Old Manatee A to Z

Ol Manate

Written by Ryan G. Van Cleave

Illustrated by Don Brandes

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,

including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher,

except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

ISBN: 978-1-7338746-1-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020906470

Old Manatee A to Zis a children’s book that highlights the rich history and natural environment of the

area where Bradenton, Florida was founded.

A Realize Bradenton Production

For more information, please contact info@realizebradenton.com

www.RealizeBradenton.com

Written by Ryan G. Van Cleave

Illustrations by Don Brandes

Illustrations rendered in colored pencil and tissue paper

Graphic Design by Paula Murray, Artefact Design, Inc.

Photographs courtesy of Manatee County Public Library System Digital Collection

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Note to the reader: This book’s purpose is to educate, inform and entertain.

The subject matter was drawn from a variety of sources and is presented as accurately as research and

recollection permits.

Ol Manate

A Realize Bradenton Production

Written by Ryan G. Van Cleave

Illustrated by Don Brandes

Ol Manate

Let’s adventure

through Old Manatee!

is for

Adventure.

is for Boat.

Before roads, people in Old

Manatee relied on boats to get

around. Most had more than

one boat, the way families

today often have more than

one car.

is for Crate Mill.

Wooden crates were built at a mill in Old

Manatee. The crates were used to ship

oranges, celery, and tomatoes up north.

is for Dock.

Since boats were

a popular way to

travel, people in

Old Manatee used

docks to “park” their

boats.

is for Dock.

is for Egret.

Great Egrets stand

as still as statues

when hunting for

food.

is for Freedom

Seekers.

People escaping slavery often created their

own communities. Before becoming Old

Manatee, there was a community called Angola

where hundreds of freedom seekers built

houses, grew crops, and raised families.

is for Freedom

Seekers.

is for Gazebo.

Early settlers worked

together to build a big gazebo in

Old Manatee. Gazebos are wonderful

places for picnics, parties, and concerts.

is for Horse.

Cattle drivers and farm owners used the

speedy Florida Cracker Horse to herd cattle.

is for Ice Cream

Social.

Ice cream socials were popular Old Manatee

events. People ate chocolate and vanilla, but

also tea and oyster-ﬂavored ice cream.

Would YOU eat oyster-ﬂavored ice cream?

is for Jacks.

Jacks was a popular game in Old

Manatee and is still played by

children today.

is for Key.

Keys, like the ones we use today, were

invented in the 1840s. Anyone who needed

keys probably had them made by the Old

Manatee blacksmith, Thomas Kenney.

is for Landmark.

A landmark is an easily recognized building or place.

The remaining historic landmarks of Old Manatee are

identiﬁed with signs like this one.

is for Manatee.

Old Manatee was named after the gentle “sea cows”

that thrived in the Manatee River.

Native

Americans.

is for

Many Native Americans hunted, ﬁshed,

and lived along the Manatee River.

is for Oyster.

There used to be so many oysters in the

Manatee River that it was once called

the Oyster River.

is for Pumpkin.

People in Old Manatee loved to eat pumpkins.

They planted them at the base of trees, and the

vines would climb, so full-grown pumpkins

eventually dangled from the branches.

is for Quilt.

Women and girls of Old Manatee often came

together to host quilting bees. At these gatherings,

they made blankets and bedcovers as gifts

for weddings and other special days.

is for Railroad.

The most famous steam-engine

locomotive in Manatee County was

“Old Cabbage Head.” It was driven by

Florida’s ﬁrst Black train conductor,

Solomon Williams.

How do you think Old Cabbage Head

got its name?

is for Railroad.

is for Spring.

For hundreds of years, people believed

that Manatee Mineral Spring had

magical healing powers.

is for Tin Can

Tourist.

Tin Can Tourists drove cars and trailers from northern

states to Florida to avoid the cold winter.

Do you think their vehicles looked like tin cans?

Or did the name come from tourists eating so many

meals out of tin cans?

is for

Underwater.

Beneath the Manatee River is a meadow

of seagrass that’s home to all kinds of

creatures. See for yourself!

is for

Villa Zanza.

Did you know there was a castle

in Old Manatee? It took Civil War

veteran Major Alden Adams seven

years to build Villa Zanza.

is for

Wiggins Store.

The settlers of Old Manatee got groceries

and supplies at Wiggins Store. Since there

were no phones or the internet then, people

gathered there to talk, laugh, and play.

marks the spot!

What would you ﬁnd if you could go back in time to

visit Old Manatee when the settlers ﬁrst lived there?

is for You!

What interests YOU most about

Old Manatee?

is for

Zebra

Longwing.

The graceful Zebra Longwing often

ﬂitted on the breeze in Old Manatee.

It became the ocial butterﬂy of the

State of Florida.

This is a photo of the Manatee Crate Company from 1926.

The Manatee Crate Company opened for business in 1920 in

Old Manatee. They made hampers, orange boxes, and celery

and tomato crates. The Crate Company was able to produce

more than 20,000 crates a day. During a lumber shortage,

they switched to making cardboard boxes which were cheaper

to create, transport, and store. The Manatee Crate Company

closed their doors in 1952.

This is a photo of the steam engine locomotive aectionately

nicknamed “Old Cabbage Head.” The engine was constructed in

1913; however, it didn’t arrive in Manatee County until 1948.

Constructed of steel, oak, and yellow pine, this particular engine

had a uniquely shaped smokestack, which lead to its iconic

nickname. While in operation by the Manatee Crate Company,

Old Cabbage Head traveled east, where it collected cut timber,

and then returned to the mill where the timber was used to build

crates. Under the operation of Solomon Williams, Florida’s ﬁrst

Black train engineer, Old Cabbage Head traveled the rails until it

was retired in 1951.

