrooms and in 1933, an auditorium with a stage was added forming a T-shaped floor plan. Including Cortez, Palmetto and the barrier islands of Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island which include the towns of Anna Maria, ...Read More