Editing Bradenton, Florida (section)

== History ==

=== Late 18th and early 19th centuries ===
A settlement established by [[Maroons]] or escaped slaves named [[Angola, Florida|Angola]] existed in Bradenton's present area starting in the late 1700s and ending in 1821. It is believed to been spread out between the Manatee River (then known as Oyster River) all the way to [[Sarasota Bay]]. The community is estimated to have had 600–750 residents. Angola was a rather large maroon settlement as the Manatee River at that time was too shallow for US Navy vessels to navigate. The settlement was abandoned after the [[Muscogee|Creeks]] who were aligned with [[Andrew Jackson]] attacked Angola.<ref>{{Cite news|last=White|first=Dale|date=September 8, 2016|title=When Bradenton was a home for escaped slaves|work=[[The Florida Times-Union]]|url=https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20160908/when-bradenton-was-home-for-escaped-slaves|access-date=May 1, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Eger|first=Issac|date=June 27, 2018|title=A Newly Excavated Settlement Highlights Florida's History as a Haven for Escaped Slaves|url=https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/news-and-profiles/2018/06/a-newly-excavated-settlement-highlights-florida-s-history-as-a-haven-for-escaped-slaves|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-01|website=Sarasota Magazine|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725062045/https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/news-and-profiles/2018/06/a-newly-excavated-settlement-highlights-florida-s-history-as-a-haven-for-escaped-slaves |archive-date=July 25, 2020 }}</ref>

When the United States annexed Florida in 1821, there were two known claimants of land in the vicinity of Bradenton but neither of them was confirmed by the US federal government.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Congress|first=United States|title=American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States ...|date=1860|publisher=Gales and Seaton|language=en|chapter=Land Claims in East Florida|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KG8zAQAAMAAJ}}</ref>

=== Mid and late 19th century ===
Josiah Gates along with his family and eight slaves moved to the area where present-day Bradenton exists in January 1842 after being attracted to the area for its natural beauty. Gates thought the area would be a popular place for new settlers to arrive at because it was near [[Fort Brooke]], and he also figured that while they were building their homes they would need a place to stay at temporarily. He built his home near present-day 15th Street East and his inn at another location naming it Gates House.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Favorite|first=Merab|date=November 12, 2017|title=Sunday Favorites: The First Settler|url=https://thebradentontimes.com/sunday-favorites-the-first-settler-p19239-133.htm|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-16|website=[[The Bradenton Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516171311/https://thebradentontimes.com/sunday-favorites-the-first-settler-p19239-133.htm |archive-date=May 16, 2021 }}</ref> Gates is also credited as being the first known American settler in present-day Manatee County.<ref>{{Cite web|last=King|first=Carl|date=April 19, 1972|title=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5083|url-status=live|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|pages=6–7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516171311/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5083 |archive-date=May 16, 2021 }}</ref>

Bradenton is named after Dr. Joseph Braden, whose nearby fort-like house was a refuge for early settlers during the [[Seminole Wars]]. Braden owned a sugar plantation in the area, covering {{convert|1100|acres}} and being worked by slave labor. Dr. Joseph Braden was originally from Virginia and relocated to [[Leon County, Florida|Leon County]] in Florida shortly after its [[Adams–Onís Treaty|annexation by the United States]] in 1821 where he established a cotton plantation bringing his preexisting Virginia slaves along with him. After having financial difficulties from the [[Panic of 1837]], he tried to reestablish himself financially in Manatee County in 1843 moving to the area along with his slaves.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=King|first=Carl|date=1979–1982|title=Speech by Carl King "The Plantation Builders"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5428|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425164823/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5428 |archive-date=April 25, 2021 }}</ref> To help with the shipment of sugar grown at the plantation, he constructed a pier in present-day Downtown Bradenton where ships could dock at and pick up sugar. Where the pier met the land he constructed a stockade getting the name of Fort Braden.<ref>{{Cite web|last=King|first=Carl|date=March 26, 1983|title=Speech by Carl King "Boat Tour on Anna Maria Sound and Manatee River"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/6697|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521133336/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/6697 |archive-date=May 21, 2021 }}</ref> During the [[Third Seminole War]], on April 6, 1856, Braden's fortified home was attacked by several [[Seminoles|Seminole Indians]], one of the few, albeit small, direct engagements of the war.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Knetsch |first1=Joe |title=Florida's Seminole wars, 1817-1858 |date=2003 |publisher=Arcadia Pub |location=Charleston, SC |isbn=9781589730786 |page=153}}</ref> Braden was financially successful with his plantation but ended up moving back to Leon County in 1857 because of [[Panic of 1857|a financial panic that occurred that year]].<ref name=":3" />

