Hidden treasure

The view at the home where Jimmy Seaton now lives is guaranteed. Vegetation wildly grows around the wooden home, but he is unlikely to get a citation from the Longboat Key Code Enforcement Department. His cell phone gets a strong signal at his new digs. And, technically, he still lives in the town of Longboat Key.

Welcome to Jewfish Key, an island that is part of the town of Longboat Key, located just east of Longboat and accessible only by boat. There are no phone lines on the island, although it’s close enough to mainland Manatee County that Seaton’s cell phone picks up a signal from a nearby tower. Electricity comes from submerged power lines, and water comes from one of several wells located throughout the island.
Residents get cable through a Direct TV satellite.

Because the eastern part of the island is a nature preserve, plant and wildlife are abundant. It’s a good place for bird-watching, with great-horned owls, apiliated woodpeckers and ospreys. But it’s not such a good place for people-watching, with just four homes, a fifth under construction and an additional eight lots that are still undeveloped. Since he moved to Jewfish Key in early December, Seaton has seen raccoons as big as a medium-sized dog.

“This isn’t the Ritz-Carlton,” Seaton said.

For Seaton, the biggest challenge of moving came when it was time to transport his king-size bed. He did it, with help from two other men, by tying it to the top of one of the boats that he uses for his company, Longboat Limousine and Liquid Limousine Charters.

But life on Jewfish Key isn’t for everyone. The Jewfish Key Preservation Association’s Web site, jewfishkeyhoa.org, states: “Jewfish Key does not intend to meet the needs of all; therein lies our unique character.”

The island’s rich vegetation means that most homes remain hidden from the mainland.

“It’s a hidden treasure,” said Joan Bergstrom, who eventually zoned and developed Jewfish Key.

According to local lore, Jewfish Key has hidden treasure of its own.

Legend has it that Spanish explorers buried treasure in the 1500s on what is now Jewfish Key. Until the 1930s, present-day Jewfish Key was actually two islands: Pickett Key to the north and Fisherman’s Key to the south. Then, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Intracoastal Waterway and needed a place to put spoil. Two investors, whose last names were Jordan and Zeisse, owned the two islands and agreed to let the Army Corps deposit the spoil to form a single island in exchange for the deed to the island and a case of whiskey. For years, the island held a single home owned by Jordan.

Local fishermen began calling the island “Jewfish Key,” because they caught large numbers of Goliath groupers, also known as Jewfish, on the island.

Longtime Longboat Key resident Tom Mayers says that Jordan owned beagles that often got bit by the island’s rattlesnakes. Because the Mayers family hunted rattlesnakes, Mayers was one of the few people allowed onto Jewfish Key.

“I tell people that I had a special invitation to go out to the island,” he said.

In 1954, Jordan and Zeisse sold the island to a man whose last name was Smidt, who had plans to develop the island. Smidt platted the land and cleared out a road, naming it La Lenaire Drive. (La Lenaire was possibly a family name.) He planned to develop the island into 29 half-acre lots.

The project was a failure. Only Mayers’ aunt, Theresa Smiley, bought one. Smidt couldn’t make payments on the island, so ownership went back to Jordan and Zeisse.

They bought back Smiley’s lot to make the island whole. Then, their daughters spent the next 30 years trying to sell it. Finally, they approached Joan Bergstrom, sister of Mayers and real-estate developer Michael Saunders. Bergstrom, who works in real estate and had lived on north Longboat Key her entire life, received a lot on the island instead of a commission. Bergstrom reduced the plans to 13 one-acre lots and also created the nature preserve that exists on part of the island.

Today, Seaton rents the property that Bergstrom got in exchange for her commission. Of the remaining three houses on the island, two are used for vacation rentals. The island operates with help from a groundskeeper who goes to the island approximately once a month to pick up trash and to remove debris from La Lenaire Drive.

Seaton said that he thought he would like life on Jewfish Key. But he was wrong — he loves it.
“To me, the things that this place has that other places don’t have overshadows the fact that I have to remember to bring a gallon of milk at night,” Seaton said.

Survivor: Jewfish Key guide
Everyday tasks can be complicated when you live on an island accessible only by boat. Here’s a look at how Jewfish residents accomplish daily duties.

Taking out the trash: No, the town doesn’t send out a boat to collect trash. But the town dock does have garbage bins, so residents can take their trash there by boat.

Grocery shopping: Make a list, and check it twice. Jimmy Seaton says that since making the move to Jewfish Key, he makes sure he has everything on his list at the grocery store. Joan Bergstrom said that when she lived on Jewfish Key, she stocked up on groceries every week or two.

Getting to work: Jewfish Key is approximately five to seven minutes from the mainland if there isn’t wind resistance. Seaton keeps a car parked at his aunt’s house in the Longbeach Village and another car parked in Harbour Square at Longboat Limousine and Liquid Limousine Charters, which he co-owns. The best part of the commute: the frequent dolphin sightings.

Hiring a repairman: Residents have a list of companies they can call that will send a repairman to meet them on the mainland and travel by boat to their homes.

Getting mail: Residents have post office boxes on the mainland.

Getting to a neighbor’s house: Walk. Motor vehicles are prohibited by the Jewfish Key Preservation Association. A battery-operated vehicle, such as a golf cart, is allowed, although none of the current residents travels around the island by golf cart.

Preparing for a hurricane: Obviously, residents evacuate the island. But it’s not much different from hurricane preparation on the mainland. Plus, Jewfish Key’s elevation is higher than Longboat Key, and the Australian pines seem to offer wind protection. Jewfish Key has never sustained major damage during a hurricane.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].