Bradenton
[key], city (2020 pop. 55,698), seat of Manatee co., SW Fla., on Tampa Bay
at the mouths of the Braden and Manatee rivers; inc. 1903. A popular winter
resort and retirement center with excellent fishing in the rivers and bay,
as well as in the Gulf of Mexico, it also ships area citrus fruit and truck
crops. Hernando De Soto is
believed to have landed nearby in 1539; the De Soto National Memorial is to
the west (see National Parks and Monuments,
tablenational parks and monuments,
table). The area was settled (1850s) by Joseph Braden,
whose castlelike home is a local landmark. South Florida Museum and Bishop
Planetarium are here. The De Soto landing is reenacted each March.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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