The Town of Manatee

1842- 1944

Manatee: The Beginning

• Josiah Gates (1802-1871) was the founder of the town of Manatee. He brought his family here in 1842, settling along the banks of Manatee River.

• His family continued to contribute to the area for years to come.

• Other pioneer families included the Pelots, Currys, Glaziers. The families also made major contributions to the eventual settlement of Manatee County.

Josiah Gates in Masonic regalia

A History of Manatee

• The town of Manatee stretched from the east side of 1st Street (U.S. 301) to Braden River.

• Manatee County, established in 1855, originally included all of Hardee, Desoto,

Highlands, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Glades counties. • The Manatee Historical Village recreates what early Manatee might have been

like at the turn of the 20th century. With the exception of the church and courthouse, the buildings on the site are from all over various parts of the county.

• The courthouse, built in 1860 at the behest of Josiah Gates and Ezekiel Glazier,

is the oldest existing courthouse in the state of Florida.

Orange and Banana Plantation, 1903

Plantation with Adams’ Castle, Manatee steamer and Manatee River visible in the top of image.

Adams’ Castle, 1900

Located near the Manatee River in Old Manatee, Major Adams plays with his dog in front of his European-styled mansion. It was also called Villa Zanza. The estate was located just about where Manatee Memorial Hospital is today.

Adams’ Castle and Plantation

Estate, 1895

Major Adams and his dog at the entrance to his home and plantation near the Manatee River, visible behind the house.

Braden Castle,

Old Manatee

Built in the 1840s by Dr. Joseph Braden, a group of people pose in front of the abandoned house in 1890 (left). It was part of a pre-Civil War

sugar plantation. Constructed of tabby, only a few walls of the first-floor level survive (right). This is located off 27th Street East, off State Road 64.

The property is owned by Braden Castle Retirement Park.

Manatee’s Main street

Old Manatee Buildings

• The Stephens House, a Cracker Gothic-style dwelling, was moved from neighboring Desoto County in the early 1980s. It is an excellent example of an early Florida pioneer homestead.

• The Curry houses are located on the Manatee River, not far from the Historical Village, two of which are examples of Civil War-era Florida architecture. The third was built in 1925.

The Stephens’ House (1912)

The 1860 Courthouse

Built by Ezekiel Glazier and Josiah Gates

The 1887 Church

The Wiggins Store

The store before restoration, 1983

The Wiggins Store (continued)

Wiggins (behind the counter with tie and dark vest) with his staff.

The Wiggins Store

King Wiggins The store restored, 1989

Pelot’s Drug Store

1894-present

Looking down Manatee Avenue toward Bradenton (west). Tall building in center is Manatee Supply Company, now Pelot’s Drug Store.

Pelot’s in 1954.

Dr. John Crews Pelot (1831-1917) opened the store in 1894.

Manatee’s Business District,

1900

Looking west from 10th Street East past the Central Hotel at Central Avenue (now 9th Street East)

Manatee’s City Dock,

1900-1910

Manatee’s Town Hall

Photo courtesy Station 2 Innovation: http://station2innovation.com/about/

This building at 7th Avenue East and Manatee Avenue East originally housed Old Manatee’s Town Hall. It included a jail in the rear of the building. In the 1960s, after the merger of the two towns, it housed East Bradenton’s Fire Department. More recently, it is the home of Station 2 Innovation, a business incubator space for small businesses and startups.

Downtown Manatee

at 9th

Street East,

c. 1930s-40s

Manatee Mineral Springs

Used by Native Americans, it was later discovered by Josiah Gates when he moved here in 1842. It served the fledgling community for many years.

Dr. Robert King and the spring in the 1960s.

The Nocatee-Manatee

Crate Mill

In operation from 1921 until the lumber source dried up by the late 1940’s. It manufactured packaging for fruits and vegetables. “Old Cabbage Head” locomotive transported materials from Manatee to Nocatee, in present-day Desoto County (east).

“Old Cabbage Head”

Locomotive

Originally built in 1913, it was purchased by the mill and used from 1948 until the mill’s closure. Its preservation was secured by the Manatee County Historical Society and was restored and placed at the Manatee Historic Village Park, where it still resides. This image is of the wood-burning locomotive at the mill sometime in the 1930’s.

Manatee Burying Ground,

1950-60

Established in 1850, it was closed in 1892 to only immediate family members of those already interred.

Bid for Consolidation

• The city of Manatee had outstanding bond debts the city government was unable to pay.

• By October 1943, a referendum was entered on the November ballot asking Manatee residents to vote on merging the cities of Bradenton and Manatee.

• A concerted effort was made to educate Manatee residents on the advantages/disadvantages of a merger.

Bradenton Herald article and ad, 1943

The Bradenton Herald, October 31, 1943: An ad placed in paper laying out the advantages of merging the two cities.

Nov. 2, 1943: Referendum passes

From Manatee

to East

Bradenton

• The town of Manatee merged with Bradenton in 1944 by voter referendum. Financial problems had befallen the Manatee city authorities, while Bradenton was prospering.

• The old town officially became designated “East Bradenton” by the state legislature decree.

Bradenton Chamber of Commerce ad, Bradenton Herald, January 1944

The Legacy of Manatee

By the 1980s, the area was struggling, and suffered from neglect. Pelot’s Drug Store managed to survive during these difficult times.

The Legacy of Manatee

Manatee Historical Village has kept the memory of the old town alive.

Pelot’s Drug Store (with the old name of Manatee County Supply Company visible on the building) in the 1980s.

Old Manatee Today

• The area has been slowly re-invigorated, with establishments such as Central Café and Braden River Antiques taking up residence. This is looking north on 9th Street East. Old Manatee’s Main Street was at 15th Street East.

Image courtesy, Google Maps 9/28/16

Places to Visit:

• Manatee Historical Village Park: Includes the 1887 church, 1860 courthouse, Bunker Hill schoolhouse, Captain “Bat” Fogarty’s Boatworks barn, “Old Cabbage Head”, a 1913 wood burning locomotive, the Wiggins General Store, and the Vanderipe house (just added, undergoing renovation)

http://www.manateevillage.org/

• Reflections of Manatee: Includes the Curry Houses Historical District, a working sugar cane crop field, and the Manatee Mineral Springs.

http://www.reflectionsofmanatee.org/home.html