Manatee Mineral Spring

REFLECTIONS Manateeof

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

H istory flows from this spring.
Bubbling, fresh water is a source of life
Before cars, or
trains, or even
But for the Native Americans whose mounds
were on the ridge to the south and the
for people and for their animals and settler’s wagons, maroons (free Blacks) who found freedom
crops. It satisfies their thirst and is a cool the river was here in the 1810s, we must look to the
relief on hot, humid days. So, over like our modern tools of archaeology. Fragments of pottery
many, many highway. Natural and pipes, stone points, shells and shark
centuries, markers, like teeth help reveal the story of people whose
everyone rocks or trees, names are lost to time.
who traveled were noted as
or hunted or road signs. Traveling down the river, a
settled along certain pine tree pointed the way to the
this section t deep wi
sand
th a white ring spring, and over time, many groups
s four fee butary known as Sp
Spring wa
of the Manatee Th e M an ate
int o
tri
e Mineral the Manatee River settlers believed it ing
ly spr
had
settled here.
d emptied Americans and ear family acquired the area
bottom an The
River took water th N ati ve y Cl ark ’s Ac t.
nr on
Creek. Bo wers. In 1841, He Armed Occupati
po
medicinal der the terms of the e the village of Man because of the
atee. How do we know? Personal diaries and
from this spring. property un ing gradually becam rchased the propert Seminole War,
y
aroun d the spr
. Franklin
Br an ch pu
g the Th ird rs, and letters, military reports and naval log
ing. Durin area settle
In 1849, Dr qualities of the spr ved as a fort for 8, Branch sold
health-giv
ing
ilding s an d sto ckade ser ing water. In 185
drink for tw o de cades. books, newspaper clippings, maps,
Branch’s bu ovided them with , who lived there m Curry, with
pr
and photographs reveal many parts
rry
the spring to Capt. John Cu property in 1880 fro use the spring.
Look closely and you ert y the to Manatee Mineral Spring was a favorite picnic spot
the prop rchased tinue Park
can see a traveler with Casper pu ily could con anatee City
Dr. George t that the Curry fams included in the M rida) of the story.
in the early 1900s.
his horse stopping at en
the agreem 1900s, the spring wa State Library of Flo
the spring. ear ly (P ho to,
In the o was erecte
d.
and a gazeb

Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
 Spanish Exploration
REFLECTIONS Manateeof

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

T he Spanish came to Florida in 1513,
and to Tampa Bay in 1539, but did not
Folch found that
place. He traveled
The river took its name from the oyster banks
located near its mouth. Up that river, now called
Spanish manual
of navigation,
published 1757.

have settlements through those early up the river named the Manatee, was a delightful fresh water spring
centuries. But in the fall of 1793, they Tala Chakpu by that gushed from a twenty-inch hole. Here,
considered changing that. The Captain- the Indians and stated Folch, was the ideal spot for a settlement.
General of Cuba, Luis de las Casas, sent Rio de los Ostiones But the Spanish never did settle and in 1821
Vicente Folch y Juan to explore the area (Oyster River) by Florida became part of the United States.
around Tampa Bay. De las Casas wanted the Spanish.
to know if a good place could be found
Navigators in the 1700s faced many
for a Spanish settlement. challenges in charting coastlines.

Spanish Map of Florida, circa 1805 Map of Tampa Bay, circa 1783.
University of North Texas Libraries.

Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
 Angola: A Haven of Freedom
REFLECTIONS Manateeof

