Obits
 


Photo's

Do you have any old Photo's of People or Places in Manatee County that you would like to share. Click Here Send me your pictures I will put them online.




This picture of Old Manatee where contributed by Tamara Van Winkle Higgins, Thank You these photo's are wonderful..:)


Anna Maria Island


1967 - Man casting his fishing net against a beautiful horizon on Anna Maria Island, Florida. This picture was used by the Department of Commerce to promote Florida vacationing.

1967 - Young boys watch as a man casts his fishing net on Anna Maria Island, Florida. Picture taken for use by the Department of Commerce to promote Florida vacationing.

Oct. 1927 - Small pond cut off from sea by wave-built sandbar on Anna Maria Island. This picture is part of the Florida Geological Survey Collection.

1950’s - Where life is peaceful ... and fishing good-Anna Maria Island.

1958 - Anna Maria Island, Where life is peaceful ... and fishing good.

1960’s - Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key, Florida.

1960’s - New bridge connecting Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key.

Myakka




1962 - Boating scene on the Myakka River

1962 - Boating scene on the Myakka River

1962 - Boating on the Myakka River

1962 - Boating on the Myakka River

1962 - Children in oxen pulled wagon at Myakka River State Park

1962 - Children in oxen pulled wagon at Myakka River State Park

1959 - Fishing on Myakka River

1959 - Boating on the Upper Lake on the Myakka River.

1959 - Gate house at Myakka City, Florida

1957 - Alligator sunning himself on the banks of the Myakka River.

1956 - Picnic shelter with barbecue pit at Myakka River State Park.

Dec 1948 - Man fishing in the river at Myakka River State Park.

July 4, 1948 - Girls at a picnic at the Myakka River State Park.

1947 - Man paddling a canoe on the river at Myakka River State Park.

1947 - Naturalist Bill Harmon checks pictures in his darkroom that he took at the Myakka River State Park.

1947 - Naturalist Bill Harmon sets camera on "Ladderpod" to shoot woodpecker at Myakka River State Park. He will later hide in the tall grass and pull on string to flash pictures of woodpecker.

July 1947 - Sharing a drink with a deer at Myakka River State Park.

1919 - Forest fire near Lake Myakka burning in many lines and over a vast area about 10 o'clock PM.

1950’s - People camping along the Myakka River.

1940’s - People picnicking along the Myakka River.

1950’s - Boy with deer at Myakka River State Park.

1950 - View of the Myakka River, showing trees and grass along the banks.

1960’s postcard - “Beautiful shell beaches - fine golf course, tennis courts, swimming, excellent fishing, shuffle boards, guests library, studio dining room, low family rates, low weekly rates.”

1958 - Natural History museum along the Myakka River.

1950’s postcard - Wilderness cruise aboard the "Gator Gal" on the Myakka River. The 29,000 acre wildlife refuge, 14 miles east of Sarasota on State Road 72, has tours daily and Sundays.

1950’s - View of the river at Myakka City, Florida.

1960’s - Boat basin at the Manatee River State Park.

1960’s - Picture of the oldest church established in Myakka City, Florida. The State archivist who catalogued this photo made a mistake. The church depicted is actually Old Miakka Methodist Church in Sarasota County.

The Village of Cortez


1918 - Skipjacks unloading fish at Bratton's dock in Cortez, Florida.


1930’s - Fishing boats loaded with the day's catch at Cortez, Florida.


1920’s - The Albion Hotel in Cortez, Florida.


1910 - Gulfview Parlor (Store) in Cortez, Florida. It was later halved and one side was moved.


1950 - Fishermen removing fish from nets at Cortez, Florida.


1950 - Fishermen hauling in the nets at Cortez, Florida.


1940 - Aerial view of trailer park in Cortez, Florida. Located South of Cortez Road and bridge to Anna Maria Island.


1920’s - Steamboat “City of Sarasota” at Cortez, Florida delivering supplies to Bratton’s dock.


1910’s - View of Bratton's dock at Cortez, Florida photographed prior to destruction by the 1921 hurricane.


1950 - Sailors Haven Service Station at Cortez, Florida.




Manatee Co. 1940
Storm damage to homes on the beach.


1940 - Damage to beach houses on Bradenton Beach in Dec. 1940.


1940 - Damage to beach houses on Bradenton Beach in Dec. 1940.




Old pictures of Manatee Co.
Industry and Transportation


1905 - Docks of Bradenton

1913 - Chimney of the Old Craig sugar mill in Ellenton. The Chimney had previously been wrecked by union soldiers during the Civil War.

1911 - Steamboat Favorite at Fuller's Dock in Ellenton, Florida.

