Lakewood Ranch is a very successful and rapidly developing new Town. It is unincorporated and lies in both Manatee and Sarasota Counties east of I-75 and north of Fruitville and south of FL Route 64. It is serviced by four interchanges on I-5 - Rt 64, Rt 70, University, and Fruitville.

The area originally was assembled in 1905 by John Schroeder as Schroeder-Manatee Ranch (SMR). The land was purchased by members of Milwaukee's Uihlein family in 1922 for ranch operations such as timber and cattle. As of 2020 it contained roughly 35,000 people.

The community is well named. It has a large number of lakes, woods, and ranches.

The community is well planned.