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Selby Gardens' New Exhibit Pays Tribute to George Harrison

An old sepia photograph of Marie Selby hangs on a wall at the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation. That image tells volumes about the woman for whom the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens—and the Selby Public Library, the YMCA’s Selby Aquatic Center and so many other local institutions—are named.

In the photo, Selby is standing in front of her modest two-story Spanish-style house—the Selby House now at the heart of Selby Gardens—wearing a striped cotton dress and—as in the photo above—playing with her dog. If the unassuming, nature-loving Selby could today gaze upon the gardens she bequeathed to the city, which have become an internationally acclaimed research center as well as a thriving tourist attraction, and are soon to undergo a $67 million expansion, she would probably be as astonished as she would be pleased.

With a fortune earned from his partnership with his father in the Selby Oil and Gas Company, which later merged with Texaco, William and Marie were one of Sarasota’s two wealthiest couples in the early part

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Honoring Marie Selby

As it’s Mother’s Day this weekend, Marie Selby, the “Mother of Selby Gardens”, is honored in this week’s segment. Even before moving to Sarasota, she had been an accomplished pianist as well as one of the first women to travel cross country in an automobile. Find out more about this amazing person and why she was named a Great Floridian by the State.

Selby Gardens is featured weekly on ABC7 News at Noon. Tune in Thursdays to see more informative segments like this one.

The name of the Selby family is found throughout Sarasota, from libraries and art galleries to community gathering spots, including our own Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. The bayfront property owned by Marie and her late husband, Bill, was willed to the people of Sarasota in 1971 so others could enjoy the natural world amid the city bustle. On this Mother’s Day, we’d like to introduce you to the woman behind the Gardens – Marie Selby, the mother of Selby Gardens.
Marie was born in West Virginia in 1885, but her given name was not Marie – it was Maria

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William G. and Marie Selby

Two Very Special Residents From Our Past

For a couple whose name is now well-known in Sarasota, William and Marie Selby sparked little press coverage during their early years in the city.

The high school sweethearts married in 1908 in Marietta, Ohio, and the following year William (Bill) brought his bride to Sarasota's Belle Haven Inn (where the Orange Blossom building stands today). He had visited the area earlier and used the hotel as headquarters for hunting and fishing trips into the wilds of Florida.

During the first year of their marriage, Bill and Marie paid close attention to the first transcontinental automobile race between Seattle and New York City. That sparked them to travel the same course themselves in a well-stocked touring car with spare parts and camping equipment. They made the trip in six days less than the car that won the race! Marie Selby became the first woman to cross the country by automobile.

Marie found the rural community and open spaces in Florida not unfamiliar, and joined Bill in his expeditions out from Sarasota