Archive for the ‘bradenton’ tag
Historic Manatee Village
Step into pioneer life by exploring the buildings of Bradenton’s earliest settlers
Admission: Free
At Manatee Village Historical Park, explore historic landmarks brought here for preservation, such as the Bat Fogarty Boat Works, the Stephens’ House, and the Wiggins Store. Behind the park (on an adjacent tract outside the fence) is the city’s oldest cemetery, the 1815 Manatee Burying Ground, where most of the county’s earliest settlers are buried. The nearby business district at 9th St E and FL 64 is the heart of Old Manatee, the first settlement in the county. Josiah Gates claimed his homestead here along the river in 1841.
Manatee Village Historical Park
604 15th St E
Bradenton, FL
941-749-7165
Open from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday and on Sundays from 1:30-4:30 P.M. Closed Saturdays. Closed Sundays in July and August.
Antebellum glory at the Gamble Plantation
P
lay Scarlett among the oaks at the antebellum Gamble Plantation
Admission: Free admission to the park. $5 for tour.
Flanked by 300-year-old oaks, the grand entrance to the Gamble Plantation Historic State Park along US 301 is reminiscent of a scene from “Gone With The Wind.” And like the mythical Tara, the last remaining antebellum plantation in South Florida played an important role in the last days of the War Between the States. As one of the first post-statehood settlers in southwest Florida, Major Robert Gamble established his 3,500-acre sugar plantation along the Manatee River in 1843, shipping his finished products downriver and out into the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. Built of tabby (a mix of oyster shells and lime) with walls 2 feet thick, his Greek Revival mansion was designed to trap cool air like a cave and to utilize rainwater cisterns for fresh water.