Early 1900’s - Fuller's Earth Works in Ellenton

1906 - H.B. Plant Steamboat and packing plants at Snead Island Cutoff. The Snead Island Cutoff was an original depth of 12" and was dredged to a depth of 12' in 1906, to take care of the packing houses on Terra Ceia (also known as Snead Island). The H.B. Plant(no.2) was built by Merrill-Stevens in Jacksonville in 1899. It traveled the Tampa to Manatee River run. The Plant Investment Line owned it until 1903, and the Favorite Line purchased it in 1912. It burned at a Tampa pier in 1913.


1880 - Dr. Joseph Addison Braden's sugar mill in Bradenton. It was destroyed by Union soldiers and abandoned in 1864.


1910’s - Crate Mill in Bradenton.


1880’s - Manatee Light and Traction Company trolleys in car barn in Bradenton with Thomas Gilmore Edmonson at controls.


1940 - Ferry arriving at Piney Point connecting Bradenton and Saint Petersburg.


1960’s - Tropicana's general headquarters and main production plant. The center cluster of buildings is the glass factory and juice filling rooms. Lower right is large cold storage area. Main office is at top right of the picture.


1910 - Manatee River Fleet, Bradentown, Florida. Clockwise from upper left corner: "Pokanoket", "Favorite", "H.B. Plant" and "Manatee" Steam boats. 1949 - Employees in the Lone Palm Preserving Company filling guava jelly into jars in Bradenton, Florida.


1952 - Tropicana's headquarters plant in Bradenton, Florida.


1946 - Old Navy radar cars manufactured by the Miller Trailers, Inc. in Bradenton, Florida.


1926 - Tomato packing house in Bradenton in May 1926.


1890's- Steamship "Margaret" on the Manatee River, Palmetto Region, Florida.


1897-Steamboat "Margaret" owned by Hart Line at the Palmetto dock.


1907- Steamship "Favorite" arriving at the Palmetto dock. William Dormany, the owner and dock master, is on the dock. The Favorite was an excursion ship for the Favorite Steamer Line.


1902- Seaboard Air Line Railway crew on handcar at depot in Palmetto, Florida.


1900- The Zephyr Ferry, First motor launch ferry on the Manatee River run between Bradenton and Palmetto, Florida. It was built by Gulptil in 1898 at Osprey, Florida. It went to pieces at Sneed's Island boat works in 1920.


April 1895- Thomas A. Mitchell Locomotive engine at Palmetto terminal in Palmetto, Florida. "From Palmetto north east to Memphis Hammock (2.5 miles)"


1971-SCL (Seaboard Coast Line Railroad) depot at north end of Big Manatee River Bridge in Palmetto, Florida.


1932- Surprise Oil Company rig : Palmetto, Manatee County


1929- Quarrying "Floridene Stone" at Florida Travertine Company : Samoset Area


1927- Blocks of travertine at quarry near Samoset


1925- The Fred D. Doty, first Bee Line Ferry- First run fromMaximo Point, Pinellas County, to Piney Point, Manatee County February 14, 1926. "Doty" sold as junk in 1932.


Early 1900s-Turpentine still : Manatee County

Old pictures of Manatee Co. & Landmarks


1965 - Judah P. Benjamin Confederate Memorial at Gamble Plantation after restoration.

1902 - Major Robert Gamble mansion in Ellenton, Florida. This is the oldest building on Florida's west coast and the state's only Confederate shrine. It was built between 1845 and 1850 by pioneer planter and soldier Major Robert Gamble. It was constructed of red brick and "tabby". Situated on the Manatee River, the plantation covered 3,500 acres and was engaged in the cultivation of sugar cane and its manufacture into sugar. During the Civil War the refinery was looted and razed by a party from the US Bark "James L. Davis", one of the Federal ships blockading the river. In May 1865 Judah P. Benjamin, Secretary of State for the Confederacy, took refuge in the mansion to escape capture by Federal troops and remained several weeks before escaping to England.

1930 - The old Gamble mansion in Ellenton, Florida. Printed note on back reads: "The Gamble Mansion which was built prior to the Civil War stands in the heart of the little City of Ellenton, surrounded by many interesting landmarks. Mr. Gamble built this colonial mansion on his sugar plantation, then comprising about three thousand acres.......This building stands today as one of the oldest and most historic points of interest in the south. It was in one of the upper chambers of the old mansion that Judiah (Judah) P. Benjamin, Secretary of the Confederacy found a hiding place from the federal army before making his escape to England."

1908 - Old Gamble residence, hiding place of Judah P. Benjamin, on Manatee River.

1908 - Manatee Avenue in Bradenton.


1957 postmark - Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Printed note on back reads: "New $22,000,000 Bridge across Tampa Bay connects St. Petersburg with Bradenton and Palmetto. This central high level bridge is 4.2 miles, the second longest over-water bridge in America, but is less than one-third of the entire 15 mile bridge crossing."


1940’s - Bradenton Beach, Florida.


