Palmetto is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was listed as 12,606.
It is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
A post office called Palmetto has been in operation since 1868. Samuel Sparks Lamb is considered the "Father of Palmetto," having surveyed and plotted the city at its outset and donated several plots of land. He owned a general merchandise store in town. Samuel Sparks Lamb was from Clarke County, Mississippi, and would arrive in the area near the Manatee River in 1868 establishing Palmetto.
The city received its name from the palmetto trees near the original townsite. Palmetto would first be incorporated in May 1893 as a village with its first mayor being P.S. Harlee. Palmetto would be reincorporated as a city in 1897 and in the following years grew. In 1902 with the arrival of the railroad, the center of town moved from the waterfront to the train station.
Compiled during the late 1930s and first published in 1939, the Florida guide listed Palmetto's population as 3,043 and described it as:
"On the north bank of the Manatee River has low frame-and-brick business buildings and numerous clapboard houses. The riverfront is alive with fishing and pleasure craft. Much of the town's income is derived from the packing and shipping of fruits and vegetables."
— Federal Writers' Project, "Part III: The Florida Loop", Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State (1947)
A dolomite mine would exist in Palmetto on the Manatee River from the 1950s to 1974. There would be several failed redevelopment attempts on the property. In 1974 it would almost be sold for residential development but the company purchasing it would back out of it because of an economic recession that was occurring.
In 1978, a proposal would be made to create a residential community on the site. It would have contained a nationwide motel chain with a restaurant, high-rise apartments along the Manatee River, single-family houses, and a shopping center built around a lake created from mining activities. The former 214-acre dolomite mine site would be bought by WC Riveria Partners headed by Linda Svenson. It would be redeveloped starting in 1998 as Riveria Dunes, a residential community with a marina, townhouses, and homes.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmetto,_Florida
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Tags: boats yacht nautical marina waterfront sailboat City of Palmetto Manatee County Florida USA Sunshine State Gulf of Mexico Manatee River urban city cityscape small city west central Florida real estate commercial property high-rise building architecture street photography condominium residential restaurant North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area Samuel Sparks Lamb 1868 establishing Palmetto P.S. Harlee north bank of the Manatee River income is derived from the packing and shipping of fruits and vegetables dolomite mine residential community WC Riveria Partners headed by Linda Svenson marina townhouses homes
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