Bradenton Beach, Florida

Bradenton Beach, Florida
City
City of Bradenton Beach
Bradenton Beach
Seal
Motto(s):  Blessed With History, Hospitality, Spirit
Location in Manatee County and the U.S. state of Florida
Bradenton Beach, Florida Location within the state of Florida Bradenton Beach, Florida Bradenton Beach, Florida (the United States) Show map of FloridaShow map of the United StatesShow all
Coordinates: 27°28′16″N 82°41′59″W / 27.47111°N 82.69972°W / 27.47111; -82.69972Coordinates: 27°28′16″N 82°41′59″W / 27.47111°N 82.69972°W / 27.47111; -82.69972
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Manatee
Settled	1892
Incorporated (city)	December 21, 1951
Government
• Type	Weak Mayor-Commission
• Mayor	Robert (Bob) Bartelt
Area [1]
• Total	1.19 sq mi (3.08 km2)
• Land	0.52 sq mi (1.33 km2)
• Water	0.67 sq mi (1.74 km2)
Elevation	−10 ft (−3 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	1,171
• Estimate  (2019)[4]	1,279
• Density	2,483.50/sq mi (958.24/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	34217-34218
Area code(s)	941
FIPS code	12-07975[2]
GNIS feature ID	0279312[3]
Website	www.cityofbradentonbeach.com

Bradenton Beach is a city on Anna Maria Island in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,171 at the 2010 census, and 1,278 in the 2018 U.S Census estimates.^[5] It is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city occupies the southern part of Anna Maria Island and is one of three municipalities on the island. The others are Holmes Beach in the center and Anna Maria in the north.

History[]

Pre-1950[]

1920s & 1930s[]

Bradenton Beach was originally referred to as Cortez Beach since it was close to Cortez.^[6] Construction on a wooden bridge to the mainland would begin in the summer of 1921. The 1921 Tampa Bay Hurricane that October would destroy 80% of the bridge that was built up to that point. Despite a majority of the bridge being destroyed, it would later be completed sometime in June 1922; 8 months later.^[7]

A two story pavilion at the end of Bridge Street would be built that same year. It would have 100 lockers along with a dance hall and dining room located in the center of the building. On the second floor, the owners of the pavilion had their apartments. It would burn down after a fire and was later rebuilt. The pavilion would catch on fire for a second time in 1929 and being destroyed in the process and never rebuilt.^[8] Bradenton Beach started to be known as its present-day name during the mid 1920s as the Florida land boom was occurring. Real estate developers saw this as a way to convince possible buyers that it was closer to Bradenton.^[9] Sometime in early 1926, a county bond was approved to build a wooden bridge linking Bradenton Beach to Longboat Key with the bridge being finished in August. However, the bridge was only open until October after a hurricane damaged it. On March 6, 1932, the bridge would be swept away during a high tide. It would not be replaced until 1957.^[10]

1940s[]

The Regina, a tanker barge with over 350,000 gallons of molasses onboard was grounded 200 yards offshore a sandbar on March 8, 1940 in Bradenton Beach. The ship left Havana on March 5 and was being towed by a tugboat, the Minima and planned on going to New Orleans but, plans were changed two days later when a cold front combined with 8-12 foot seas, gale force winds and temperatures at freezing happened in the Gulf of Mexico. This prompted the Minima to go into Tampa Bay in an attempt to seek shelter. The tow lines between the two broke near Egmont Key and the Regina drifted until being grounded by the late afternoon of March 8. The 8 crew members stayed onboard during this time and did not attempt to leave. Local residents would become aware of what happened and built fires in an attempt to reassure them they had been seen. A US Coast Guard cutter along with a plane was sent in to try and help but the waters were too rough for them. The plane attempted to drop lifejackets and other sorts of supplies but ended up getting pushed to shore. The plane continued to circle the ship and would be joined by a second plane.^[11]

Coast Guard gunner's mate, Frank Barnett tried twice to fire a line gun at the ship at 1 AM but failed as it couldn't reach the ship. He along with other locals at shore tried twice again at daybreak but had the same result as 1 AM. Eventually a dinghy was brought to the scene and Barnett brought the life preservers that washed up on the beach with him and rowed over to the ship and during his second attempt, he would manage to rescue the crew that was stranded.^[11] However, the dingy capsized while returning and a human chain was formed onshore to try and rescue them. Sometime during the morning, the ship's cook and his German Shepherd jumped overboard to try and get to shore but ended up briefly disappearing before both of their bodies were found a few days later on shore.^[12] The ship was declared a total loss and the molasses would spill into the Gulf of Mexico.^[11]

A post office called Bradenton Beach has been in operation since 1941.^[13]

Post-1950[]

Bradenton Beach would later be incorporated on December 21, 1951 after voting 84-56 to become a city. Bernard Wagaman would serve as Bradenton Beach's first mayor.^[14] The main wooden bridge to the island from Cortez would be replaced by a concrete one in 1957 as local residents wanted a stronger bridge. A parade lead by an elephant was hosted by the city to display it strength and to convince the local residents as well. To offset the cost of bridge, the local government made it a toll bridge until 1964 when it was reimbursed. Cars were charged 30¢ entering the island and no toll was put in place on those leaving the island.^[7]

Geography[]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), of which 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (50.00%) is water. However, according to the Bradenton Beach government website, it has an area of five square miles.^[15]

Demographics[]

At the 2000 census,^[2] there were 1,482 people, 803 households and 391 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,704.9 per square mile (1,040.4/km²). There were 1,762 housing units at an average density of 3,215.9 per square mile (1,236.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.52% White, 0.27% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.69% of the population.

There were 803 households, of which 11.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.2% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.85 and the average family size was 2.40.

10.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 35.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males.

The median household income was $32,318 and the median family income was $46,583. Males had a median income of $26,146 compared with $20,772 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,850. About 3.9% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Library[]

The Tingley Memorial Library is located at 111 2nd Street, North, behind City Hall.^[17] It was built with a $600,000 bequest from the estate of Beulah Rebecca Hooks Hannah Tingley (1893–1986) and is maintained without the use of public funding. In 2000, Beulah Tingley was declared a "Great Floridian" by the state and a plaque attesting to that honor was placed above the front door of the library.^[18]

References[]

External links[]

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