This a photo from the early 1900s of the gazebo at the

Manatee Mineral Spring Park in Old Manatee. The gazebo

was surrounded by three shell mounds, which were removed

and the shell was used for paving roads.

This photo of the City Dock of Manatee, dated between 1900-

1910, shows a steamboat named H. B. Plant. The Manatee

River was the main transportation route for Manatee County,

but navigation was challenged by the shallow water near the

shoreline. Docks were built to extend out into deeper water to

allow large boats access to Old Manatee.

is for Crate mill.

is for Railroad.

is for Dock.

is for Gazebo.

is for Crate mill.

is for Gazebo.

is for Dock.

is for Railroad.

In this 1905 photo, people pose near the staircase of Villa Zanza,

also known as Adams Castle. Major Alden Adams—a veteran

of the Union Army during the Civil War and a newspaper

correspondent from New York City—moved to Manatee County

in 1876. Over time, he became the largest landowner, owning

more than 300,000 acres in the county. In 1881, Major Adams

began building a 16-room concrete building shaped like a castle

that overlooked the Manatee River on a high blu. At the end of

seven years, this three-story home of Spanish architecture was

ﬁnally complete.

This 1915 photo captures the Tin Can Tourist Camp at Braden

Castle, part of Dr. Braden’s antebellum sugar plantation.

The origin of the term “tin can tourist” isn’t clear. Some

have suggested that it refers to the campers’ reliance upon

canned foods. Others believe the name refers to the small Ford

automobile of the era, the Model T. The Tin Can Tourists (TCT)

ﬁrst organized as a camping club in Tampa, Florida, in 1919.

Today, the Milford, Michigan-based group has a membership in

excess of 2,000.

The interior of the K.W. “King” Wiggins Store is featured in this

photo dated 1911-1915. At the turn of the century, if you wanted

the best selection of groceries, dry goods, and gadgets in Manatee

County, you came here. King Wiggins, an entrepreneur in business

and agriculture, built his original store in 1903. The Wiggins Store

became a gathering spot for the Manatee community. Customers

lingered to catch up on village news, listen to Wiggins’ phonograph, or

play a game of checkers.

is for Tin Can Tourists.

is for Villa Zanza.

is for Wiggins Store.

is for Tin Can Tourists.

is for Villa Zanza.

is for Wiggins Store.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

— DR. SEUSS, I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!

The Champions of Education believe that children are our future.

These Champions have invested in our community’s youth and education by partnering with Realize

Bradenton in this ﬁrst-ever children’s book about Bradenton, Florida.

Reading a book about our community takes on special meaning when learning about the history, people,

plants, landmarks, and animals of the area where the City of Bradenton was founded.

Annie & Alex Breitinger

Realize Bradenton believes that our community’s history, art, and stories create a place where children and the

adults in their lives—parents, aunties, grandparents, neighbors, teachers, and friends— want to live and learn.

As a nonproﬁt organization, we work with our partners, volunteers, and donors to build a vibrant, healthy,

and FUN Bradenton.

Here are business partners that make our work possible:

INSURANCE &

INVESTMENTS

BOYD

social

SOKOS

CMY

feld-logo-B&W-vector.pdf 1 8/20/2018 1:33:31 PM

Champion o Educatio

BUSINESS INNOVATORS

DOWNTOWN CHAMPIONS

In Memory of Morris D. Zeigler

Bud & Marjorie Martini

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

—HELEN KELLER

Realize Bradenton believes that a book created about the community, by the community, for the community is a

unique opportunity for all generations to embark on a journey through the alphabet to discover more about the

people, places, plants, and animals of the place where the City of Bradenton was founded—Old Manatee.

This picture book builds reading readiness, promotes family connections, and boosts civic pride. Content from

this book also comes alive as public art at the Riverwalk East Park.

Realize Bradenton is honored that an anonymous out-of-state foundation believes in Realize Bradenton and

our ability to make a dierence to the children in our community. Their generosity provided the start-up

funds to make this book a reality.

Realize Bradenton coordinated the team of 12 individuals and enlisted their talents to create Old Manatee A to Z:

Ryan G. Van Cleave is the

author of 20+ books and

heruns the kidlit blogwww.

OnlyPictureBooks.com. He also

directs the Creative Writing

Program at Ringling College of

Art and Design.

Don Brandes decided to be an

artist sometime around the

2ndgrade. He met his wife Katy

when they were illustrators at

Hallmark Cards. They have two

sons and now work at Ringling

College of Art and Design.

Acknowledgement

Paula Murray,

Creative Director,

Artefact Design, Inc.

CathySlusser,

Retired Director of Historical

Resources, Manatee County

Clerk of Circuit Court

Phaedra Dolan,

Deputy Director, Historical

Resources, Manatee County

Clerk of Circuit Court

Jodi Carroll, Special

Projects Manager,

Realize Bradenton

Krystin Miner,

Records Librarian for

Manatee County Clerk

of Circuit Court

Catherine Ferrer,

Community Engagement

Coordinator, Realize

Bradenton

David Breakﬁeld,

Manatee County

Librarian

Johnette Isham,

Executive Director,

Realize Bradenton

Sherry Robinson Svekis,

Vice President of Reﬂections

of Manatee

Karen Fraley Willey,

Naturalist,Around the

Bend Nature Tours LLC

A REALIZE BRADENTON PRODUCTION

Purchase this book at www.shop.realizebradenton.com