Editing Cortez, Florida (section)

==== The 1890 Bratton/Burton Store ====
The first commercial building in Cortez was built by William C. Bratton in the 1890s. This building helped to connect Cortez with the outside world. The Bratton/Burton Store housed the post office, general store, and steamboat wharf. About a decade after its original construction, construction on rooms began in order to expand it into the Albion Inn. The Albion Inn along with the 1912 school house were some of the only buildings on the waterfront to survive the [[1921 Tampa Bay hurricane|hurricane of 1921]]. The Inn eventually closed and was sold to the [[U.S. Coast Guard]]. The Bratton/Burton Store served as [[U.S. Coast Guard Station Cortez]] from 1974 until 1991 - when it was slated for demolition. Cortez residents came together to save the Bratton/Burton Store portion of the building from demolition. In 2006, it was moved to the grounds of the [[Florida Maritime Museum]].<ref>Information on a sign constructed by the Manatee County Historical Commission in conjunction with the Manatee County board of County Commissioners in 2006</ref>