ston City Gazette

. The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring
N
From the Charle1
November, 182 nters.
Sou the rn Pla
Advice to the month of April last,
of the
some
o one wants to be a slave. Angola was part of a fascinating era during Angola was a threat to slavery. It showed
Towards the end ing somewhere
in
and fortune resid ing a speculation
men of influence
try, thou ght of mak People, sometimes called escaped Florida’s Second Spanish Period (1783-1821). that people would go to great lengths to live
the western coun
Slav es for a trifl e. For this purpose,
d,
in order to obtain Miller, William Weatherfor The Spanish Empire had no presence on the
they hired Cha
rles
breed Indians, and
Prospect
Bluff
slaves, fugitives, maroons, African in freedom. But in 1821, an attack destroyed
m, alias Alla mouchee, all half er thes e chie f, 1816
Fort
Mosé
Ada
Daniel Per iman s a mul atto, and und
hun dred Cowetas Indi ans. Suwanee
Pilaklikaha Seminoles, or Black Seminoles, drank Manatee River but there were many people using Angola and other maroon communities on
t two t
were engaged abou to proceed along the western coas G
They were ordered herly, and there take, in the nam
e from the spring as part of a community its resources. Seminoles lived in towns in the the Gulf Coast. Survivors fled
sout
of East Florida, oners of all the men
U
11881188
es, and make pris
of the United Stat women and children, they wou
ld
known as Angola or Sarrazota. The interior of Florida. They herded cattle and traded to the interior of Florida and to
LF

Minatti
a
of colour, including bring them all, well secured, to
be able to find,
and et. 1821
Manatee River offered a natural with many peoples. On the Gulf Coast, fishermen Cape Florida (now Key Biscayne).
OF

a secr
ain plac e, whi ch has been kept under the chief Angola
cert took place,
The expedition er. They arrived at Sazazota,
M

command of Cha
rles Mill
of them, plundere
d Charlotte
Harbor defensive line in the early 19th century from Cuba created the rancho industry, With the help of Cuban fishermen
EX

ured about 300

surprised and capt on fire all their houses, and then
set
their plantations, y captured several others; and
on C 1821
from slave raiders from the north. gathering vast amounts of fish for the Havana and British military personnel,
I

Cape
sout herl ches , O Florida
proceeding the Spanish Ran
the 17th day of
June, arrived at where not finding
los Bay , They were called Black Seminoles market. Trading with the Cuban fishermen and they reached Andros Island
, in Car
in Pointerrass Key they expected, they plundered the
as many Negroes
as
0 dollars worth
n of more than 200 test excess; with
of
because of their alliances with the the Seminoles, the people of Angola created a in the Bahamas, where their
Spanish fisherme
committing the grearned to the place
property, besides
prisoners they retu Seminoles of Florida, and maroon community. That was freedom. descendants continue to live
their plunder and
deposit of both. g the Western
appointed for the thus spread alon blishments of from the Spanish word for runaway. in freedom to this day.
But the terror esta
ida, broke all the t consternation. Angola became a beacon for freedom-
Coast of East Flor African Florida during the Second Spanish Period
ans, who fled in
both blacks and Indi thought they could not save thei
grea
r (1783-1821). Spanish La Florida had been a haven of
lly,
The blacks principa ing the country; therefore, they
, seeking people after a series of battles
lives but by aban
don
an canoes, dou bled freedom for people fleeing slavery for
by small parties
and in thei r Indi
Taviniere, which
is between those seeking to expand slavery
arrived at Key
Cape Sable and for all the Eng
lish over a century.
the general plac
e of rendezvous
sau, Pro vidence; an agre
ement and those opposed to slavery. Those
, and about 250 of
Nas
wreckers, from
into between them battles included the Apalachicola River
was soon entered by the wreckers carried to Nassau
e t
these negroes wer ed. On the 7th of Oct. last, abou
and clandestinely
land
ready to take thei
at Key Taviniere, the stragglers who
r
in 1816 and Suwannee River in 1818. The
40 more were thes e wer e
sau; and had
departure for Nas
icult to mak e thei r esca pe,
maroon were pushed southward, and
had found it diff in the forests.
d
remained conceale
Angola may have included hundreds.
Artifacts such as fragments of blue-
edged pearlware plates and kaolin clay
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council tobacco pipes are evidence of daily life
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions in the early 1800s.
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
 Creating the Village of Manatee
REFLECTIONS Manateeof

