Sunday Favorites: The Pirate and the Proprietor Part 2

Capt Otway Burns was one of the most famous privateers in U.S. History. His victories during the War of 1812, made him a very wealthy man and catapulted him to fame (there is even a town in Carteret County, N.C. named after him). However, that fame came at a price. His wife Joanna Grant left him and took their only son Owen Otway. It would be five years before he saw him again.

Despite the estrangement, Owen followed in his father’s footsteps. He joined the U.S. Navy as a young man and was appointed midshipman in 1823. He moved up the ranks quickly and served as Master on the ship ”John Adams“ in 1831, then became a Lieutenant three years later. He resigned his commission in 1839 and settled in Maryland. In 1849, he married Martha Ann Armstrong and had nine children.

Owen Burns Jr. was born on Halloween in 1869. Raised in Fredericktown on the eastern shores of Maryland, he became a successful entrepreneur and moved to Chicago, a bustling metropolis worthy of his business-minded expertise. However, it was the sleepy Sarasota paradise that he’d eventually call home. In 1910, he came to the area for a fishing trip and never looked back. He decided to settle and develop Sarasota into a destination paradise, according to the article ”Legacy of Owen Burns,“ by Jeff LaHurd.

He met another vacationer Vernona Hill Freeman while she was visiting. Completely infatuated with the young woman, he boarded the train as she was leaving and courted her home, persuading her to move to Florida and marry him on the long trip back to Massachusetts. They were married in Sarasota on June 4, 1912, and raised five children there, according to the book Lillian G. Burns and Owen Burns, an Enduring Family Legacy for Sarasota by Kafi Benz.

Owen became the largest landowner in Sarasota, founded the first locally owned bank, Citizens Bank, began the board of trade, and was the forerunner for the Sarasota County Chamber of Commerce. His development ventures included bridges, causeways, sea walls, historic buildings, and more. Many of the buildings Owen Burns was responsible for are now on the National Registrar of Historical Places.

He and John Ringling petitioned for the dredging and development of Saint Armand, Lido Key, and Longboat Key. Other ventures with Ringling included building the first Ringling Bridge, and the construction of Ca' d'Zan. He also worked for a time on Ringling's failed dream of a Ritz Carlton Hotel on the south end of Longboat Key and was vice president and secretary of Ringling Estates, according to LaHurd.

Despite being at the center of so many projects, there’s only one that is named after him -- Burns Herald Court. Originally envisioned as rentals to attract tourists who couldn’t afford vacation homes, the square became a popular feature in the downtown area. The Burns Building, a triangular structure between Orange and Pineapple Avenues, was designed by architect Dwight James Baum (who also designed the Ca’ d’Zan). In 2001, a historical marker was placed on the site by the county that relates many details about Burns and his square.

Baum came to Sarasota to design John and Mable Ringling's mansion, working with Burns whose company constructed the lavish home. Their close business relationship spawned several of Sarasota's iconic buildings including the largest and most luxurious hotel up to that time, the El Vernona.

Named after Burns' wife, it was lavish for the time, built to resemble a Moorish Castle and Burn spared no expense during construction, even importing Spanish roof tiles from Granada to make it look more authentic, according to LaHurd.

Unfortunately, Burns lost El Vernona to Ringling during the Great Depression. Ringling renamed the hotel to John Ringling Hotel. Eventually, the Hotel became the Ringling Towers and was vacated was left to the elements. Despite an effort to save and renovate the hotel, it was demolished in 1998.

Burns died on August 22, 1937. He is buried at Rosemary Cemetery but his influence on Sarasota will forever live on.