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COUNTY PROFILE |
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Geographic:
The total land area of Manatee County is 740 square miles.
The approximate elevation is 9-17 feet. The average temperature in
January is 61.3 degrees and in August it is 82 degrees. The
average annual rainfall is 54.3 inches.
The different cities in Manatee County
include Anna Maria, Bradenton, Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach,
Palmetto,
Education: During the 2005 school year, there were over 42,353 students enrolled.
History:
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a portion of Long Boat Key and unincorporated land. The total
population comes to about 306,779.
There
is much evidence that claims that Manatee County has been
settled as far back as the year 1000 A.D. During that time, the
residents were Mound Builders and Indians. In 1521, Ponce de Leon
attempted to settle here but he was driven away by the Indians. In
1529, Henando de Soto, beginning in Manatee County conducts a
DeSoto festival in honor of Hernando de Soto. DeSoto however did
not settle in Manatee. The first person to reside in Manatee
County is Josiah Gates in 1841. In 1855, Manatee officially became
the thirty-first county established in Florida. By 1873 there were
nine schools with 200 students enrolled. In May 1878, the first
Post Office was officially established. In 1896, the telephone and
a telephone line was officially established. In 1900, the Bank of
Manatee was established. These landmark events were the start of a
very prosperous county.