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

H ave you ever thought what it
would be like to be a pioneer? Imagine
The creaking of masts and slapping of sails
signaled new goods arriving, like bolts of cloth,
The river was the lifeblood of the community.
Small and large ships brought trade and travelers.
In 1846, Henry Clark built his own ship,
the schooner Atlanta. Its first voyage, in
sailing up the Manatee River with no boxes of nails, or even the latest in ladies’ They carried the mail 1848, carried sugar and molasses to New
buildings on either bank. Sailing to bonnets. In 1850, Clark was named US Postmaster, and delivered York. Tragically, it sank in a hurricane on
a new life. Three Spanish fisherman running a post office from the trading post. The the news. the way back. Life on the frontier held
guided Josiah Gates to this spot in late store and Thomas Kenny’s nearby blacksmith shop many challenges.
1841. At the start of the new year he became the lively center of the small village.
came back with his family
and their seven enslaved The pioneers cleared
African-American workers, land and built houses.
and the village of Manatee They coped with
was born. mosquitos, the heat,
and hurricanes.
The spring of It was six years before
1842 brought a full-time minister
other settlers or doctor lived in the
to both sides village. Further south
of the river. than the last outpost
Henry and Ellen of the U.S. Army
Ellen Clark
Clark and their at Fort Brooke,
10 year old son acquired Manatee was a true
the spring property and frontier settlement.
built the town’s first Certificate of the REGISTER
OF THE LAND OFFICE for
trading post. Dr. Franklin Branch’s Patent Samuel Reid was the
on the Manatee Mineral first surveyor appointed
Spring property. Dr. Branch to the Manatee River area.
Plat 1 for Township 34 South Range 17 East. acquired the property in 1849. This survey is dated 1843.

Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions First mail boat,
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the drawn by Philip Ayers Sawyer.
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
 The Third Seminole War - Branch Fort
REFLECTIONS Manatee
of

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

S eminoles were well But new settlements and military The reinforced stockade became known In 1857, the army pushed the
known to the Manatee surveying ignored the boundaries as Branch Fort or Camp Manatee. It was Seminoles deeper into the
settlement. They often of the Seminole homeland. Peace home to a large group of settlers, some Everglades and Big Cypress
traded at Clark’s store came to an end in early 1856 for up to 16 months. Three babies were Swamp. The danger around
and Chief Holata Micco in conflicts over land. At the born there. In addition to hot and crowded the settlement waned. Families
- Billy Bowlegs - was outbreak of the Third Seminole conditions, they had to deal with an began to return to their
sometimes a guest at War, homesteads in Sarasota were outbreak of whooping cough and measles. homesteads to rebuild.
the Gates‘ home. For burned and Indians attacked To provide protection, the U.S. Army Mary Jane Wyatt Whitaker,
one of the women who gave
over a decade there the Braden Castle. Dr. Franklin set up a military post, Camp Armstrong, birth during the settlers’ long
encampment at Branch Fort.
was peace. Branch and his wife, Vashti, later called Camp Smead, near the village.
invited people throughout the They contracted with Dr. Branch to MANA
countryside to take shelter at
TEE RIVER
provide medical me.
Gov. Broo a, Tampa, April
5th, 1856. on of an
Chief Holato Micco - Billy Bowlegs, 1852. le informati t.
State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. their residence near the spring. services there. L A
Carter to
From Gen. GENCY, State of Flo
rid
ept ion
ng of reliab
this morni the night of the 1st orted to
ins
SPE CIA the rec s on rep
ho no r to report natee, by the Indian s and mules. They areit of another
e the Ma roe pursu
SIR — I havmises of Dr. Braden, th them several neg Capt. Lesley in
Dr. Franklin Branch,
The troops pre rying wi
attack on thewere repulsed, car dison with 13 mu them.
les, and the
ies me for the
Manatee County They Ad of ., accompan in
ties. Capt. e a favorable account pt. Gibson, U.S.A rner’s Company, rner’s
Public Library kept busy ver al par
be in ser aki. I hope to hav for Ma natee. Ca a part of Capt. Tu ent of Capt. Tu
hm
Historical Image party on Mi at 2 P.M., to-day ent at Manatee, as . Hart, with a detac
rrance’s
Digital Collection. with scouting, I leave
mustering
a detachm has ordered Lieut
purpose of U.S. Col. Munrort time.
e m Capt. Du
hment fro act in co-operation
the ered a detac to
service of to manatee for a sho to-day, and have ord them if possible, and
Seminole war era rifle.
mapmaking, and Company, State troop
I notify the t down Pease Cr
s
eek to interc
ept
to be sen on. serv’t,
, your ob’dt E CARTER,
SAR
building a wharf at Company . Lesley and Addis my return.
wi th Ca pts re ful ly on Respectfully JESS
Special Ag
ent AS
I will report
mo
O
the village.

