1,500 -2,000 Federal troops
109-524: Emerson Point Preserve is a 365-acre (1.48 km) preserve in Manatee County , Florida , located west of Palmetto and at the western end of Snead Island . The majority of Emerson Point was undeveloped until preliminary site plans were submitted to the County in the early 1980s for an eight-story condo on a three-acre site at the tip of Emerson Point. Due to local opposition, the County suspended
218-677: A Carnegie Library in Palmetto in 1914 and another in Bradenton in 1918. For much of the twentieth century, both cities' libraries were free to city residents while county residents had to pay a non-resident fee. In 1964, the Bradenton and Palmetto library associations merged with the Manatee County government to create the Manatee County Public Library System. This was followed by the establishment of
327-648: A French private equity firm in 2021. 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
436-558: A Republican stronghold following World War II and has remained so since: the last Democrat to win Manatee County was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 . During the peak of the Socialist Party 's prominence in the early 20th century, Manatee County would elect the only socialist to the state legislature , Andrew Jackson Pettigrew to the Florida House of Representatives in 1906 for one term defeating John A. Graham (who
545-547: A bookmobile for rural areas in 1964 and a Talking Books program for the blind in 1966. As demands on the bookmobile grew and the library collection outstripped the existing buildings in Bradenton and Palmetto, the first branch of the Manatee County Public Library system was built in Bayshore in 1967, followed by a new branch on East Ninth Street in 1969 and an Island branch in 1971, the last of which
654-649: A customs house at Mobile Bay in 1804 were dropped in the face of Spanish protests. The United States also hoped to acquire all of the Gulf coast east of Louisiana, and plans were made to offer to buy the remainder of West Florida (between the Perdido and Apalachicola rivers) and all of East Florida. It was soon decided, however, that rather than paying for the colonies, the United States would offer to assume Spanish debts to American citizens in return for Spain ceding
763-749: A fort at Prospect Bluff . This British Post at Prospect Bluff harbored Native American refugees from the Creek War following their demise at the Battle of Horsehoe Bend. A company of Royal Marines , commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Nicolls , was to subsequently arrive, but was invited to relocate to Pensacola in late August 1814. It was estimated, by Captain Nicholas Lockyer of HMS Sophie , that in August 1814 there were 1,000 Indians at Pensacola, of whom 700 were warriors. Two months after
872-508: A new East County library, which was to serve the community of Lakewood Ranch. The new library was scheduled to open mid-2023. The new library, dubbed the Lakewood Ranch Library, had its grand opening on January 12, 2024. Manatee County has a county transportation service, MCAT . It serves this county, Pinellas County , and Sarasota County . Manatee County is part of the strongly Republican Sun Belt . The area became
981-597: A new building in 1997. The Rocky Bluff location would be moved to a larger location, featuring a built in café, in 2011. The new location is still physically within Ellenton. The additions as well as investment into various technologies such as modern computers, a 3-D Printing Lab, as well as new loanable items, brings Manatee County Libraries to its modern services. Reciprocal borrowing began in 2000 between Manatee and Sarasota County Libraries, which would be followed by statewide reciprocal borrowing programs. Starting in 2017,
1090-740: A policy of providing refuge to runaway slaves in an attempt to weaken the British Southern Colonies . Hundreds of Black people escaped slavery to Florida over the ensuing decades, with most settling near St. Augustine at Fort Mose and a few living amongst the Seminole, who treated them with varying levels of equality. Their numbers increased during and after the American War of Independence , and it became common to find settlements of Black Seminoles either near Seminole towns or living independently, such as at Negro Fort on
1199-533: A promise of arms and continued defense. On 16 March 1812, this force of "Patriots", with the aid of nine U.S. Navy gunboats , seized the town of Fernandina on Amelia Island , just south of the border with Georgia, approximately 50 miles north of St. Augustine. On March 17, the Patriots and the town's Spanish authorities signed articles of capitulation. The next day, a detachment of 250 regular United States troops were brought over from Point Peter, Georgia, and
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#17327981846311308-542: A raid on Payne's Town, the chief town of the Alachua Seminoles. Smith's force found a few Indians, but the Alachua Seminoles had abandoned Payne's Town and moved southward. After burning Payne's Town, Smith's force returned to American held territory. Negotiations concluded for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 1813. On May 6, 1813, the army lowered the flag at Fernandina and crossed the St. Marys River to Georgia with
1417-405: A single nation of American Indians independent of both Spain and the United States, until 1803 when both nations conspired to entrap its founder. Mikasukis and other Seminole groups still occupied towns on the United States side of the border, while American squatters moved into Spanish Florida. The British had divided Florida into East Florida and West Florida in 1763, a division retained by
