Rye-Mitchellville: Ghost town of Manatee County

While the idea of a ‘ghost town’ typically invokes visions of tumble weeds rolling down the streets of abandoned mining towns out west, did you know that we have several ghost towns here in Manatee County?

A ghost town does not always refer to communities that were suddenly abandoned, seemingly overnight, but can also represent communities that were once thriving but eventually were incorporated into larger cities or slowly disappeared due to transportation changes or economic impacts.

Where present-day Rye Preserve is now, there was once a thriving community that served as the connection from Oak Hill (now known as Parrish) to Pine Level (which was the county seat at the time).

The area was named Rye for Erasmus Rye, a settler to the area who homesteaded 119 acres there. The small community was the head of navigation for the Manatee River and provided crossing for folks traveling to Pine Level from the northern part of the county. In 1879, $150 was allotted by the County Commission to complete at bridge at that crossing and became the first bridge across the Manatee River.

Around 1882, Sam Mitchell moved to the community from Tampa and built a large store on the banks of the river. Mitchell believed that he could create a bustling town where Rye was and started by creating a subdivision of 90 lots. He also attempted to officially change the post office name to ‘Mitchellville’ but was denied the request because a Mitchellville post office already existed elsewhere in Florida. After his death, the town reverted back to Rye in official documents and is still known as that today.

The community continued to grow, and in 1890, Rye resident Dr. James Layne was elected to represent Manatee County in the Florida State Legislature. By 1897, the population had grown to 72 families, which allowed a second store to open.

Provisions were difficult to get into the area by land because the trail from Oak Hill to Pine Level was difficult to traverse with large loads. Instead, residents relied on the river but found that large boats had difficulty navigating the Upper Manatee River because of sandbars, downed limbs and other hazards. After an appeal to the River and Harbor Committee of Congress, a channel was dredged and 500,000 cubic yards of material was removed.

With new access to their community, Rye residents organized a festival for Jan. 5, 1910, and extended an invitation across the county for folks to “Come up and celebrate with us!”

The description of the festival in “The Singing River,” by Joe Warner, sounds like the makings of a county fair. With 500-600 people expected to attend, all means of river transportation were recruited to transport party-goers and a long line of automobiles and carriages crawled their way over dirt roads to attend.

Produce from local farms was on display and prizes were given out for the best in show. Also on display were live alligators and turtles and some residents even brought hunting trophies to show off (including the head of a 10-pound bass!). The Bradentown Brass Band was even there to provide entertainment.

While it seemed like the clear waterway would provide lasting support, Rye only existed as its own town for another 19 years. On Jan. 3, 1929, the post office was closed and Rye as a township was no more. The Rye Family Cemetery can still be seen out at Rye Preserve and is all that remains of the once bustling community.

Melissa Porter enjoys sharing the past with visitors through educational field trips and personal anecdotes from Manatee County’s history. She can be reached at Melissa.porter@manateeclerk.com.

This story was originally published May 6, 2018 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Rye-Mitchellville: Ghost town of Manatee County."