TA
BA
cy, ,
His ExcellenJAMES E. BROOME ee, Fla.

Y
Records of correspondence between Tallahass
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council government officials can be a rich
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions
source of details about the past.
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
State of Florida Senate Journal, 1856.
 Gardens
REFLECTIONS Manateeof

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

G ardens are sustenance. In a world
before the corner store, gardens were
Seminole gardens
Seminoles looked for fertile hammock lands for
Maroon gardens
The freedom seeker’s garden was a symbol of self-
Pioneer gardens
Homesteaders
survival when supplies ran out. When their gardens. On these well-drained rises where reliance. The maroons planted their gardens with planted kitchen
the settlers arrived in 1842, a mile south strong growths of oak grew they would clear seeds or tubers they carried with them, such as gardens to feed
of the spring they found already-cleared trees and put in their garden plots. The staple corn, peas, potatoes, and pumpkins. They knew their families. Extra
fields. Dried corn stalks and old pumpkin Seminole crops were corns, beans, and squash. what could be foraged in vegetables might
vines were proof Families might tend plots the wild and might add be swapped with a
Madame Joe Atzeroth in her garden
that the settlers of tobacco and citrus. Wild plants such as muscadine neighbor or bartered on the north side of the Manatee
River where she cultivated the first
were not the first plants provided food, dye, grapes to the garden. As a at Clark’s trading
pound of coffee ever grown in the
United States.

to till these lands. medicines, and ceremonial people used to fleeing, they post. Settlers grew
needs and coontie could used crops that ripened at some of the same foods as the Seminoles and
be made into flour. different times, were fast maroons, but they also grew cash crops such
growing, and easily hidden. Cucurbita moschata, also known as as sugar cane and groves of citrus. And as
Seminole pumpkin is native to Florida.
the settlement turned into a village, flowers
decorated homes.

Corn, beans, and squash were the staple crops cultivated by the Seminoles.

Okra is indigenous to West Africa. Seeds probably

Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council
were carried to North America on slave ships.
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the Cowpeas are also known as field peas or black-eyed peas.
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities. Not only the peas are edible; the greens are very high in protein.
 Sugar Cane
REFLECTIONS Manateeof

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

A newly opened frontier signals
opportunity, and many settlers came to
Many homesteaders brought a
wagon load of sugar cane (seed-
Plantation owners invested in
thousands of acres of land,
The village community included two
large sugar plantations, Braden to the
the Manatee River for profit. Some were cane) with them. They might have livestock, tools, machinery, east and Gamble to the north. A single
small scale farmers. Others were from a mule to operate the small cane and slaves. Enslaved African harvest at the Gamble plantation
old plantation families. Investors came, press that extracted the juice. Americans turned the wilderness produced 231,000 pounds of sugar
lured by cheap land, virgin soil, and They would make molasses for into cultivated fields. They and 11,550 gallons of molasses.
the high price that sugar brought on their own cooking and hope that cleared the trees, dug the
the market. within a year or two the harvested ditches, planted and harvested
crop would produce funds to buy the cane. Plantation sugar mills
items like nails. were huge factories housing the
most modern equipment.

On plantations, enslaved African Americans

performed the hard labor of sugar cane harvesting.

Drawings of the Gamble Plantation sugar

mill, before and after it was destroyed by
Union troops in 1864. State Archives of
Florida, Florida Memory.
Sugar rollers from the the Gamble Plantation sugar mill.