1526-527: A stream of refugees relocating to depopulated areas of Florida. A majority of these refugees were Muscogee (Creek) Indians from Georgia and Alabama, and during the 1700s, they came together with other native peoples to establish independent chiefdoms and villages across the Florida panhandle as they coalesced into a new culture which became known as the Seminoles. Beginning in the 1730s, Spain established
1635-556: A temporary card upon payment of a $ 25.00 annual fee. Manatee County participates in the Little Free Library program. There are several Little Free Libraries at parks and other public places around the county. Manatee County's first public library was a privately owned rental library created by Julia Fuller at the Mrs. Bass Dry Goods store in 1898. The county's first independent library opened in Bradenton in 1907, followed
1744-491: Is a county in the U.S. state of Florida . As of the 2020 U.S. Census , the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . Its county seat and largest city is Bradenton . The county was created in 1855 and named for the Florida manatee , Florida's official marine mammal . Features of Manatee County include access to
1853-625: Is home to several Native American mounds in the Portavant Mound Site. The preserve also has an observation tower that provides views of Terra Ceia Bay, Tampa Bay , and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge . This article about a location in Manatee County , Florida is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Florida protected area related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Manatee County, Florida Manatee County
1962-602: Is now Alachua County , an area where the Spanish had maintained cattle ranches in the 17th century. Because one of the best-known ranches was called la Chua , the region became known as the " Alachua Prairie ". The Spanish in Saint Augustine began calling the Alachua Creek Cimarrones , which roughly meant "wild ones" or "runaways". This was the probable origin of the term "Seminole". This name
2071-572: The Apalachicola River . The presence of a nearby refuge for free Africans was considered a threat to the institution of chattel slavery in the southern United States, and settlers in the border states of Mississippi and Georgia in particular accused the Seminoles of inciting slaves to escape and then stealing their human property. In retaliation, plantation owners organized repeated raids into Spanish Florida in which they captured Africans they accused of being escaped slaves and harassed
2180-555: The Big Cypress Swamp to live on land considered unsuitable by American settlers. The original indigenous peoples of Florida declined significantly in number after the arrival of European explorers in the early 1500s, mainly because the Native Americans had little resistance to diseases newly introduced from Europe. Spanish suppression of native revolts further reduced the population in northern Florida until
2289-612: The Florida Wars ) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which coalesced in northern Florida during the early 1700s, when the territory was still a Spanish colonial possession. Tensions grew between the Seminoles and American settlers in the newly independent United States in
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#17327981846312398-911: The Indian Removal Act (1830). After several ultimatums and the departure of a few Seminole clans per the Treaty of Payne's Landing (1832), hostilities commenced in December 1835 with the Dade battle and continued for the next several years with a series of engagements throughout the peninsula and extending to the Florida Keys . Though the Seminole fighters were at a tactical and numerical disadvantage, Seminole military leaders effectively used guerrilla warfare to frustrate United States military forces, which eventually numbered over 30,000 regulars, militiamen and volunteers. General Thomas Sidney Jesup
2507-774: The Indian Removal Act of 1830 . A few bands reluctantly complied but most resisted violently, leading to the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), which was by far the longest and most wide-ranging of the three conflicts. Initially, less than 2000 Seminole warriors employed hit-and-run guerilla warfare tactics and knowledge of the land to evade and frustrate a combined U.S. Army and Marine force that grew to over 30,000. Instead of continuing to pursue these small bands, American commanders eventually changed their strategy and focused on seeking out and destroying hidden Seminole villages and crops, putting increasing pressure on resisters to surrender or starve with their families. Most of
2616-592: The Louisiana Purchase included West Florida and gave the United States a strong claim to Texas. President Jefferson asked U.S. officials in the border area for advice on the limits of Louisiana, the best informed of whom did not believe it included West Florida. Later, in an 1809 letter, Jefferson virtually admitted that West Florida was not a possession of the United States. During his negotiations with France, U.S. envoy Robert Livingston wrote nine reports to Madison in which he stated that West Florida
2725-576: The Panic of 1837 . They were said to have heard that there was abundant land in the area. 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 River and
2834-462: The U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 893 square miles (2,310 km ), of which 743 square miles (1,920 km ) is land and 150 square miles (390 km ) (17%) is water. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 399,710 people, 150,345 households, and 99,157 families residing in the county. By age, the population was spread out as such: 4.6% under 5 years old, 18.0% under 18 years old, and 28.1% 65 years and over. 51.7% of
