Manatee County is located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the Sarasota metropolitan area. Its county seat and largest city is Bradenton, Florida. The county was created in 1855 and named for the West Indian manatee, Florida's official marine mammal. Features of Manatee County include access to the southern part of the Tampa Bay estuary, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and the Manatee River.
History
Prehistoric history The area now known as Manatee County had been inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years. Shell middens and other archaeological digs have been conducted throughout the county, including at Terra Ceia and Perico Island. These digs revealed materials belonging to peoples from the Woodland period.
European exploration and early settlement
Some historians have suggested that the southern mouth of the Manatee River was the landing site of the De Soto Expedition.Bullen. p. 7
Due to conflict during the Patriot War and First Seminole War, many Native American and African American refugees fled to the Tampa Bay region of Florida, and some settled in now-Manatee County.Oldham, Vickie, Looking for Angola The settlement they founded on the Manatee River was called Angola.Eger, Issac, Angola Highlights Florida’s History as a Haven for Escaped Enslaved People: The settlement has been called one of the most significant historical sites in Florida and perhaps the United States, Sarasota Magazine, October 19, 2023 By 1819, the population of Angola may have reached as high as 700 people.Time Sifters, Remembering The Manatee River Maroons Of 1821: Heritage, Archaeology, and Digital Reconstructions, Time Sifters Archaeology Society, Sarasota, Florida
The Manatee area was opened to settlement in 1842 with the passing of the federal Armed Occupation Act. Early settlements included the Manatee Colony led by Colonel Samuel Reid that numbered 31 individuals, both black and white. Other prominent early settlers were Joseph and Hector Braden who moved into an area near the Manatee River in 1842. The two had lost their land for their plantations in Northern Florida during the Panic of 1837. They were said to have heard that land in the area was abundant. The brothers moved into a log cabin five miles north of the mouth of the Manatee River. Four years later, Hector drowned while trying to cross the Manatee River on his horse during a hurricane. Despite this tragic event, Joseph decided he would still build the Braden sugar mill at the mouth of the Manatee and Braden Rivers. He later built a dock where Main Street was and fortified the area near his house by building a stockade. A few years later in 1851, he built the Braden Castle, which was made out of tabby and served as his residence. In spring of 1856, the fortified home was attacked by Seminole Indians during the Third Seminole War. It later became a popular tourist attraction in the early 1900s with Tin Can Tourists. He only stayed there for the next six years before moving to Tallahassee.
County formation and development Manatee County was carved out from a vast Hillsborough County in January 1855 and led by Florida Senate President Hamlin V. Snell. The new county covered 5,000 square miles and included all of what are now Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Highlands, part of Lee, and Sarasota Counties. The original county seat was Manatee, a village on the southern shore of the Manatee River in what now is eastern Bradenton. In 1866, the county seat was moved from the village of Manatee to Pine Level, as a result of a referendum mandated by the Florida Legislature. In 1887, the county seat was moved again due to the creation of DeSoto County within the existing boundaries. Braiden Town (Bradenton) was selected as the new county seat by referendum of the county residents who mostly resided near the Manatee River. In 1921, Sarasota County was created by the Florida Legislature, which further reduced Manatee County to its current boundaries.
American Civil War Following the Seminole Wars, Manatee County continued to grow in both population and economic output. Hogs and some sheep were raised, but the land was primarily used for cattle raising. The cattle-to-person ratio in Manatee County in 1860 was 37 to one. Processed sugar and molasses were produced and exported. This agricultural economy, like much of the south, was increasingly becoming reliant on slave labor. A federal census in 1860 showed that the county had a population of 601 white people and 214 enslaved black people. After the outbreak of the American Civil War, Manatee County provided supplies to the Confederate army. Aside from the Union blockade, the Federal army dispatched raiding parties throughout Florida to further limit the Confederate supply chain. For example in August 1864, the Union schooner USS Stonewall came up the Manatee River on a raid. According to the Florida State Archives, Dr. Braden's sugar works were destroyed during the raid. However, another source states that Braden's property was left untouched.
According to a partial list of soldiers of the Confederate States of America, the county also sent at least 100 of its citizens to fight. Some of the men from Manatee were recruited to the 7th Florida Infantry Regiment, which fought as part of the Army of Tennessee.
