Jiggs Landing now open

MANATEE COUNTY — A piece of the past now is heading into the future.

After a year of renovations, the historic Jiggs Landing fish camp property opens to the public with a special presentation and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m., Dec. 11. The celebration, which will feature historical photo displays, riverfront nature tours, an open house, raffles and refreshments, will run until 1 p.m.

“We’ve undertaken this project because of the public desire to write a new chapter of history for Jiggs,” said Charlie Hunsicker, director of Manatee County’s Natural Resources Department. “The renovation and improvements were done to allow the passion of Agnes and Jiggs Metcalf’s original vision to evolve and be passed to a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts and to those simply seeking a respite from the busy world on the shores of Lake Evers.

“We didn’t set out to make this look like a 1950s fish camp,” he said. “We set out to make this represent parts of what Manatee County can give to our future.”

The new park features four rustic fishing cabins, a restroom, picnic shelters, a concession area, boardwalks, a boat and kayak launch and dock and mooring facilities.

The two-lane boat launch at Jiggs Landing, which was renovated in June, is one of only two public accesses to the freshwater portion of the Braden River in Manatee. The other ramp is located in Lake Manatee State Park, which has an admission charge of $5 per vehicle.

Hunsicker said the Jiggs Landing boat ramp has been open since June, and already the county is seeing an upswing in use. The new facilities include five spaces for boat and trailer parking as well as an overflow parking area.

Although it is officially opening to the public this week, the park still has several improvements yet to come, Hunsicker said. For example, an empty grassy area between the picnic pavilion and the parking area will be turned into a playground for children ages 10 and under. The feature likely will include walk-through logs, replicas of animals and other less traditional playground structures, Hunsicker said.

Hunsicker said he also is working on finding a concessionaire for the park, but the proposal has not yet been put out for bid. In addition to food and drink sales, the vendor likely would handle kayak, fishing and boat rentals.

Members of the Old Braden River Historical Society, a group founded in 2007 to save one of the original cabins from the Jiggs Landing site and preserve the history of the Braden River, said they are thrilled with the opening.

“It’s wonderful,” charter member Peggy Christ said. “We’re thinking this is going to be able to let people come out here and enjoy this property. How nice it is to save some of our past and bring it to the future.”

Organization founder Denise Kleiner agreed.

“This milestone for the county and for us is coming to fruition and it’s wonderful,” she said. “This day, I hope, will draw out all the neighbors.”

Ultimately, the county could not save the cabin as the society had hoped, but it did construct a replica, which is located between the concession area and restroom facilities. Members of the society are furnishing the cabin based on the insights of Sandy Metcalf, who grew up on the property with her aunt and uncle.

The replica cabin originally was planned as a museum but now will only be open to the public on special occasions.

Library documents show Jiggs Landing has been a fishing and boat-launching ramp since at least 1939. Alphonso Metcalf, better known as Jiggs, purchased the property around 1944 with his wife, Agnes.

Manatee County purchased the 2.5-acre site for $850,000 in 2004. The city of Bradenton donated the other 2.5-acre part of the site shortly thereafter, providing much-needed land for parking, park ranger’s living quarters and part of an expansive underground storm water system.

Construction on the $1.7 million project took about one year.

The boat ramp at Jiggs Landing will be open 24/7, as will restroom facilities for fishing cabin guests. The park itself will be open to the public only during daylight hours.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

Jiggs Landing Grand Opening
WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Dec. 11
WHERE: Jiggs Landing, 6106 63rd St. E., Bradenton
DETAILS: Ceremony starts at 9:30 a.m. with the ribbon cutting following at 10 a.m. Other festivities include tours, historical photo displays and more.
INFO: 748-4501, Ext. 4602