2943-484: The indigenous peoples of Florida caused a steep decline in the original native population over the following century, and most of the remaining Apalachee and Tequesta peoples settled in a series of missions spread out across north Florida. Spain never established real control over its vast claim outside of the immediate vicinity of its scattered missions and the towns of St. Augustine and Pensacola , however, and British settlers established several colonies along
3052-588: The Atlantic coast during the 1600s. After the establishment of the Province of Carolina in the late 17th century, a series of raids by British settlers from the Carolinas and their Indian allies into Spanish Florida devastated both the mission system and the remaining native population. British settlers repeatedly came into conflict with Native Americans as the colonies expanded further westward, resulting in
3161-764: The Braden River. 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 would only stay there for
3270-673: The British and their Indian allies were beaten back from an attack on Fort Bowyer near Mobile , a U.S. force led by General Jackson drove the British and Spanish out of Pensacola , and back to the Apalachicola River. They managed to continue work on the fort at Prospect Bluff. When the War of 1812 ended, all British forces left the Gulf of Mexico except for Nicolls and his forces in Spanish West Florida. He directed
3379-763: 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 was 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
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3488-609: The Florida coast. In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida, Manuel de Montiano, had Fort Mose built and established as a free Black settlement. Fugitive African and African American slaves who could reach the fort were essentially free. Many were from Pensacola; some were free citizens, though others had escaped from United States territory. The Spanish offered the slaves freedom and land in Florida. They recruited former slaves as militia to help defend Pensacola and Fort Mose. Other fugitive slaves joined Seminole bands as free members of
3597-634: The Floridas. The American position was that it was placing a lien on East Florida in lieu of seizing the colony to settle the debts. In 1808, Napoleon invaded Spain, forced Ferdinand VII , King of Spain, to abdicate, and installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King. Resistance to the French invasion coalesced in a national government, the Cortes of Cádiz . This government then entered into an alliance with Britain against France. This alliance raised fears in
3706-681: The Isle of Orleans, the French government offered to sell it and all of Louisiana as well. While the purchase of Louisiana exceeded their authorization, Livingston and James Monroe (who had been sent to help him negotiate the sale) in the deliberations with France pursued a claim that the area east of the Mississippi to the Perdido River was part of Louisiana. As part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase treaty, France repeated verbatim Article 3 of its 1800 treaty with Spain, thus expressly subrogating
3815-526: The Manatee County library system began offering items including musical instruments, tools, telescopes, binoculars, cake pans, hotspots, and museum passes. During the COVID-19 Pandemic , the library system began offering WiFi hotspots to patrons in order to provide internet service remotely to work safely and at home. This began in Spring of 2020. On December 15, 2021, the county broke ground for
3924-563: The Mississippi and Perdido Rivers, based on the tenuous claim that it was part of the Louisiana Purchase. Madison authorized William C. C. Claiborne , governor of the Territory of Orleans , to take possession of the territory. He entered the capital of St. Francisville with his forces on December 6, 1810, and Baton Rouge on December 10, 1810. The West Florida government opposed annexation, preferring to negotiate terms to join
4033-790: The Patriot Army and was the President of the Legislative Council of the Territory of East Florida. Harris became the leader of a small band of Patriots who roamed the countryside threatening residents who had accepted pardons from the Spanish government. Buckner Harris developed a plan to establish a settlement in the Alachua Country with financial support from the State of Georgia, the cession of land by treaty from
4142-415: The Patriot Army, but King Payne and others held out for peace. The Seminoles were not happy with Spanish rule, comparing their treatment under the Spanish unfavorably with that received from the British when they held Florida. Ahaya , or Cowkeeper, King Payne's predecessor, had sworn to kill 100 Spaniards, and on his deathbed lamented having killed only 84. At a second conference with the Patriot Army leaders,
4251-551: The Patriots could have made no progress but for the protection of the U.S. forces and could not have maintained their position in the country without the aid of the U.S. troops. The American troops and Patriots acted in close concert, marching, camping, foraging and fighting together. In this way, the American troops sustained the Patriots, who, however, were unable to take the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine . As soon as
4360-427: The Patriots surrendered the town to Gen. George Mathews, who had the U.S. flag raised immediately. As agreed, the Patriots held Fernandina for only one day before turning authority over to the U.S. military, an event that soon gave the U.S. control of the coast to St. Augustine. Within several days the Patriots, along with a regiment of regular Army troops and Georgian volunteers, moved toward St. Augustine. On this march
