Owen Burns

Owen Burns, born October 31, 1869, was an entrepreneur, banker, builder, and land developer who at one time owned the majority of Sarasota, Florida and developed or built many of its historic structures, developments, roads, seawalls, and bridges. When Owen Burns died on August 28, 1937, the Sarasota Herald wrote, "He came to Sarasota in 1910 and w... as a leader in practically every movement that saw Sarasota grow from a fishing village to one of Florida's leading resort cities." In the words of author and historian Jeff LaHurd, "Burns's legacy is that he laid the foundation for the Sarasota we enjoy today." Sarasota is thankful to Mr. Burns for the tremendous contributions he made to the community we all love. Please tip your hat to Owen Burns today in honor for all that he did for Sarasota! The game of golf came to Sarasota when Col. John Hamilton Gillespie arrived in 1886. Nobody in the small village of Sarasota knew what Gillespie was doing when, in May, he built a practice course consisting of two greens and one long fairway. This miniature course was located on present-day Main Street. Gillespie practiced there daily for many years. In 1905, he laid out a nine-hole golf course on a 110-acre tract east of his old practice course and built a clubhouse. He maintained the course at his own expense until he sold it to Owen Burns in 1910. Gillespie continued to help support and take care of the course because upkeep could be quite an undertaking. Then Gillespie came up with the idea of organizing a golf club to help with expenses. On December 13, 1913, a meeting was held at the Sarasota Yacht and Automobile Club to organize the Sarasota Golf Club. Gillespie stated that maintaining a golf course without support from residents, as well as visitors, is difficult. The group agreed to pay $10 per person to become charter members; the money would go toward upkeep of the course. The course's owner, Owen Burns, would allow members to play for free, with the use of the clubhouse, as long as they made necessary repairs to ...Read More