Major Alden Joseph Adams purchased 400 acres of land in 1876 between present-day Manatee Memorial Hospital and 9th Street East and build his home there in 1882. He named his three-story concrete home Villa Zanza. Alden was known for having many animals and a large amount of foliage at his home. At one point he owned over 300,000 acres of land in Manatee County. Major Alden Joseph Adams served in the Union Army during the [[American Civil War]] and eventually reached the rank of major. After the war he served in the [[United States Secret Service|US Secret Service]] and later as a newspaper correspondent for the ''[[New York Herald]]''. He reported from Paris during the time when the [[Paris Commune]] existed. At one point he was asked to look for [[David Livingstone|Dr. David Livingstone]] but declined and suggested that [[Henry Morton Stanley]] should look for him instead. Adams died in 1915, and his home was bought in 1924 with the intent of remodeling it. However it was not completed, and his home was demolished at some point in the late 1920s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Major Adams' Castle, Bradentown|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/821|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521015138/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/821 |archive-date=May 21, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Favorite|first=Merab-Michal|date=January 8, 2012|title=Community Sunday Favorites: Villa Zanza and the Eccentric Major Adams|url=https://thebradentontimes.com/community-sunday-favorites-villa-zanza-and-the-eccentric-major-adams-p9938-158.htm|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-21|website=The Bradenton Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521015138/https://thebradentontimes.com/community-sunday-favorites-villa-zanza-and-the-eccentric-major-adams-p9938-158.htm |archive-date=May 21, 2021 }}</ref>

William I. Turner bought 7 acres from John Crews Pelot in 1877 and create a subdivision from that land creating what is now Bradenton. The land itself was plotted by Axel Emil Broberg and it contained 19 plots on both sides of what is 12th Street West along with a cross street that is currently 3rd Avenue. Turner sold the lots building a store and a warehouse along with<ref>{{Cite web|year=1983|title=Gladys Turner Pittman with Bradenton's First Post Office Marker|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/10685/rec/3|url-status=live|access-date=December 30, 2021|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|type=Photograph|format=JPEG|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230153606/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/10685/rec/3 |archive-date=December 30, 2021 }}</ref> his own home where he lived at.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Turner|first=Mrs. William Jr.|date=October 15, 1975|title=Speech by Mrs. William S. Turner, Jr. "Major William I. Turner"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/6493/rec/2|url-status=live|access-date=December 30, 2021|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|page=7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230153604/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/6493/rec/2 |archive-date=December 30, 2021 }}</ref>

The town was originally spelled "Braidentown," as a spelling error was made when it applied for a post office on May 9, 1878.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last=King|first=Carl|date=May 17, 1978|title=Speech by Carl King "The Story of Bradenton|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5895/rec/1|access-date=2020-08-03|website=Manatee County Public Library Digital Collection|language=en}}</ref> The first bridge across [[Wares Creek]] was built in 1886.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Residences on Wares Creek, Bradentown|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/2340|access-date=2020-09-02|website=Manatee County Public Library System Digital Collection|language=en}}</ref> The following year, Bradenton was designated the county seat after [[DeSoto County, Florida|DeSoto County]] was formed from eastern Manatee County, as the then county seat, [[Pine Level, DeSoto County, Florida|Pine Level]], was in the new county.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Manatee County Courthouse from the 1890s|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/4737|access-date=2020-08-14|website=Manatee County Public Library Digital Collection}}</ref> A county courthouse was built in 1890 at Courthouse Square.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=1896–1907|title=Manatee County Court House, Bradentown|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/887|access-date=2020-10-18|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en}}</ref>