1940’s - Bradenton trailer park.


1890 - Dr. Joseph Addison Braden's home which he abandoned in 1864. General James G. Cooper obtained the property two years later and lived there until his death.


1904 - Ruins of Dr. Joseph Addison Braden's home which he abandoned in 1864. General James G. Cooper obtained the property two years later. A woods fire destroyed the building, except for the walls, in 1903.


1912 - Docks from the Hotel Manavista on the Manatee River.


Early 1900’s - Woman’s Club in Bradenton.


Early 1900’s - View from the Court House Tower in Bradenton.


1940’s - Green Bridge connecting Palmetto and Bradenton, Florida looking North.


1930’s - Florida National Guard supply room in Bradenton, Florida. (Supply room for 124th Infantry, Company L).


1910 - View of the Manatee River from the north side of Manavista Hotel.


1958 - Aerial view of the Palma Sola Bay bridge in Manatee County, Florida. The photograph shows the recently completed bridge.


1957 - Toll gates of a new Bradenton Beach bridge.


1912 - Major Adams Castle: Bradenton, Florida.


1911 - Main Street of Bradenton = n028382


1958-Aerial view of the Palma Sola Bay bridge : Manatee County


1958-Aerial view of the Manatee River bridge : Manatee County


1954-Sunshine Skyway


1946-Judah P. Benjamin Confederate Memorial at Gamble Plantation : Ellenton


Early 1900's Post Card: Manatee River Bridge, Connecting Bradenton and Palmetto.


1940's- The Green Bridge connecting Palmetto and Bradenton.


1890- J.K. Parrish's store "The Old Reliable" in Palmetto, Florida. It opened in 1885, making it the second store to open in Palmetto.


1960- Aerial view of Palmetto and Manatee River.


Early 1900's- First National Bank, Bradentown, Florida.


1960- Woman feeding Snooty, the manatee, in museum at municipal pier in Bradenton, Florida.


1958- Publix super market in Bradenton, Florida.


1958- First Presbyterian Church in Bradenton, Florida.


1948- De Soto Landing on Manatee River in Bradenton. Hernando de Soto (played by C. Edward Powell) and his conquistador crew desembark from a coastguard cutter for official landing at the public pier.

Old pictures of Manatee Co.
Agriculture & Farming


1907 - Hauling a log by ox-drawn high-wheeler in Bradenton.


1939 - Papaya tree in Manatee County


1939 - Gladioli growing in Manatee County


1929 - Harvesting in celery field : Manatee County


1929 - View of five acre Easter lily field : Manatee County


1929-Dairy herd at a farm : Manatee County


1935 - Bradenton horticultural nursery-FERA project (Federal Emergency Relief Administration)


1934 - Australian pine windbreaks planted around farm lands in Manatee County through the Florida Forest Service.


1940's: Packing oranges at Lenon Company in Palmetto, Florida.


1929 - Crotalaria striata in Palmetto, Florida grown on Mr. Mason's farm. University of Florida. Agricultural Experiment Station.


1906 - Post card picture of Citrus grove of W.D.C. in Oneco, Florida.

Old Pictures of Manatee Co.
People & Schools and Mail Delivery


1920 - Confederate veterans and crowd standing at the Gamble Plantation Judah P. Benjamin Memorial

1920 - Confederate veterans' ceremony at the Gamble Plantation Judah P. Benjamin Memorial

1920 - Confederate veterans' at the Gamble Plantation Judah P. Benjamin Memorial.

1920 - Confederate veterans' at the Gamble Plantation Judah P. Benjamin Memorial.

1920 - Confederate veterans' at the Gamble Plantation Judah P. Benjamin Memorial.

1850’s - Portrait of Confederate Major Robert Gamble in Ellenton, Florida. Maj. Robert Gamble, of Tallahassee and later of Ellenton, Florida, was noted for outstanding bravery at the Battle of the Withlacoochee (1835) during the Second Seminole War. He supervised the building of a huge sugar mill and the Gamble Mansion at Ellenton. During the Civil War, a Federal raiding party from the east Gulf Blockading Squadron blew up the sugar mill. The Mansion is now part of a State Historic Memorial on U.S. Highway 301. Robert Gamble was the son of John G. Gamble of Tallahassee, Florida, noted banker, gentlemen farmer, and promoter.

Early 1800’s - Portrait of John Gratton Gamble. John G. Gamble, of Tallahassee, Florida, was a noted banker, gentlemen farmer, and promoter. He helped found the Union Bank of Florida -- which later failed, ruining him and many others financially. He sent his son, Robert, ahead to Ellenton, Florida, on the Manatee River, where they built what was considered the finest mansion in south Florida. (It later became a state historic memorial.)

Vick Blackstone from Parrish, Florida riding bronco at rodeo.

