Water and Manatee County: Historical connections

The history of Manatee County is closely tied to water. With the waters of the Gulf of Mexico lapping our western shores and the broad Manatee River dissecting this immense county, the people who settled this land had an intimate connection to the water. Even before the first settlers from the north arrived, the waters provided both commercial and recreational opportunities for those who chose this place for their home. These photos from the Manatee County Historical Society archives capture the importance water played in the county's growth and success. To see more photos of life on the waterways of Manatee County check out Gallery | Waterways at Bradenton.com

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This photograph, circa 1918, depicts a fleet of skipjack sailboats at the Cortez fishing village. The skipjack, a small boat used primarily for the gill netting of mullet, was powered only with two sails and steered with a tiller. Cortez remains a vibrant part of the area's economy today.

A woman and child wait on the Corwin Dock in the early 1920s for the steamer ship Favorite, maybe to greet a visiting relative or to board themselves for a trip to Tampa. Steamers, preceded by large sailing sloops, were docking at the Corwin Dock off Main Street in Bradenton, where the Municipal Pier now stands, carrying passengers and cargo for decades.

When the Municipal Pier was built in the mid-1920s, replacing the Corwin Dock, it quickly became a favorite place for tying up recreational boats, as shown in this postcard from the late 1920s.