=== 20th century ===

==== First half of the 20th century ====
[[File:Main Street, Bradentown, FL.jpg|thumb|left|Old Main Street c. 1910]]
Railroad service was extended from Palmetto across the Manatee River to Bradenton in 1902.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gibson|first=Pamela|date=February 1985|title=Speech by Pamela Gibson "Railroads of Manatee County"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/7055|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Manatee County Public Library Digital Collection|language=en}}</ref> Bradenton was incorporated on May 19, 1903,<ref name=BradInco>{{Cite book|last=Hall|first=A. Sterling|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/6829|title=Speech by A. Sterling Hall "Bradenton Municipal Government"|year=1970|pages=2}}</ref> with 59 voting in favor of incorporating and 34 voting against it.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Parvin|first=Elizabeth|date=May 15, 1970|title=Early Cultural and Social Life of Manatee County|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/73|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-17|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517003348/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/73 |archive-date=May 17, 2021 }}</ref> Shortly after incorporation, a local election was held to choose the city's first elected municipal officials. A.T Cornwell was elected as mayor, Robert H. Roesch as clerk and tax assessor, A.B. Murphy as treasurer and F. Dryman as tax collector along with seven city council members.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Sharyn|date=October 24, 1983|title=1903 Banner Year for Bradentown|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5484|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|page=2|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425171351/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5484 |archive-date=April 25, 2021 }}</ref> One of the earliest moves made by the municipal government was amending the name to "Bradentown".<ref>Porter, M. (2014). Manatee history matters. Bradenton Herald. Retrieved from https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article34739931.html</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4zogAAAAIBAJ&pg=5933%2C4186421 | title=The Legends Behind Manatee Names | work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune | date=November 23, 1979 | access-date=June 6, 2015 | author=Grimes, David | pages=1B | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904105630/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4zogAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s2cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5933%2C4186421 | archive-date=September 4, 2015 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Poston|first=Wayne|date=January 15, 2003|title=Speech by Wayne Poston "Past and Future of Bradenton"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/7628|access-date=2020-08-03|website=Manatee County Public Library System Digital Collection|language=en}}</ref> However the name change would not be reflected with the [[United States Postal Service|US Postal Service]] until 1905.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Sharyn|date=October 24, 1983|title=1903 Banner Year for Bradentown|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5483|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-25|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425171351/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5483 |archive-date=April 25, 2021 }}</ref> On December 29, a streetcar line began operation going from Bradenton to the neighboring city of Manatee and went west crossing [[Wares Creek]] to the nearby community of Fogartyville.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Slusser|first=Cathy|date=March 21, 2001|title=Speech by Cathy Slusser "Manatee County History"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5955|access-date=2020-08-03|website=Manatee County Public Library System Digital Collection|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Lambert|first=Joe|date=January 21, 1987|title=Speech by Joe Lambert "The Graham-Davis House"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5012|access-date=2020-08-16|website=Manatee County Public Library System Digital Collection|language=en}}</ref> The company operating the line had financial difficulties, likely due to a lack of ridership, and cancelled the line in 1906.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Poston|first=Wayne|date=January 15, 2003|title=Speech by Wayne Poston "Past and Future of Bradenton"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/7628|access-date=2020-08-03|website=Manatee County Public Library System – Digital Collection|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=1900s|title=Manatee County Courthouse|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/6816|access-date=2020-08-03|website=Manatee County Public Library System – Digital Collection|language=en}}</ref> The Manavista Hotel was opened in January 1907 bordering the Manatee River on Main Street.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Russell|first=Cindy|date=November 18, 2014|title=Manatee History Matters: The Manavista Hotel was Bradenton's first 'sky scraper'|work=[[The Bradenton Herald]]|url=https://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article34750326.html|access-date=May 31, 2021}}</ref>

The Davis Bridge, the first general traffic bridge across the Manatee River was opened in June 1910. It was a wooden toll bridge built by C.H. Davis that had one lane and passing spots. The bridge went from present-day 9th Street East (located within then nearby Manatee) to near where the Atwood Grapefruit Groves were located at west of Ellenton.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|year=1910|title=Davis Bridge over Manatee River|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/770|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-27|website=Manatee County Digital Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|type=Postcard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527020432/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/770 |archive-date=May 27, 2021 }}</ref> In 1912, the first road, Range Road leading from present-day Bradenton (then, Manatee) to Sarasota was built.<ref name=":0" /> Also during that year, the original county courthouse was bought and moved to a new location becoming a grade school for black students in the area, Lincoln Academy Grammar School. A [[Manatee County Courthouse|new courthouse]] was built on the site of the old one which still stands today in the following year, 1913.<ref name=":1" /> The Victory Bridge was opened in August 1919 running from current 10th Street West in Bradenton to 8th Avenue in Palmetto. Funding for the bridge came from bond issues by both Bradenton and Palmetto. The bridge itself had two lanes and was made of wood. Its name came from the United States' recent victory in World War I against the Central Powers.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|last=Gibson|first=Pamela|year=1985|title=Speech by Pamela Gibson "Some Early Bridges of Manatee County, North to South, East to West"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5514|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-27|website=Manatee County Public Library Collection: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527020432/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5514 |archive-date=May 27, 2021 }}</ref> With the Victory Bridge's construction, the municipal government of Manatee attempted to buy Davis Bridge and make it public as a way to compete with Bradenton's Victory Bridge but the deal however never went through.<ref name=":5" /> The rest of the bridge ended up being dismantled with the exception of its draw section which was sold to county government and put into use for the Snead Island's Cut off bridge in 1920.<ref name=":6" />

