Historical Who's Who in
Manatee County
A description of Manatee County's historical groups
might look like alphabet soup to the uninitiated. However, MCHS,
MCHC, CHS, AMHS, PHC and UDC all mean something to those interested
in the county's history. The last issue of this newsletter contained
a brief outline of the kinds of historical groups that exist in
Manatee County and how they work together. For those who are interested
in the individual organizations and their purposes, here are seventeen
of the county's historical groups described in more detail.
Three groups, the Manatee County Historical Society
(MCHS), the Manatee County Historical Commission (MCHC), and Manatee
Heritage Association work to preserve the history of the entire
county. Chartered in 1946, the MCHS meets monthly from October through
May to hear speakers on historical topics. The MCHS owns a large
collection of historic photographs. In October 2003, all the negatives of these photos (approximately 30,000) were sent to USF Tampa to be digitized. Every one of these images must then be individually tagged and indexed by librarians at the Central Library. As of November 2007, there were 15,388 publicly-available and searchable images available on the USF Digital Collections website.
The MCHS sponsors college scholarships for history
majors and a historical marker program in addition to contributing
to other historical organizations in the community.
The Manatee County Historical Commission (MCHC) was established
by the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners in 1974. The
MCHC concentrates on collecting and preserving historic buildings
and artifacts and runs the twelve acre Manatee Village Historical
Park. The third group, the Manatee Heritage Association, organizes
Manatee Heritage Days held annually in March.
The Cortez Historical Society, the Palmetto Historical
Commission, the Longboat Key Historical Society, the Anna Maria
Historical Society, and the Myakka City Historical Society are
more specific in their work and concentrate primarily on the history
of their area. Whether they are saving old buildings from demolition,
interviewing long time residents about their memories or collecting
artifacts and documents, these groups ensure that the uniqueness
and individuality of Manatee County's varied communities is saved.
Even more focused are the Manatee County Historic
Preservation Board and the Downtown Bradenton Architectural Review
Board whose members work with the city of Bradenton and Manatee
County to make sure that the architecture of historic buildings
and neighborhoods are protected. These groups use ordinances and
building regulations to promote historic preservation and encourage
adaptive reuse of old buildings.
The seven remaining historical groups deal with
a specific type of history. The Florida Institute for Saltwater
Heritage (F.I.S.H) collects artifacts and information on Florida's
maritime history, while the Gulf coast Railroad Museum specializes
in railroad history and runs a train route in Parrish on the weekends.
The Manasota Genealogical Society encourages area residents to
learn more about their family history through seminars, meetings
and workshops. The Family Heritage House is similar, but is a
collection of Black History designed to encourage local families
to study their family's individual heritage as well as that of
the entire black race. The United Daughters of the Confederacy,
the Sons of the Confederate Veterans, and the Daughters of the
American Revolution also study family history as well as a particular
time or event in history and the role that members' ancestors
might have played in that era.
While the members of these seventeen organizations
concentrate on different areas of history and sponsor varied types
of activities to share their knowledge, they all have one thing
in common, a fascination with what has come before us. They believe
that a community cannot define its future until it knows what
has happened in the past. Hundreds of Manatee County residents
volunteer their time in this effort, but there is always room
for one more.
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Page last updated 11/26/2007