Man with mule pressing cane. State Archives of Florida,

Florida Memory, photograph by John Kunkel Small. Artifacts associated with sugar cane harvesting include
a billhook (curved chopping tool) and a large copper
kettle for boiling the cane juice.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
 Native Americans
REFLECTIONS Manateeof

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

O nly traces remain of the Native
Americans who lived, hunted, and fished
by the spring. The settlers found two
mounds but no one recorded the names
of the people and today not even the
mounds remain.
Archaeologists use pottery
to trace cultural changes.
Designs vary by time
period and region. Firing
technology and temper
(sand, fiber, grit, etc used
to strengthen the clay)
also has changed over
time. Replica pottery by
Ancient Hands.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
to the south. The Spanish mention the Pojoy (or
Pohoy); maybe that was their name.
Daily life leaves archaeological evidence. The
settlers found many glass beads, arrow heads,
The mounds were
evidence of the Native
Americans that lived
along the river from
about the year 900 to Can you see the person on the left that the
red arrow is pointing to? This will give you
the 1700s. The Manatee an idea of how large some the mounds and
middens were. This mound was near the
River was a boundary mouth of the Manatee River. Most of the
shoreline mounds were mined for roadfill
or neutral area between in the 1900s.
powerful groups. The
Tocobaga people lived
to the north, around
Tampa Bay, and the
powerful Calusa lived
Native Americans crafted their tools from natural
materials: wood from the forests, shells from the
Gulf, deer bone and sinew, fiber and pitch, and
chert from quarries in north central Florida.
Replica tools by Tools from the Earth.
He described one as a burial mound about 60 feet
in diameter and about 4 1/2 feet high. He dated
its use to the period from the 1400s to the 1600s,
evidence of a thriving community just as the
Spanish arrived in Tampa Bay.
and fragments of
pottery in and around A local legend tells a Romeo and Juliet story
the mounds. Some of an Indian brave from the north and a fair
used the colorful maiden from the Manatee spring falling in love.
beads to decorate The couple escape across the river on a moonlit
their dresses. night. As they set the maid’s canoe afloat, the
Local archaeologist brave is spellbound by mysterious music from
Montague Tallant the river. The maiden assures him all is well and
investigated the they depart, leaving her family, her home, and all
mounds in the 1950s. she knows. Such is the power of love. But it was
said that who-so-ever drinks the
water of the medicine spring
shall always return. And if one
has ever heard the mysterious
music of the river, they could never
be satisfied until it is heard again.
So eventually, the pull of her homeland
becomes too great. After many trials and
tribulations and bloodshed they bring peace
between their two tribes.
The early settlers recounted this story,
showing that the spring had a long history
before they built the village of Manatee. In
those early days, music could still be heard
at Rocky Bluffs across the river to the north.
The Seminoles would have heard the legend
of the singing river, maybe they knew it
from their traditions. Today only a few
artifacts are left to tell of ancient days at
the spring.
 The Civil War
REFLECTIONS Manateeof

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

B attles were not fought around the
Manatee settlement, but the Civil War
precious salt that not only preserved food in the
days before refrigeration, but was also vital for
It made several successful runs to Cuba with
cotton, returning with lead, tin, medicine, wine,
The end of the war
brought men home. It
brought stress and strain none-the-less. curing leather. coffee, and other items needed by the South. But, also brought Judah P.
Men went away to war. Union blockades in 1862 she was captured by the Union steamer Benjamin, Secretary of
Captain John Curry had
meant that women and children only had Huntsville and was fitted out to work instead as a War for the Confederacy,
purchased the Spring
flour occasionally - when it was smuggled Union blockader. who was fleeing trial by
property in 1859. His
in - and coffee had to be made from the Union. The settlement,
son, John W. Curry, In late summer 1864, Union soldiers came ashore. Judah P. Benjamin
parched corn or beans. When blockading home to skilled boatmen
was a member of the Joseph Francis Bartholf, Captain of Company I, 2nd
troops came up the river they arrested with family ties to the Florida Keys and the
Confederate Florida Home Regiment, U. S. Colored Infantry, headquartered
any men of military age, Bahama Islands was a natural point of escape.
Guard. The younger himself at one of the Curry houses and the regiment
confiscated livestock, Benjamin hid first at the Gamble plantation,
Curry played a major occupied the town. Young Arvid Curry remembered
and destroyed any and then south of the river with Captain
role in supplying cattle an officer in blue, with a huge
property that might Frederic Tresca while plans were made. He
John W. Curry, Manatee County
Public Library Historical Image
and other provisions to the mustache and shiny sword, in
be used to supply the Digital Collection. made his escape, leaving Sarasota Bay with
Confederate Army. 2000 his grandfather’s living room.
Confederacy. They Tresca and Hiram McLeod. They sailed in
cattle a week were driven from south Florida north Troops destroyed the Gamble
sunk or burned boats, an open sixteen foot boat that Captain John
to various army posts. sugar mill on the north side of
both large and small. Curry had kept hidden in the woods for all
the river. On the south side they
They kept settlers Meanwhile, the old seamen of the town, knowing all the years of the war.
blew up the saw mill and grist
from making the the inlets and bayous of Florida’s west coast, kept
mill owned by Josiah Gates,
John W. Curry record of busy trying to run the Union blockade. Captain
service to the Confederacy.
Captain Joseph Francis Bartholf, John Curry, and Ezekiel Glazer.
Curry sold one of his schooners, the Ariel, to the Captain of Company I,
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council 2nd Regiment, U. S. Colored Infantry.
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions Confederacy to use as a blockade runner.
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
 Curry Family
REFLECTIONS Manateeof