==== 1920s and 1930s ====
Baseball spring training began in Bradenton with the construction of [[Ninth Street Park (pre-1923)|Ninth Street Park]] in 1923. The first team to train in the city was the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], doing so for 1923 and 1924. The city council began the process of removing the "w" letter from its then name "Bradentown" in January 1925 and be completed on May 2, 1925, when the state Governor signed a bill relating to it making it official.<ref name=":8" /> All streets in the city were renamed in 1926 with a [[numbered street|numbering system]].<ref>{{Cite web|year=1914|title=Postcard of Prospect Avenue Looking North from Manatee Avenue, Bradentown|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/2864%20(for%20note)|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-12|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412211005/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/2864%20(for%20note) |archive-date=April 12, 2021 }}</ref>

After the collapse of the [[Florida land boom of the 1920s|Florida land boom]] and the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]] starting, the city faced an economic downturn.<ref>{{Cite web|last=King|first=Carl|date=May 17, 1978|title=Speech by Carl King "Real Estate Trends in Manatee County"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5910|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-16|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection.|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516184951/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5910 |archive-date=May 16, 2021 }}</ref> Along with an economic downturn, the city had financial issues as well with the city going into debt. During the Florida land boom, Bradenton borrowed money as a way to pay for infrastructure to areas that were considered outlying.  As a result, the city retracted its municipal boundaries so it could not provide services to those areas and defaulted their municipal bonds as a result. After the municipal boundaries were retracted, the bonds were refunded, and residents who lived in the new boundaries would be responsible for paying it. Bradenton ended up eventually getting its bonds paid off.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Hall|first=A. Sterling|date=November 18, 1970|title=Speech by A. Sterling Hall "Bradenton Municipal Government"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/6828|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-16|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517131638/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/6828 |archive-date=May 17, 2021 }}</ref> Despite the economic downtown, several new projects were done in the city. A municipal pier (interchangeably referred to as Memorial pier) was built in 1927 with a building at its end. The pier itself still stands and the building at its end has served a variety of functions ever since.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kropp Co|first=E.C.|year=1935|title=Municipal Pier, Bradenton|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/398|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-18|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|type=Postcard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518141610/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/398 |archive-date=May 18, 2021 }}</ref> As the Victory Bridge was deemed too unsafe to use after a hurricane hit it in 1926, the [[Green Bridge (Manatee River)|Green Bridge]] was built the following year in 1927 as a replacement to it. In the meantime, a ferry operated until the Green Bridge was built.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Co.|first=Gulfstream Card|date=2002–2010|title=Bradenton, Florida|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/2663|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-22|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|type=Postcard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522151606/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/2663 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 }}</ref> On July 22, 1931, a joint committee was appointed by the municipal city councils of Bradenton, Manatee, and Palmetto to consider and possibly even merge the three cities but nothing would come out of the committee in the end. A new post office building in 1937 was built on Manatee Avenue and 9th Street West as a [[Works Progress Administration]] project. The post office is still in operation.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sales Co.|first=Hartman Litho|year=1947|title=U.S. Post Office, Bradenton|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/743|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-18|website=County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|type=Postcard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518141610/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/743 |archive-date=May 18, 2021 }}</ref>

Compiled in the late 1930s and first published in 1939, the [[American Guide Series|Florida guide]] listed Bradenton's population as being 5,986 and described it as:{{Blockquote|text=lies opposite Palmetto on the south bank of the Manatee River. The two towns are connected by a mile-long bridge. Boom-time hotels dominate the skyline and do a thriving business in winter, when the population almost doubles. In the residential sections comfortable houses are surrounded with aged trees. The neighboring area of rich muck land normally produces two or three crops each season, making Bradenton the principal shipping center for winter vegetables on the west coast. Celery, citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbages, eggplants, green peppers and square are the main products.
<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Federal Writers' Project |date=1947 |edition= 5th |title=Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State |url=https://archive.org/details/floridaguidetoso00fede/page/394/mode/2up?q=Bradenton|location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=394|isbn= 9781595342089}}</ref>|author=Federal Writers' Project|title="Part III: The Florida Loop"|source=''Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State'' (1947)}}