4469-454: The Patriots were slightly in advance of the American troops. The Patriots would proclaim possession of some ground, raise the Patriot flag, and as the "local authority" surrender the territory to the United States troops, who would then substitute the American flag for the Patriot flag. The Patriots faced no opposition as they marched, usually with Gen. Mathews. Accounts of witnesses state that
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4578-578: The Patriots. In retaliation for Seminole raids, in September 1812, Colonel Daniel Newnan led 117 Georgia militiamen in an attempt to seize the Alachua Seminole lands around Payne's Prairie . Newnan's force never reached the Seminole towns, losing eight men dead, eight missing, and nine wounded after battling Seminoles for more than a week. Four months later Lt. Colonel Thomas Adams Smith led 220 U.S. Army regulars and Tennessee volunteers in
4687-500: The Seminole population had been relocated to Indian Territory or killed by the mid-1840s, though several hundred settled in central and southern Florida, where they were allowed to remain in an uneasy truce. Tensions over new settlement in the state under the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 south of Tampa led to renewed hostilities, and the Third Seminole War broke out in 1855. By the cessation of active fighting in 1858,
4796-470: The Seminole villages near the border, resulting in bands of Seminoles crossing into U.S. territory to stage reprisal attacks. The increasing border tensions came to a head on December 26, 1817, as the U.S. War Department wrote an order directing General Andrew Jackson to take command in person and bring the Seminoles under control, precipitating the First Seminole War. The war preceded with
4905-421: The Seminoles again promised to remain neutral. The blacks living in Florida outside of St. Augustine, many of whom were former slaves from Georgia and South Carolina, were not disposed to be neutral. Often slaves in name only to Seminoles, they lived in freedom and feared loss of that freedom if the United States took Florida away from Spain. Many blacks enlisted in the defense of St. Augustine, while others urged
5014-450: The Seminoles to fight the Patriot Army. In a third meeting with Seminole leaders, the Patriot Army leaders threatened the Seminoles with destruction if they fought on the side of the Spanish. This threat gave the Seminoles favoring war, led by King Payne's brother Bolek (also known as Bowlegs) the upper hand. Joined by warriors from Alligator (near present-day Lake City ) and other towns, the Seminoles sent 200 Indians and 40 blacks to attack
5123-516: The Seminoles were removed from Northern Florida to a reservation in the center of the Florida peninsula, and the United States constructed a series of forts and trading posts along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts to enforce the treaty. The Second Seminole War (1835–1842) began as a result of the United States unilaterally voiding the Treaty of Moultrie Creek and demanding that all Seminoles relocate to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma under
5232-464: The Seminoles, and a land grant from Spain. Harris petitioned the governor of Georgia for money, stating that a settlement of Americans in the Alachua Country would help keep the Seminoles away from the Georgia border, and would be able to intercept runaway slaves from Georgia before they could reach the Seminoles. Unfortunately for Harris, Georgia did not have funds available. Harris also hoped to acquire
5341-603: The Spanish when they regained Florida in 1783. West Florida extended from the Apalachicola River to the Mississippi River . Together with their possession of Louisiana , the Spanish controlled the lower reaches of all of the rivers draining the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains . It prohibited the US from transport and trade on the lower Mississippi. In addition to its desire to expand west of
5450-556: The Spanish, after conflicts with colonists from the Province of Carolina . Creek people , at first primarily the Lower Creek but later including Upper Creek , also started moving into Florida from the area of Georgia. The Mikasuki , Hitchiti -speakers, settled around what is now Lake Miccosukee near Tallahassee . (Descendants of this group have maintained a separate tribal identity as today's Miccosukee .) Another group of Hitchiti speakers, led by Cowkeeper , settled in what
5559-440: The U.S. government was notified of these events, Congress became alarmed at the possibility of being drawn into war with Spain, and the effort fell apart. Secretary of State James Monroe promptly disavowed the actions and relieved Gen. Mathews of his commission on May 9, on the grounds that neither of the instructed contingencies had occurred. However, peace negotiations with the Spanish authorities were protracted and slow. Through
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#17327981846315668-770: The Union. Governor Fulwar Skipwith proclaimed that he and his men would "surround the Flag-Staff and die in its defense". Claiborne refused to recognize the legitimacy of the West Florida government, however, and Skipwith and the legislature eventually agreed to accept Madison's proclamation. Claiborne only occupied the area west of the Pearl River (the current eastern boundary of Louisiana). Juan Vicente Folch y Juan , governor of West Florida, hoping to avoid fighting, abolished customs duties on American goods at Mobile, and offered to surrender all of West Florida to
5777-411: The United States east of the Perdido River, i.e., the balance of West Florida and all of East Florida. The United States would be authorized to either accept transfer of territory from "local authorities" or occupy territory to prevent it falling into the hands of a foreign power other than Spain. Congress debated and passed, on January 15, 1811, the requested resolution in closed session, and provided that
