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. 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. The settlement they founded on the Manatee River was called
Angola. By 1819, the population of Angola may have reached as high as 700 people. 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. 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.
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==