Historical sites tell Manatee County's story

When built in 1914, the Myakka City School House was operated as a “strawberry school.” 

“Strawberry schools in Florida were in agricultural areas,” said Walter Carlton, the president of the Myakka City Historical Society. “You shut down school when the crops came in during the springtime because they needed the kids to help work the farm and harvest the crops. They went to school longer in the summer.” 

A building over 50 years old is considered historic, but stories like "the strawberry school" are what make a building significant enough to preserve. 

According to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, buildings “are considered important for their ability to tell a story, provide insights into history and/or contribute to a community’s cultural identity.” 

Cathy Slusser worked for the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller’s Historical Resources Department for 36 years until she retired in 2020. 

Slusser hated history when she attended middle school and junior high because she had a teacher who forced her to memorize the presidents in the order they served. 

“I just thought it was boring and dead,” she said. “Yet I was reading historical fiction not realizing that it was based on true events and true characters.”

Slusser’s parents, Robert and Emily Bayless, made the connection for her during a road trip after she read a series of novels by Eugenia Price that take place on St. Simons Island off the coast of Georgia. 

As Slusser walked through the island’s cemetery, she started seeing the names of the characters from Price’s books.

“I realized that history is stories ... history is alive,” she said. “From that moment, I decided I wanted to be a historian and tell stories and get people to understand how important our past is.” 

Residents have to want it

Buildings, such as the Myakka City School House, would not have been saved without a nonprofit stepping in, and those nonprofits are often formed by community members who have a personal connection to the history.

Carlton is 75 years old. He and his parents, Irene and Brian Carlton, attended the Myakka City School House. 

“It’s like having two arms — one that will be around forever (the government) and one that can raise money within the community (the nonprofit),” Slusser said. 

But not all residents want to preserve history, especially when it comes to historical overlay districts, which come with additional regulations to preserve the character of the area. 

The Cortez Fishing Village, Terra Ceia and Whitfield Estates are protected by historical overlays. 

“There could be more overlay districts,” Slusser said. “One of the hurdles that we have to get over is that the residents have to want it. If the residents don’t want it, it’s not going to be imposed on them.” 

On the national level, Slusser pointed to mid-century modern homes built in the 1950s and 1960s as a current preservation trend. Accordingly, homes in Bayshore Gardens could qualify for an overlay district.

File photo

Slusser said people worry that if their neighborhood is designated historic that the government will tell them what kind of windows they can put in or what color their house can be, but the overlay is more about preserving what is than placing restrictions. 

For example, if any archeological evidence is dug up during the course of new construction in Terra Ceia, there’s a clause that forces the work to stop until an archeologist can evaluate the evidence. 

A modern upgrade to a home in Cortez would be met with resistance because the overlay is meant to uphold the character of a fishing village. However, a private owner has the right to appeal. 

Now retired, Slusser sits on Manatee County’s Historic Preservation Board. The board’s purpose is to help Development Services deal with any privately owned historic properties that request permits for restoration. 

The board can also recommend properties of local significance to the Board of County Commissioners for preservation.

What constitutes historic? 

“You start with age (50 years or older), and then you look at the significance,” Slusser said. “If looking ahead into the future, something like the Lakewood Ranch Town Hall might not be significant on a state or national level, but it could be locally significant.”

There are different levels of significance: National, state and local. Town Hall might only be locally significant now, but if, for example, a president were to visit, it could gain importance on a national level. 

The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation sets the guideline that a historical resource should “provide insights into a society’s traditions, history, values and identity.” 

Looking at the Myakka City School House as an example, the school house was much more than a school. It was a community center where residents gathered and will soon gather again. 

Carlton hopes to have the certificate of occupancy by Halloween. The only major project left to be completed is the fire suppression system. Other than that, the school house is just waiting on final inspections. 

The plan is to bring the school house back to its roots and use its auditorium to host community events. 

Once finished, the items inside will further tell the story of Myakka City. Residents have donated photos, diplomas, saddles and small farming equipment for display. 

Paying for preservation

The clerk’s office manages four historical sites within Manatee County: Manatee Village Historical Park, Palmetto Historical Park, the Florida Maritime Museum and the Manatee County Agricultural Museum.

The department also manages the Manatee County Historical Library and the digital collection of historical records. 

The department’s budget was $1,693,137 for fiscal year 2024. That covered staff salaries and operating expenses for the historical parks, museums and library, which are open to the public year-round. 

The historic Powel Crosley Estate is operated by Manatee County, more specifically by the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

However, it is not regularly open to the public. The Visitors Bureau markets it as an event venue for everything from photo shoots and business meetings to weddings and New Year’s Eve parties. 

To rent the entire estate for a New Year’s Eve party costs $10,500 plus tax. 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

When it comes to smaller buildings, such as the 5,500-square-foot Myakka City School House, the county might choose to contribute, as it did when the Visitors Bureau gave $50,000 to the Myakka City Historical Society in 2016. 

The Community and Veterans Services Department donated another $50,000 toward its restoration in 2021, but those were each one-time donations. 

Manatee County owns the land that the Myakka Cithy School House sits on, so the Myakka City Historical Society pays the county $10 a year to lease it. The nonprofit also pays for the building's ongoing expenses, such as insurance and electricity. 

The Myakka City Historical Society has fundraised and accepted grants to this point. Carlton said the costs have exceeded $600,000 overall. Once the building is open, it can start to generate income as an event venue with the goal of paying for its maintenance. 

Each of the four sites the clerk’s office manages has a nonprofit attached to it, too.

“Museums always need a nonprofit partner,” Slusser said. “A lot of people will only donate to a nonprofit. Even though the government might own the building and support operations, (donors) want to get that tax donation from giving to a nonprofit. And also, there’s some people who just don’t trust the government to do what it’s supposed to do with the money that they give.”