5886-443: The United States if he had not received help or instructions from Havana or Veracruz by the end of the year. Fearing that France would overrun all of Spain, with the presumed result being that Spanish colonies would either fall under French control or be seized by the British, in January 1811, Madison requested the U.S. Congress pass legislation authorizing the United States to take "temporary possession" of any territory adjacent to
5995-410: The United States military strategy was to target Seminole civilians by destroying their food supply. By 1858, most of the remaining Seminoles, war weary and facing starvation, acquiesced to being removed to the Indian Territory in exchange for promises of safe passage and cash payments. An estimated 200 to 500 Seminoles in small family bands still refused to leave and retreated deep into the Everglades and
6104-402: The United States that the British would establish military bases in Spanish colonies, including the Floridas, and as such potentially compromise the security of the southern frontiers of the U.S. By 1810, during the Peninsular War , Spain was largely overrun by the French army. Rebellions against the Spanish authorities broke out in many of its American colonies. Settlers in West Florida and in
6213-436: The United States to the rights of France and Spain. The ambiguity in this third article lent itself to the purpose of U.S. envoy James Monroe, although he had to adopt an interpretation that France had not asserted, nor Spain allowed. Monroe examined each clause of the third article and interpreted the first clause as if Spain since 1783 had considered West Florida as part of Louisiana. The second clause only served to render
6322-429: The adjacent Mississippi Territory started organizing in the summer of 1810 to seize Mobile and Pensacola , the last of which was outside the part of West Florida claimed by the United States. Residents of westernmost West Florida (between the Mississippi and Pearl rivers) organized a convention at Baton Rouge in the summer of 1810. The convention was concerned about maintaining public order and preventing control of
6431-472: The area. In December 1855, U.S. Army personnel located and destroyed a large Seminole plantation west of the Everglades , perhaps to deliberately provoke a violent response that would result in the removal of the remaining Seminole citizens from the region. Holata Micco , a Seminole leader known as Billy Bowlegs by whites, responded with a raid near Fort Myers , leading to a series of retaliatory raids and small skirmishes with no large battles fought. Once again,
6540-429: The capital of their colony of West Florida. But as was made clear by several local uprisings and other forms of "border anarchy", Spain was no longer able to defend nor control Florida and eventually agreed to cede it to the United States per the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, with the transfer taking place in 1821. According to the terms of the Treaty of Moultrie Creek (1823) between the United States and Seminole Nation,
6649-416: The condo project after considering to seek public acquisition of the land. The initial portion of what was then referred to as " Emerson Point Park ” was acquired by the State in 1991, with approximately 195 acres acquired under the Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) program (exists today as the Florida Forever program) on October 23, 1991, under a 70% State, 30% County funding initiative. The preserve
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#17327981846316758-400: The convention declared West Florida to be independent. Pro-Spanish, pro-American, and pro-independence factions quickly formed in the newly proclaimed republic. The pro-American faction appealed to the United States to annex the area and to provide financial aid. On October 27, 1810, U.S. President James Madison proclaimed that the United States should take possession of West Florida between
6867-481: The destruction of the Negro Fort in July 1816, and subsequently Jackson's forces destroyed several Seminole/Creek and Miccosukee settlements including Fowltown pursuing them and Black Seminoles and allied Maroons across northern Florida in 1818. Jackson's expedition culminated in April 1818 with the Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident . The Spanish government expressed outrage over Jackson's "punitive expeditions" into their territory and his brief occupation of Pensacola
6976-427: The district from falling into French hands; at first it tried to establish a government under local control that was nominally loyal to Ferdinand VII. After discovering that the Spanish governor of the district had appealed for military aid to put down an "insurrection", residents of the Baton Rouge District overthrew the local Spanish authorities on September 23 by seizing the Spanish fort in Baton Rouge. On September 26,
7085-428: The early 1600s, at which time the establishment of a series of Spanish missions improved relations and stabilized the population. Beginning in the late-17th century, raids by British settlers from the colony of Carolina and their Indian allies began another steep decline in the indigenous population. By 1707, settlers based in Carolina and their Yamasee Indian allies had killed, carried off, or driven away most of
7194-564: The early 1800s, mainly because enslaved people regularly fled from Georgia into Spanish Florida , prompting slaveowners to conduct slave raids across the border. A series of cross-border skirmishes escalated into the First Seminole War , when American General Andrew Jackson led an incursion into the territory over Spanish objections. Jackson's forces destroyed several Seminole , Mikasuki and Black Seminole towns, as well as captured Fort San Marcos and briefly occupied Pensacola before withdrawing in 1818. The U.S. and Spain soon negotiated
