Edited by Spessard Stone
This article by F. C. M. Boggess was originally printed in the Fort Myers Weekly News of January 24, 1885 and reprinted in The Herald-Advocate (Wauchula, Fla.) of February 1, 1990.
Manatee County has a population of 6,000 and contains all grades of land, has some fine rivers, among them the Manatee river, which has fine cane and vegetable land. The raising of vegetables for the northern market is growing yearly and with great success. Persons who only a few years since began raising vegetables and who only planted a small patch are now planting many acres and receive satisfactory results from the enterprise.
Manatee was the only village on the river a few years since; now there are Mitchelville, Palmasola[?], __________ [?], Fogartyville, Braidentown, on the south, and Palmetto on the north. The whole length of the river is nearly a solid town with many stores, shipyards and drydocks, tin shops, carriage shops and livery stables. The supply of fine yellow and pitch pine is, to say the least, almost inexhaustible, and only awaits the enterprising mill men to be converted into lumber.
The Miakka river empties into Charlotte Harbor, has a depth of six feet of water, has fine lands on both banks and millions of fine pitch and yellow pine timber, and beautiful settlements with good water protection to grow pineapples, bananas, and other tropical fruits. The ponds are filled with wild millet that will yield a ton of hay to the acre, and a fine range for sheep; plenty of fish and oysters and thousands of birds, also deer and turkeys. The river is sparsely settled.
Peace creek, which also empties into Charlotte Harbor, has many tributaries emptying in on both sides and has a depth of four feet of water to Fort Ogden. This river runs nearly through the centre of the county and has the finest cypress brakes in the county; also pitch and yellow pine, live and water oak, ash, elm, hickory, bog maple, and other growth. On this river and its tributaries the orange and citrus family grow to perfection. The principal crops are rice, corn, peas, potatoes, sugar cane, pumpkins, melons, &c. There are many villages on and adjacent to Peace creek: Bartow, Fort Meade, Popash, Arthursville, Pine Level, Arcadia, Fort Ogden, Liverpool, and Hickory Bluff, which is at the mouth of Peace creek on Charlotte Harbor.
The Kissimmee is the line dividing Manatee and Brevard counties. The lands are mostly marsh and prairie, with some hammock. This river empties into Lake Okeechobee and is a deep stream, navigable from head to mouth.
The country between Fish Eating creek and Kissimmee is prairie, with live oak and cabbage palm, the hammocks bordering on the lake. Farther north you reach some fine pine land and beautiful clear water lakes. The country is well timbered, the range good for stock, and a good game country. All settlements have churches- Baptist and Methodist, and a free school of five months during each year. Health is all that could be desired, and the climate is unexcelled. I do not claim Manatee to be below the frost line as the thermometer falls to 34 and gets to 95, though not often. My experience is that about every six years we have a cold wave that kills guava trees and bananas, and pineapples cannot be successfully raised without water protection. Manatee county has thousands of acres of fine grazing lands and cattle are never fed during winter. With a small capital to commence with, and energy, a man can be free from want.
One great drawback to the development of this country is transportation-steamboats and railroads. Two railroads are chartered to terminate on Charlotte Harbor. Lands are now cheap and good locations can be found throughout the country. For particulars address F. C. M. Boggess.
February 28, 2001