==== 1940s ====
[[File:Florida - Brandenton through Clearwater - NARA - 23936567.jpg|alt=An aerial photograph taken of Downtown Bradenton in August 1941 by the US Army Air Forces.|right|thumb|Downtown Bradenton in August 1941 in an aerial photograph taken by the [[United States Army Air Forces|US Army Air Forces.]]]]
Bradenton was affected by World War II like many other cities in Florida and the United States. During the war, Manatee County had its own Civil Defense battalion in it with two subunits existing in Bradenton and another for nearby Manatee. A recreational center was opened in March 1942 at a building on the intersection of 6th Avenue and 12th Street West in the downtown area to be used by soldiers. The recreation center closed in November 1945 and was popular with local soldiers and visited even by those who were stationed outside of Bradenton. Police Chief Clyde Benton expanded the police force by naming 45 officers to serve without pay during the war.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Warren|first=G.|title=Speech by Lt.Col. G. Warren Johnson Jr "World War II Comes to Manatee County"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/4887|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-03|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603133927/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/4887 |archive-date=June 3, 2021 }}</ref> Camp Weatherford located at LECOM Field existed for eight months at some point during the war as a training center for the [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|US Army Signal Corps]]. About 350 soldiers were trained there during its existence. The camp itself often had an issue with being flooded because of the rainy climate, showers at the camp occurring often, clothes being washed, its low elevation and is located nearby to Wares Creek. A soldier named Joe Grossman at the camp ran a radio show broadcasting on [[WSPB (Florida radio station)|WSPB]] called Weatherford Shinings. Local residents accommodated the troops stationed at the base in a variety of ways.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Favorite|first=Merab|date=March 3, 2019|title=Sunday Favorites: Camp Weatherford|url=https://thebradentontimes.com/sunday-favorites-camp-weatherford-p20645-133.htm|url-status=live|access-date=June 3, 2021|website=The Bradenton Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603133929/https://thebradentontimes.com/sunday-favorites-camp-weatherford-p20645-133.htm |archive-date=June 3, 2021 }}</ref> Bradenton merged with nearby Manatee (incorporated in 1888) in 1943. Manatee faced similar financial problems as Bradenton did in regards to their bonds and faced high debt levels as a result but Manatee could not pay off the bonds.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="herald">{{cite news|author=Mannix, Vin|date=June 17, 2007|title=The founding of the Manatee settlement|newspaper=[[Bradenton Herald]]|url=http://www.bradenton.com/681/story/49041.html|url-status=dead|access-date=August 15, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009120719/http://www.bradenton.com/681/story/49041.html|archive-date=October 9, 2007}}</ref>

==== Second half of the 20th century ====
Mayor A. Sterling Hall took office in January 1948. During his tenure lasting the next 20 years before retiring, the city was radically transformed. While serving as mayor he was considered progressive in his time period when it came to racial issues. As mayor, he created a municipal housing authority and also do [[Slum clearance in the United States|slum clearance]]. He created quality housing for black residents along with paving streets, bringing sewage service, water, and expanded garbage collection services to black neighborhoods.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Roundtree|first=Craig|date=November 18, 1991|title=Speech by Craig Roundtree "Mayors of the City of Bradenton, Past and Present"|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5272|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-22|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522151607/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll2/id/5272 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 }}</ref> Despite Mayor Hall's racial progressiveness, a [[Ku Klux Klan]] march occurred during his tenure in 1958 between Palmetto and Bradenton. The reason for the march was in response to a black group asking the county school board to either give them a new school building in Bradenton or integrate junior and senior high schools in the county.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Marth|first=Del|date=March 9, 1958|title=KKK rally in Bradenton, rides through quarters, police and sheriff disagree|work=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13354948/kkk-rally-in-bradenton-rides-through/|access-date=August 5, 2021}}</ref> The Manavista Hotel was demolished in 1959 and replaced with a motel and later a retirement community.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title=The Manavista Hotel, Bradenton|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/65|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-31|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Archives|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213406/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/65 |archive-date=June 2, 2021 }}</ref> During the 1960s the Manatee River was dredged, and an area nicknamed "the Sandpile" was formed getting developed over the course of the rest of the 20th century and the 21st century.<ref name=":4" /> During the Civil Rights Movement, Mayor Hall tried to make desegregation come about in his city in a nonviolent manner. Lunch counters were desegregated sometime during 1960<ref>{{Cite news|last=the Student Voice|date=August 1960|title=STATE REPORTS – FLORIDA|work=the Student Voice|url=https://www.crmvet.org/docs/sv/sv6008.pdf|access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref> and a biracial commission was created during the summer of 1963.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.crmvet.org/docs/6312_src_crsummary.pdf |publisher=Southern Regional Council , Inc. |title=CIVIL RIGHTS: YEAR-END Summary |date=Dec 31, 1963}}</ref>