7303-481: The early 1840s, many Seminoles had been killed, and many more were forced by impending starvation to surrender and be removed to Indian Territory. Though there was no official peace treaty, several hundred Seminoles remained in central and southern Florida after active conflict wound down. The Third Seminole War (1855–1858) was precipitated as an increasing number of settlers in central and southern Florida led to increasing tension with Seminoles and Miccosukees living in
7412-435: The few remaining bands of Seminoles in Florida had fled deep into the Everglades to land unwanted by American settlers . Taken together, the Seminole Wars were the longest, most expensive, and most deadly of all American Indian Wars . Spanish Florida was established in the 1500s, when Spain laid claim to land explored by several expeditions across the future southeastern United States . The introduction of diseases to
7521-493: The first clause clearer. The third clause referred to the treaties of 1783 and 1795 and was designed to safeguard the rights of the United States. This clause then simply gave effect to the others. According to Monroe, France never dismembered Louisiana while it was in her possession. (He regarded November 3, 1762, as the termination date of French possession, rather than 1769, when France formally delivered Louisiana to Spain). President Thomas Jefferson had initially believed that
7630-428: The forces to take the fort. Jackson assigned Brigadier General Edmund Pendleton Gaines to take control of the fort. Gaines directed Colonel Duncan Lamont Clinch to build Fort Scott on the Flint River just north of the Florida border. Gaines said he intended to supply Fort Scott from New Orleans via the Apalachicola River. As this would mean passing through Spanish territory and past the Negro Fort, it would allow
7739-408: The formerly inhabited parts in a state of desolation. In June 1812, George Mathews met with King Payne and other Seminole leaders. After the meeting, Mathews believed that the Seminoles would remain neutral in the conflict. Sebastián Kindelán y O'Regan , the governor of East Florida, tried to induce the Seminoles to fight on the Spanish side. Some of the Seminoles wanted to fight the Georgians in
7848-470: The group when they reached the site of Payne's Town, which had been burned in 1812. The men built a 25-foot square, two-story blockhouse, which they named Fort Mitchell , after David Mitchell , former governor of Georgia and a supporter of the Patriot invasion of East Florida. By the time the blockhouse was completed, there were reported to be more than 160 men present in Elotchaway. On January 25, 1814,
7957-466: The land around the Alachua Prairie ( Paynes Prairie ) by treaty from the Seminoles but could not persuade the Seminoles to meet with him. The Spanish were also not interested in dealing with Harris. In January 1814, 70 men led by Buckner Harris crossed from Georgia into East Florida, headed for the Alachua Country. More men joined them as they traveled through East Florida, with more than 90 in
8066-719: The languages, adopting the dress, and inter-marrying. The blacks knew how to farm and served as interpreters between the Seminole and the whites. Some of the Black Seminoles , as they were called, became important tribal leaders. During the American Revolutionary War , the British, who controlled Florida, recruited Seminoles to raid Patriot-aligned settlements on the Georgia frontier. The confusion of war allowed American slaves to escape to Florida, where local British authorities promised them their freedom for in exchange for military service. These events made
8175-599: The late nineteenth century to the early 1980s. [1] 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: 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 12th, 2024. Library cards are free to those who reside, own property, attend school, or work in Manatee County. Non-residents may obtain
8284-459: The loss of much Creek territory in what is today southern Georgia and central and southern Alabama. As a result, many Creek left Alabama and Georgia, and moved to Spanish West Florida. The Creek refugees joined the Seminole of Florida. In 1814, Britain was still at war with the United States , and in May, a British force entered the mouth of the Apalachicola River , and moved upriver to begin building
8393-470: The men apparently had brought families with them, as a child was born in Elotchaway on March 15, 1814. Buckner Harris hoped to expand American settlement in the Alachua Country and rode out alone to explore the area. On May 5, 1814, he was ambushed and killed by Seminoles. Without Harris, the District of Elotchaway collapsed. Fort Mitchell was abandoned, with all the settlers gone within two weeks. Some of
8502-642: The men at Fort Mitchell who signed the petition to Congress settled again in the Alachua Country after Florida was transferred to the United States in 1821. During the Creek War (1813–1814), Colonel Andrew Jackson became a national hero with his victory over the Creek Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend . After this victory, Jackson forced the Treaty of Fort Jackson on the Creek, resulting in
8611-654: The men from Manatee would be 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. According to some, following the Civil War, the Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin , took refuge at the mansion before escaping to England. According to
