Palmetto Wharf

The waterfront and the Manatee River has always played an important part in the history of Palmetto. To the pioneers, the river was like our interstate highways of today. Mail, supplies and newcomers arrived by boat and produce and citrus were shipped in that manner, as well. There have been four main docks in the history of Palmetto. A public dock was built here at the end of 10th Avenue (Main Street) in 1896. It was called the Palmetto Wharf.  

There have been one landing and four main docks in the history of Palmetto. The first landing place was located where the railroad bridge crosses the river today (the south end of 5th Ave W). Simon Turman, a native of Ohio, who arrived in the Manatee area in 1843, filed for a land grant of 160 acres under the Armed Occupation Act and chose his parcel to receive expected ship traffic and imported goods. Turman constructed a crude cabbage log crib in deeper water, which became known as Turman's Landing. No dock connected the crib with the mainland and everything that was unloaded had to be rafted to shore. Turman only remained in the Manatee area for two years before moving to Tampa, but the landing that bore his name served the Palmetto community until Joel Hendrix built a dock at the end of 9th Avenue in 1874. Hendrix came to Palmetto in 1871 and his wife, Martha Ann, paid S.S. Lamb $100 for six acres. Three years later, after building a house, establishing a general store on the property, and repaying his wife the $100, Hendrix built a dock so that he would not have to ferry supplies from the landing to the shore. At one time, the Palmetto Terminal Railroad, a narrow gauge railroad ran from the end of the dock two miles to Memphis. Plans were that the line would run to Parrish, a total of twelve miles of track.  However, the rest of the track was never completed and the railroad lasted only a year. A third dock, a public dock, was built here at the end of 10th Avenue or Main Street in 1896. It was called the Palmetto Wharf. Two other docks were the Atzeroth Dock and the Ogden Point dock. Over the years the dredged island at the end of the pier served as the home of a number of restaurants during the 20th Century and into the early 21st. A later pier replaced the one that burned in 1967 and more dock space for visiting yachts were added at the end of the 20th Century.

This entry was created by Palmetto Historical Park staff using Palmetto Historical Park’s records and photos.