Anna Maria Island is a seven-mile barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast, bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, Anna Maria Sound, Tampa Bay, and Longboat Pass, and now divided among Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, and Bradenton Beach. It lay within the Safety Harbor culture area before Spanish expeditions passed its shores in the sixteenth century. Permanent settlement began in the mid-nineteenth century and expanded after George Emerson Bean’s homestead and later development by the Anna Maria Beach Company. A bridge built in 1921–22 ended the island’s boat-only isolation and accelerated growth. Known for beaches, wildlife, and maritime ties, it has also faced modern tourism pressures and destructive hurricanes.