Living along Ware's Creek, circa 1915-1960s

As more people heard of the semi-tropical paradise south of Tampa, people of all walks of life migrated to Manatee County. The population of the Village of Manatee, near the present-day Manatee Avenue and Ninth Street East, grew and some of the newcomers began to settle west of the village along the banks of Ware's Creek. The photos below from the Bradenton Herald's and Manatee County Historical Society archives capture scenes along the creek from days past. To view more photos check out Photo Gallery | Living along Ware's Creek at Bradenton.com.

Most of the homes were built along the mouth of Ware's Creek, where it runs into the larger Manatee River. During low tides large sections of the creek would turn into mud flats, so docks were built to allow easier access to the middle of the creek for boats. This photo, taken about 1915, shows one of the more elaborate structures with a boathouse and deck, on the western bank of Ware's Creek, just north of the Manatee Avenue Bridge.

A young Korky Koker points at a large alligator that climbed onto the banks of Ware's Creek in the backyard of a home near Eighth Avenue West on Oct. 19, 1968. By the 1960s most of the Ballard Park subdivision was built out, and wildlife in the area was getting used to living with humans as their neighbors.

In this closer view of the alligator, which was between 8 and 10 feet long, notice the lush vegetation along Ware's Creek. Construction of homes and commercial buildings upstream from here was taking place in a rapid manner in the 1960s, creating more soil runoff into the creek. This led to the situation today when, during heavy rainstorms, many of the homes along Ware's Creek will flood. The Army Corps of Engineers plan to dredge the creek and widen its banks to help alleviate the flooding.