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

T he Curry Houses are two of the oldest
homes in Bradenton still in the location
Bahamas in 1811. He married Mary Ward Kemp
and they migrated to Key West. Their extended
John Curry captained and built many ships, large
and small. Two of Curry’s ships were blockade
this was the first time the
land itself was subdivided.
where they were built. Their age and family connections continued in both Key West runners during the Civil War. The 80 ton schooner The little settlement of
connection to the Curry family make them and the Bahamas. Dudley has a special place in family Manatee had grown and
important markers of the community’s lore. Two Curry boys, William and very few of the original
While on a cattle trading expedition in 1859, and
history. Reflections of Manatee is dedicated Amos, made a run with the ship when land parcels were still
docked at Andress Tavern on Snead Island, Curry
to their preservation, restoration, and use they were spotted by Union forces. intact. Miss Amelia
purchased the property known as the Manatee
as historic house museums. Rather than have her captured, they Curry was the next
Mineral Spring from Dr. Franklin Branch. By the
set the ship ablaze. The boys took to inherit the homes.
Captain John fall of 1860, 29 members of the Curry family had Amelia Curry
Photo courtesy of Jeff Moore.
to the mangroves to hide, carrying Amelia taught in Manatee
Curry was a ship migrated from Key West to the settlement. Some Samuel Curry
the ship’s barometer, which local schools for 50 years, sometimes serving as
builder, mariner, were married adults with children; some were in- lots
had
atee
. We at the descendants still own and prize. Principal. During summers she worked as
salvager, and laws with their families. Six Curry homes e in
Man metimes ere
o w
ther nics, s h ey d
ic g. T
of p ee Sprin l Picnic
s an Post Mistress. She used the two houses as
cattle trader up are listed on the 1860 Man
at oo
Sch t.”
Samuel G. and Amanda (Andress)
5 -
ne - 190 u n day en rentals, while living down and across the
ne Ire orth S ody
w
and down the west Census, and sixteen Lore es Hayw atee everyb Curry, who had lived in
h
Hutc in Man use
S et tled e h o street in the home her parents
ng th
coast of Florida as on the Census of 1870. Getti oved into s. The the large house in the
“We
m for u as
rented story)w had moved to in 1870.
papa o and
well as the Atlantic Those Curry members o u s e (tw am Curry t 1860s, inherited both
h by S ee
ne d o n a str about
ow cated and west r
for many years. not already married had was
lo
st e rive these houses when
ing ea om th
Captain John Curry paid cash, runn blocks fr e blocks
4 u pl
$4200 for land and $1250 for cattle, 3 or a co g, from
when he moved to Manatee in 1859. Curry was born in soon married settlers and ay be
and m anatee S arried all
pr in
Captain John died in
M c
from we kids here
er. ‘T
In 2013 dollars, the economic status
h st
value of that wealth would be close Green Turtle Cay, by 1870, the Curry’s were whic inking wat ater (ju
dr w 1884. Although many
g e and
u r in Curry barometer.
o nn
no ru the hous d. ‘I
to $2 million dollars.
as Courtesy of Joanna Bruce
related to nearly every w
m p) in ve ry har times family homes had been Johnson Williams
a pu was od
ater of go
the w ber lots
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions
family in the settlement. remem built across his acreage,
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Samuel G. Curry house.
Manatee town map
 Archaeology
History Beneath Our Feet
REFLECTIONS Manateeof

