History column: Manatee County sees building boom in 1916

There was a building boom in 1916 for Manatee County. Not only were there discussions concerning a Bradentown to Palmetto bridge, which would complete the Tamiami Trail route thru Florida, the Board of Trade along with the City of Bradentown were focused on the purchase of land to build a municipal park.

Three pieces of land were presented for the project: the Patten property on Fairview, now 14th Street; the Kretschmar property on Kentucky Avenue and Wares Creek; and Adam's pasture on Florida Avenue, now Ninth Street.

Adam's pasture was chosen by the city and the Board of Trade, possibly because it was "out of town" -- outside the city limits of Bradentown. Major Adams had recently died, and the property was under guardianship for his two children Tekla and Irma.

The property consisted of 69 acres and would cost $14,000. Located on the corner of Ninth Street and 17th Avenue, it was envisioned that the park would contain baseball fields, the fairgrounds with permanent buildings, an agricultural experiment station, a park, picnic grounds and a municipal golf course, a complete entertainment package for residents and tourists.

The deed to the land was signed on Sept. 30, 1916; grubbing, plowing and harrowing began soon after.

With the delivery of the $20,000 bonds from the Hanchett Bond Co., construction on the golf course began with the other "amusements" to soon follow. Golf was promised by January 1917 with the fairgrounds completed by February in time for the second Manatee County Fair.

The new park's facilities were extensively promoted in the Seaboard Air Line Railway's brochures, but the railroad's main campaign focused on the baseball field. They felt with a club house, lockers and a shower, the Bradentown area might be able to entice major league teams to play here.

A golf expert from Tampa, Charles A. Smith, presented the plans for the golf course and began staking out the design. By Dec. 28, the course was getting the final touches with an opening date of Jan. 15, 1917. The

course would be nine holes and about 3,300 yards long. It would be Florida's first municipal golf course to be built and owned by a city.

Meanwhile, the Manatee County Fair Association was planning the 1917 fair and overseeing the buildings to be constructed in the park by E. W. Stotlz of Palmetto. There would be stables, a poultry building, a main exhibit hall which was 120 feet by 40 feet, the women's department building and other smaller structures.

Construction began in late December and early January. The grandstand, which would hold 600 people, was started the last week of December. James Hewitt was in charge of premiums (prizes) and Charles Brooks was in charge of the exhibits. The entertainment would be the Con T Kennedy Shows; they required 26 train cars to move from venue to venue, a plus for the Seaboard RR.

On the heels of Manatee County taking 19 first places, nine second places and the Grand Prize for Best and Largest display of vegetables at the South Florida Fair and Gasparilla Carnival in January, the Manatee County Fair was destined to be just as great. Hundreds of prizes were offered, ranging from $1 for best pointer dog to best corset cover, handmade $1, machine-made 50 cents. A $3 prize for the best three bunches of beets was won by William Meyer, with the prize sponsored by the Dollar Limit Store aka Bealls. Mrs. Stine received 50 cents for best half-dozen doughnuts. A.L. Donovan won $2 for best colt under 16 months. The lists of prize winners were published in the Manatee River Journal.

The fair buildings, park and the golf course have long since disappeared, but there is a survivor on Adam's pasture: the baseball field, so looked forward to by the local players, is still there. The Seaboard was right, we did draw a professional baseball team. In 1923, Branch Rickey and the St. Louis Cardinals came to town to play ball.

Next time you are in the grandstands at McKechnie Field for a Pirates game, look to the east and try to envision what our early leaders saw as a municipal park for one and all.

Cindy L. Russell, historical records librarian for the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, can be reached at cindy.russell@manateeclerk.com or 941-741-4070.

This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 11:30 PM with the headline "History column: Manatee County sees building boom in 1916 ."