Bradenton built a new city hall located on 15th Street West bordering Wares Creek in January 1970 as a replacement to their location on 13th Street West, which the city had used since 1913.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|last=Card Distributors|first=West Coast|date=1971–1978|title=Bradenton City Hall|url=https://mymanatee.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/1274|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|type=Postcard}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Pharmacy|first=Thomas'|date=1913–1917|title=City Hall and Fire Station, Bradentown|url=https://mymanatee.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/1232|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|type=Postcard}}</ref> Governor [[Claude R. Kirk Jr.]] arrived in Bradenton on April 6, 1970, in an attempt to stop Manatee County School District's [[desegregation busing]]. When he arrived he suspended the district superintendent along with the school district, leading to the district stopping the busing of 2,500 students and 107 teachers. During February he threatened to impeach a federal judge and said he would not sign checks that would pay for busing students. He stayed in the Manatee County School District's Administration building then located at the corner of 9th Avenue and 14th Street<ref>{{Cite web|title=Manatee County High School|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/668|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-10|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610161943/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/668 |archive-date=June 10, 2021 }}</ref> for a week before being threatened with a $10,000 fine per day if he continued to stay in the building and was unsuccessful with preventing bussing.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Protest march during Governor Kirk's busing Crisis|url=https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/20398|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-10|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610161945/https://cdm16681.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll1/id/20398 |archive-date=June 10, 2021 }}</ref> The 8-floor [[Hotel Dixie Grande]], which opened in April 1926, was demolished in August 1974.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Co.|first=Asheville postcard|date=1934–1941|title=Seasons Best Greeting, Hotel Dixie Grande|url=https://mymanatee.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16681coll4/id/1166|access-date=2021-05-28|website=Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection|language=en|type=Postcard}}</ref>

The Green Bridge was replaced in 1986.<ref name=":4" /> The city hall moved to a new location on 12th Street West in November 1998 after the property was sold to a local resident with the intention of redeveloping it but plans never materialized.<ref name=":7" />

=== 21st century ===
The local resident who had owned the former city hall property along Wares Creek sold it to a development group sometime in 2004, and it was demolished in December 2004.<ref name=":7" /> The [[Bradenton Riverwalk]], a 1.5-mile long park along the Manatee River opened in October 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hice|first=Sandra|date=October 16, 2012|title=New Bradenton Riverwalk Revives City's Sense Of Place|work=83 degrees|publisher=Issue Media Group|url=https://www.83degreesmedia.com/features/riverwalk101612.aspx|access-date=May 22, 2021}}</ref> McKechnie Field, the spring training stadium for the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], was renamed [[LECOM Park]] in February 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 10, 2017|title=Pirates' spring training home renamed LECOM Park|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/02/10/pirates-spring-training-home-renamed-lecom-park/97743710/|access-date=June 3, 2021}}</ref>

=== Historic properties ===
Historic properties in Bradenton include:

* [[Bradenton Bank and Trust Company Building]], 1925, now the Professional Building, 1023 Manatee Avenue, West
* [[Bradenton Carnegie Library]], 1405 Fourth Avenue West
* [[Braden Castle Park Historic District]], off Manatee Avenue and 27th St East
* [[Iron Block Building (Bradenton, Florida)|Iron Block Building]], 1896, 530 12th Street West (Old Main Street)
* [[Manatee County Courthouse]], 1913, 1115 Manatee Avenue, West
* [[Old Manatee County Courthouse]], 1860, 1404 Manatee Avenue, East
* [[Peninsular Telephone Company Building]], 1925, 1009 4th Avenue, West