8720-556: The mountains, the United States wanted to acquire Florida. It wanted to gain free commerce on western rivers, and to prevent Florida from being used a base for possible invasion of the U.S. by a European country. In order to obtain a port on the Gulf of Mexico with secure access for Americans, United States diplomats in Europe were instructed to try to purchase the Isle of Orleans and West Florida from whichever country owned them. When Robert Livingston approached France in 1803 about buying
8829-544: The new United States enemies of the Seminoles. In 1783, as part of the treaty ending the Revolutionary War , Florida, was returned to Spain. Spain's grip on Florida was light, as it maintained only small garrisons at St. Augustine, St. Marks and Pensacola . They did not control the border between Florida and the United States and were unable to act against the State of Muskogee established in 1799, envisioned as
8938-545: 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 and further reducing Manatee County to its current boundaries. Following the Seminole Wars, Manatee County continued to grow both in population and in economic output. Cattle, hogs, and some sheep were raised. Processed sugar and molasses
9047-485: The next six years before moving to Tallahassee . 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 County , DeSoto County , Glades County , Hardee County , Highlands County , Sarasota County , and part of Lee County . The original county seat
9156-456: The population was female. The median income for a household in the county was $ 59,963 in 2020 dollars and a per capita income in the past 12 months of $ 35,146. There was a reported 10.9% of the population living in poverty. Bealls of Florida has its headquarters and was founded 1915 in unincorporated Manatee County. Tropicana was founded in Manatee County in the 1950s. Tropicana was bought by PepsiCo in 2001. PepsiCo sold Tropicana to
9265-484: The provisioning of the fort at Prospect Bluff with cannon, muskets, and ammunition. He told his Native American allies that the Treaty of Ghent guaranteed the return of all Indian lands lost to the United States during the War of 1812, including the Creek lands in Georgia and Alabama. Before Nicolls left in the spring of 1815, he turned the fort over to the maroons and Native American allies whom he had originally recruited for possible incursions into U.S. territory during
9374-503: The remainder of West Florida over to the U.S., Mathews traveled to East Florida to engage the Spanish authorities there. When that effort failed, Mathews, in an extreme interpretation of his orders, schemed to incite a rebellion similar to that in the Baton Rouge District. In 1812, General George Mathews was commissioned by President James Madison to approach the Spanish governor of East Florida in an attempt to acquire
9483-488: The remaining native inhabitants during a series of raids across the Florida panhandle and down the full length of the peninsula. In the first decade of the 18th century. 10,000–12,000 Indians were taken as slaves according to the governor of La Florida and by 1710, observers noted that north Florida was virtually depopulated. The Spanish missions all closed, as without natives, there was nothing for them to do. The few remaining natives fled west to Pensacola and beyond or east to
9592-499: The remaining troops. After the United States government disavowed support of the Territory of East Florida and withdrew American troops and ships from Spanish territory, most of the Patriots in East Florida either withdrew to Georgia or accepted the offer of amnesty from the Spanish government. Some of the Patriots still dreamed of claiming land in Florida. One of them, Buckner Harris , had been involved in recruiting men for
9701-492: The resolution could be kept secret until as late as March 1812. American forces occupied most of the Spanish territory between the Pearl and Perdido rivers (today's coastal Mississippi and Alabama ), with the exception of the area around Mobile, in 1811. Mobile was occupied by United States forces in 1813. Madison sent George Mathews to deal with the disputes over West Florida. When Vicente Folch rescinded his offer to turn
9810-574: The same position unsuccessfully losing to A.T. Cornwell (also a Democrat) who had served as Bradenton's first mayor and in a variety of positions at the county level. Pettigrew would later go on to run for governor in 1908 and Secretary of Agriculture in 1912 being unsuccessful in both races. In 1970, Governor Claude R. Kirk Jr. fired Manatee County's superintendent along with the entire school board and appointed himself in their place in an attempt to end desegregation busing . This situation would last from April 6 to 13 before Kirk left his position as
9919-495: The sea during the American Civil War . Jesup also authorized the controversial abduction of Seminole leaders Osceola and Micanopy by luring them under a false flag of truce. General Jesup clearly violated the rules of war, and spent 21 years defending himself over it, "Viewed from the distance of more than a century, it hardly seems worthwhile to try to grace the capture with any other label than treachery . " By
10028-553: The settlers established a government, titled "The District of Elotchaway of the Republic of East Florida", with Buckner Harris as Director. The Legislative Council then petitioned the United States Congress to accept the District of Elotchaway as a territory of the United States. The petition was signed by 106 "citizens of Elotchaway." The Elotchaway settlers laid out farm plots and started planting crops. Some of
10137-653: 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 modern-day 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 600-700 people. The Manatee area