The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring

T he traces of the past
are buried beneath our
For some, documents tell part
of their story in Manatee. We
Archaeology helps us
discover the details of
In 2007, Witten Technologies donated their
services for a radar tomography of the site.
feet. People walking may know the date a property those daily lives. Since An array of 16 sensors created a layer by layer
in the neighborhood was purchased, or who was 2006, Reflections of picture of the sub-surface. Each layer
today see paved streets, appointed Postmaster. But it Manatee has teamed with is 1” deep, and the sensors penetrate to 70”.
modern homes, and was usually the names of men Professor Uzi Baram and Using the Witten scans as a guide, Dr. Baram
colorful children’s toys who held the deeds and signed the New College Public led excavations to explore sub-surface features,
strewn on mown lawns. the documents. There are fewer Archaeology Lab to uncovering and documenting the many layers of
It is hard to imagine all the peoples who records that mention the names of women and uncover the hidden history at the site.
have made their lives by this spring children. Fewer still that give names to the histories of the Manatee
over many centuries. enslaved Africans who worked the fields or to Mineral Spring property.
Excavations included New College
the Seminole who brought hides students, Time Sifters Archaeology
Society, Florida Public Archaeology

One of the layers of the Spring

to the trading post. And virtually Network, and interested
community members.
site includes artifacts such as
pottery and clay pipes that date none that name the maroons of
to the very early 1800s, when
the maroons of Angola lived
along the river.
Angola who sought their freedom
along these banks. The Witten Technologies tractor-mounted scanner surveys the field.

One of the excavations located a “postmold” - Ford Model T coil part - 1920s.
the remains of a wooden foundation post or fence post.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council Large nails or stakes.
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

REFLECTIONS of
T he Manatee Mineral Spring has
always been a community resource.
Native Americans, Black Seminoles,
Spanish fishermen, and American
pioneers all drank its waters. Troops
hauled its water to Camp Smead during
the Third Seminole War. Confederate
Community Flows from the Spring
Manatee
The History of Manatee Flows from this Spring
Its medicinal qualities were valued by men, women,
and children across the ages. It has been a gathering
Reflections of Manatee is committed to the
Manatee Mineral Spring and maintaining the
place for many centuries. Reflections of Manatee spring park as an educational site for the
incorporated as a non-profit in 1997 and purchased benefit of the community National Archaeology
Day events bring
the property the following summer. Today, the archaeology, history,
and preservation
Spring is the symbol of a vibrant educational groups to share the
histories of Manatee
River communities,
initiative to preserve Manatee’s heritage. past and present.

sympathizers and Black Union soldiers

shared its cool refreshment.

Reflections’ re-enactors participate

at educational events throughout
southwest Florida. They set up a
pioneer camp and kitchen, and
provide cane stalks to chew and
samples of sugar cane syrup

Hundreds of school children visit Manatee Mineral Spring to learn about

the history of this site. They learn how artifacts can tell us about people’s
daily lives. They participate in activities such as mapping and orienteering.
Photo courtesy of Around the Bend Nature Tours.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council
with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the
Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Re-enactor John Russell shares the story of the 2nd
Regiment, U.S. Colored Infantry, who occupied the
village during the Civil War. The annual Pioneer Picnic celebrates traditional foods and features heritage
games like coins in the hay, horseshoes, and frying pan toss. It is a day to learn
more about local heritage, record family histories, and trace genealogies.
Each year, Reflections of Manatee volunteers harvest the sugarcane in the neighboring
field. They process it the old fashioned way, with a small grinder and a long pole. It is a
way to let people know about this area’s first commercially grown agricultural crop.