Within Manatee County is the Gamble Plantation, a sugar plantation and home of Major Robert Gamble. Following the Civil War, in May 1865, the Confederate secretary of state, Judah P. Benjamin, took refuge at the mansion for several weeks before escaping to England.
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (17%) are covered by water.
Adjacent counties Hillsborough County – north Polk County – northeast Hardee County – east DeSoto County – southeast Sarasota County – south
State and nationally protected areas
De Soto National Memorial Lake Manatee State Park Madira Bickel Mound State Archaeological Site Myakka River State Park Passage Key National Wildlife Refuge Terra Ceia Preserve State Park Wingate Creek State Park Pillsbury Mound Preserve
Rivers Manatee River Wares Creek Braden River Gamble Creek Bowlees Creek
Lakes Ward Lake Lake Parrish Lake Manatee
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 399,710 and 168,437 households. Of those households, 23.1% had children under 18, 49.3% were married-couple households, 16.6% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, 27.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, 27.9% were someone living alone, with 15.5% 65 or older.
The median age was 49.4 years; 18.3% of residents were under 18 and 27.9% were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 72.3% White, 8.0% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 6.6% from some other race, and 10.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 17.8% of the population.
About 95.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.7% lived in rural areas.
Of the 206,633 housing units, 18.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.0% were owner-occupied and 29.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.8%.
The median income for a household in the county was $59,963 in 2020, with a per capita income in the past 12 months of $35,146. A reported 10.9% of the population lived in poverty.
Racial and ethnic composition
+Manatee County, Florida – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)131,276184,568212,664236,950273,10188.44%87.18%80.55%73.40%68.32%Black or African American alone (NH)13,10615,97121,13627,22831,1478.83%7.54%8.01%8.43%7.79%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)2594395276087790.17%0.21%0.20%0.19%0.19%Asian alone (NH)4051,1922,3305,2038,4330.27%0.56%0.88%1.61%2.11%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census92168246xx0.03%0.05%0.06%Other race alone (NH)2111132535211,5830.14%0.05%0.10%0.16%0.40%Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2,4604,20013,442xx0.93%1.30%3.36%Hispanic or Latino (any race)3,1859,42424,54047,95570,9792.15%4.45%9.30%14.85%17.76%Total148,442211,707264,002322,833399,710 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
Economy Bealls of Florida has its headquarters and was founded 1915 in unincorporated Manatee County."Contact Us ." Bealls (Florida). Retrieved on December 14, 2009."Samoset CDP, Florida." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on December 14, 2009.
Tropicana was founded in Manatee County in the 1950s.Hawkins, R. Rossi, Anthony Talamo (1900-1993), businessman. American National Biography. Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://www-anb-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1002203. Tropicana was bought by PepsiCo in 2001. PepsiCo sold Tropicana to a French private equity firm in 2021.
Libraries
The Manatee County Public Library System offers a collection of adult, young adult, and children's materials, as well as a genealogy section and a local history collection in the form of the Eaton Florida History Reading Room. Public computers are available at all library locations. The library also has a digital collection that includes e-books through OverDrive, Inc. and Libby; television shows, movies and more e-books through Hoopla; and magazines through Flipster; and local images and documents from the late nineteenth century to the early 1980s.
The libraries also offer author luncheons, children's story times, summer reading programs, job fairs, and book discussion groups.
The library system serves the county in seven locations: Central - Bradenton Palmetto - Palmetto Braden River - Bradenton Island - Holmes Beach South Manatee - Bradenton Rocky Bluff - Ellenton Lakewood Ranch - Bradenton Talking Book Library is administered through the Bureau of Braille and Talking Books Library, Daytona
In September 2021, a seventh branch was approved by county commissioners, to be built in Lakewood Ranch. The library's grand opening was on January 12, 2024.
Library cards are free to those who reside, own property, attend school, or work in Manatee County. Non-residents may obtain a temporary card upon payment of a $25.00 annual fee.http://www.mymanatee.org/home/government/departments/neighborhood-services/library/locations-hours.html| "Locations and Hours: Manatee County Public Library System" Retrieved April 19, 2013
Manatee County participates in the Little Free Library program. Several Little Free Libraries are at parks and other public places around the county.
History of libraries