10246-630: The southern part of the Tampa Bay estuary, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge , and the Manatee River . 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 at Perico Island . These digs revealed materials belonging to peoples from the Woodland period . Some historians have suggested that
10355-496: The summer and autumn, the U.S. and Patriot troops foraged and plundered almost every plantation and farm, most of them having been abandoned by their owners. The troops helped themselves to everything they could find. Stored food was used up, growing crops destroyed or fed to horses, all types of movable property plundered or destroyed, buildings and fences burned, cattle and hogs killed or stolen for butchering, and slaves often dispersed or abducted. This continued until May 1813 and left
10464-624: The superintendent. Unincorporated Manatee County is served by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office . Manatee County is a part of the Twelfth Circuit Court of Florida . Manatee County is part of the Second District of Appeals . The Board of Commissioners includes the following: Information as of March 12, 2024. Seminole Wars Second Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as
10573-482: The territory. His instructions were to take possession of any part of the territory of the Floridas upon making "arrangement" with the "local authority" to deliver possession to the U.S. Barring that or invasion by another foreign power, they were not to take possession of any part of Florida. Most of the residents of East Florida were happy with the status quo, so Mathews raised a force of volunteers in Georgia with
10682-604: The transfer of the territory with the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819. The United States gained possession of Florida in 1821 and coerced the Seminoles into leaving their lands in the Florida panhandle for a large Indian reservation in the center of the peninsula per the Treaty of Moultrie Creek . In 1832 by the Treaty of Payne's Landing , however, the federal government under United States President Andrew Jackson demanded that they leave Florida altogether and relocate to Indian Territory (modern day Oklahoma ) as per
10791-528: The tribe. Most of the former slaves at Fort Mose went to Cuba with the Spanish when they left Florida in 1763, while others lived with or near various bands of Indians. Fugitive slaves from the Carolinas and Georgia continued to make their way to Florida, as the Underground Railroad ran south. The Blacks who stayed with or later joined the Seminoles became integrated into the tribes, learning
10900-478: The vicinity of St. Augustine . When Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain as part of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the majority of Florida's Indians travelled with the Spanish to Cuba or New Spain . During the mid-1700s, small bands from various Native American tribes from the southeastern United States began moving into the unoccupied lands of Florida. In 1715, the Yamasee moved into Florida as allies of
11009-575: The war. (see Corps of Colonial Marines ). As word spread in the American Southeast about the fort, white Americans called it the " Negro Fort ." Americans worried that it would inspire their slaves to escape to Florida or revolt. Acknowledging that it was in Spanish territory, in April 1816, Jackson informed Governor José Masot of West Florida that if the Spanish did not eliminate the fort, he would. The governor replied that he did not have
11118-474: 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
11227-453: Was a Democrat) in the general election. As a state legislator he would make several proposals that were inline with what the Party reflected at the national level such as making US Senators popularly elected and creating a national income tax. Overall as a state legislator he would make little progress in getting legislation proposed by him passed. Prior to the 1906 race he would run in 1904 for
11336-513: Was eventually applied to the other groups in Florida, although the Indians still regarded themselves as members of different tribes. Other Native American groups in Florida during the Seminole Wars included the Choctaw , Yuchi , Spanish Indians (so called because it was believed that they were descended from Calusas ), and "rancho Indians", who lived at Spanish/Cuban fishing camps (ranchos) on
11445-485: Was moved into a new building in 1983. A new building for the Palmetto Library was built in 1969, followed by the modern Central Public Library in downtown Bradenton in 1978. The 1990s saw a period of rapid growth in Manatee County and the library system grew accordingly, with the Braden River, Rocky Bluff, and South Manatee branches opening in 1991, 1994, and 1998, respectively. The Braden River branch moved to
11554-414: Was not in the possession of France. In November 1804, in response to Livingston, France declared the American claim to West Florida absolutely unfounded. Upon the failure of Monroe's later 1804–1805 mission, Madison was ready to abandon the American claim to West Florida altogether. In 1805, Monroe's last proposition to Spain to obtain West Florida was absolutely rejected, and American plans to establish
11663-547: 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 thirty-one 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
11772-570: Was 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
11881-406: Was sent to Florida to take command of the campaign in 1836. Instead of futilely pursuing parties of Seminole fighters through the territory as previous commanders had done, Jesup changed tactics and engaged in finding, capturing or destroying Seminole homes, livestock, farms, and related supplies, thus starving them out; a strategy which would be duplicated by General W. T. Sherman in his march to
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