Holmes Beach

Holmes Beach is located in Manatee County just south of St Petersburg along Highway 789 between Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach near Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Holmes Beach is part of the Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida metro area.

In 1896 Sam and Annie Cobb homesteaded 160 acres from Gulf to Bay, the area now called Holmes Beach. Their acreage included a bayou and provided a harbor for small boats and a natural channel to the bay. In addition they purchased a 10 acre strip from John Jones, whose homestead adjoined theirs, and built a dock. At the end of World War II Jack Holmes, a developer with a dream, created a 600-acre community in the center of the island. The City of Holmes Beach was incorporated in 1950.