Vick Blackstone

Faye Blackstone

1920 - Mailman for Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria.


Early 1900’s - Manatee County High School, Bradenton.


1900 - Samuel Ward Stanton (left) in Bradenton, Florida.


1940’s - Frank Chase, Lee Pearson, and L.P. Kirkland in a citrus grove in Manatee County.


1962 - Velma Wiggins, of Bradenton, playing musical bottles at the Florida Folk Festival.


1910 - Samuel Ward Stanton, owner of the Manatee Ferry built in 1882 for runs between Tampa and Manatee. He was 40 years old in the photograph. He Lived on the Manatee River, at Bradenton, from 1884-1904, after which he wintered there, from 1904-1912, when he died going down with the Titanic.


1910- Manatee County school children in front of school.


1900's - Early Bradentown School-Manatee County High School


1900s- Early Manatee Co. Court House


1900s- Manatee Co. School children


1958 - Pauline Pittenger of Bradenton standing with some of her crafts. Pauline Pittenger was born April 19, 1898 and died January 19, 1986 in Bradenton, Florida.


1959 - Portrait of Democrat legislator Ed H. Price, Jr. He served in the Florida State Senate representing the 36th district from 1959 until the 1966 term.


1947 - Portrait of Florida House Representative Walter S. Hardin. He served in the Florida House of Representatives representing Manatee County from 1947 until the 1948 term.


1947 - Portrait of Democrat legislator William Jackson Ray. He served in the Florida State Senate representing the 36th district from 1947 until the 1949 term.


Portrait of Senator M.O. Harrison : Palmetto, Florida- Served: House, Manatee, 1925 and Senate, 36th dist., 1927-1933.


1910 - The Palmetto band in front of a store on old Main Street in Palmetto, Florida.


1900 - Andrew Jackson Sweat in a general store in Palmetto, Florida.


1961 - Portrait of Democrat House Representative Wilbur H. Boyd. He served in the Florida House of Representatives representing Manatee County from 1959 until the1966 term and in the Florida State Senate representing the 28th District in 1966 and 31st District from 1967 to 1972.


1947 - Portrait of Florida House Representative Jesse Ben Fuqua. He served in the Florida House of Representatives representing Manatee County from 1943 until the 1953 term.


1913 - The Literary Association dressed for "The Old Maids Convention" in Palmetto, Florida. Back row: Mrs. Belle Fuchs, Mrs. Edith Howye, Mrs. Clarke, Evelyn Allyn, Nonnie Walker, Lillie Lamb, Mrs. Willie Makie, Mrs. Pugh. Front row: Muriel Powell, Mollie Davis, Edna Nelson, Maggie Prince, Edna Allen, Annie Briggs, Mrs. Hale Whitehead.


March 1957 - U.S. Senator Spessard Lindsey Holland cutting ribbon at Cortez Bridge dedication ceremony at Bradenton Beach, Florida.


1978 - State Senator Bob Graham during workday as a factory worker at the Shepard Truss Company in Bradenton, Florida. Senator Graham is shown during one of his "workdays". His more than 180 jobs include policeman, railroad engineer, construction worker, sponge fisherman, factory worker, social worker, busboy, teacher and newsman. Photographed on February 11, 1978.


1949 - Bradenton as seen from the Manatee River in Oct. 1949.








The individual in the photo is James Layefette Knight,
owner of the store shown...The date is abt 1910, as James does appear in the 1910 census....James and his brother John, plus mother Margaret moved down from Spencer Co Indiana to get land grants, which each brother did...Then alone came The Big Freeze in 1890 or so and wiped them out...James L moved to Manatee and bought this store,,,,,,Would anyone be able to tell me anything about James or family? David Knight

Thanks David for the wonderful photo..



John Henry Willis and Beulah Pauline Boyett
Marriage License Willis Genealogy Page
Pic 1 - Pic 2

Thank You, Terri Willis



Thomas Jefferson Crews [pictured in the article] and his wife, Ava Victoria Bailey Crews. A family Bible indicates that Ava's parents were James Willoughby Bailey and Martha Alderman Bailey. Thanks for the photo's Melissa


H.J. Downing


H.J. Downing Sugar Mill in Parrish
Photo's contributed by Jim Downing.
ThankYou!





These Griggs photo's were contrubited to us by Morris Smith and are .pdf. You will need Adobe in order to view them. Thanks Morris!

Manerva Samantha Jane Griggs Dotson



James Henry Griggs
Nancy C. Harley Griggs


Neomi Griggs


James Griggs


William "Dave" H. Griggs
Luncinda Hayes Griggs




If you find info helpful in your research, a note of thanks to the transcriber is a welcome gesture.

Contact us at any time, we appreciate your feedback and participation! Wendy Summerall Blackburn and Jackie Green Driggers .





Copyright © 2006 Wendy