Descendants speak out against Bradenton's decision to relocate Glazier-Gates Park
BRADENTON -- John Glazier grew up in Bradenton on his family's homestead across the street from what is now Glazier-Gates Park, co-named for his great-grandfather Ezekiel Glazier, who along with Josiah Gates are credited with founding what has become Manatee County.
Glazier was the first to arrive in 1841, with Gates arriving in 1844. The pair were the first white settlers south of Tampa Bay, taking advantage of the historic mineral springs for easy access to fresh water.
John Glazier is now 80 and was one of the last Glaziers to pick up stakes from the area when the family relocated to Venice in the 1950s. But he remembers fondly looking out over the oak trees casting shade on a park that has been family lore and legend for more than a century.
His once proud view from across Manatee Avenue East may never be the same when developers of the 521-unit Villages at Riverwalk rental complex send in bulldozers to tear down century-old trees he played under as a child.
"I'm really upset," said Glazier. "I just don't see how they have the authority to do this."
On Oct. 14, the city council voted to approve a special area plan for the Villages at Riverwalk that includes a land swap for the park. The developer will give up land to the north of the park along the Manatee River in exchange for constructing the first phase of the project on the current location of Glazier-Gates Park.
The city maintains that it is not destroying the park as some have indicated, rather relocating and improving the park.
Their descendants are questioning the city's authority because Ezekiel Glazier and Josiah Gates deeded the land to the city as long as it remained a park. A reverter clause says the land would return to the families if the city ever did away with the park.
City officials were not available for comment on Friday but have said in presentations that the clause only applies to a parcel of land where Glazier's home stood, in the north-central part of the park.
That parcel of land will become the south-central part of the park when the land is swapped. The remaining parcels that make up the 5-acre park have been acquired by various other means over the years, according to City Clerk Carl Callahan, and the reverter clause does not apply.
Glazier said his entire family is upset, "and just very sad about this. Ezekiel was also the founder of the Methodist Church, which was moved to the historical park. Our roots are very deep there along with the Gateses. What's upsetting is that this a commercial ploy for taxation for the city and I find it despicable."
Glazier said his family was considering litigation when he discovered that Stone Soup Community Unity, an organization that formed to save the park, is already pledging to take the city to court. Their attorney, Ralf Brookes, says the city is violating its comprehensive plan by illegally diverting park space without valid overriding public interest.
Glazier said he will likely throw some financial help toward that effort because the city's argument that it isn't destroying the historical value of the park is invalid.
"How do you relocate history? It just can't be done," said Glazier. "It's a play on words. It's just really sad."
Glazier said his great-grandfather would be "very disturbed by what's happening. He had a vision of what he wanted that property to be when it was given to the city."
Gates family equally upset
Sally Tait Quinn is a maternal descendant of Josiah Gates and a family historian who visits the park whenever she is in Bradenton. Through social media, Quinn has been in contact with several members of the Gates family.
"We're not happy about it all, on many levels," said Quinn. "There's not much left of the Gateses in Bradenton other than a few things in the museum so it's kind of disheartening that pretty soon, there will be hardly anything left of a man, who along with Glazier, made Manatee County possible."
Quinn said Gates and Glazier were hard working men who wanted to do something for the people of Manatee Village.
"They weren't wealthy men," she said. "Josiah would have been very upset. If he gave something to the community that he worked hard for, he would be upset that gift was not being appreciated. I want the city to realize that the decision they are making right now is irrevocable. Once it's gone, it's gone. Buildings come and go. Is it really worth it? This developer doesn't care about the history of Bradenton. They could care less. This is a council that will always be known to the Gateses that they put greed over the past."
Quinn wonders what the council would say if their own city was removing a piece of their family history.
"If none of them are a member of the Glazier or Gates line, then they don't have anything to say," she said. "They don't have a dog in this fight. Our family has blood, sweat and tears in the development of Manatee Village and if not for them, there wouldn't be a Bradenton City Council."
Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter@urbanmark2014.
This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Descendants speak out against Bradenton's decision to relocate Glazier-Gates Park ."