Palmetto

by Merab-Michal Favorite

Under a canopy of moss-covered live oaks rests Palmetto. The city occupies a natural peninsula bounded by the Manatee River and Terra Ceia Bay. The first settlers claimed land under the Armed Occupation Act of 1842, and despite the ravages of Seminole raids and epidemics, the heartiest of the pioneers established Palmetto's reputation as a thriving farming and fishing community. In 1868, Samuel Sparks Lamb named the city "Palmetto," inspired by the abundant foliage of palmetto bushes that reminded him of his birthplace in South Carolina. He envisioned a city with a grand thoroughfare and a sturdy wharf jutting into the mile-wide Manatee River, which Lamb considered the gateway for Palmetto's agricultural commerce. Palmetto became a city in 1897, but by the early 1900s, the railroad shifted the center of activity from the waterfront to the train depot, located on Tenth Street. Palmetto's appearance and identity have changed over the years, but its residents continue to regard the Manatee River and Terra Ceia Bay as the community's grandest assets.