Rye, Florida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rye, Florida
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Unincorporated community
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 Rye, Florida
Location in Manatee County
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| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Manatee |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code(s) | 941 |
| FIPS code | 12-62385 |
| GNIS feature ID | 290094 |
Rye is a small, unincorporated community in Manatee County, Florida. This means it's a place where people live, but it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town. It's located in the sunny state of Florida, in the United States.
Contents
The Story of Rye
Rye got its name from a man named Erasmus Rye. He was from Virginia and came to Manatee County, Florida, during a conflict called the Third Seminole War.
How Rye Began
The community of Rye started as a fort. This fort provided safe homes for a small group of soldiers, called militia, and their families. These mounted militia helped in the war effort.
After the Third Seminole War ended, some of the militia families stayed in Rye. They began growing oranges and raising cattle. The biggest farm belonged to the John Greene Williams family. Later, Erasmus Rye married Mary Williams and took over their farm. He became the largest landowner in that area.
Getting Around Rye
It was hard to reach the growing community of Rye by road. However, the people living there were very good at traveling on the Manatee River. For a while, Rye was the main crossing point for people in western Manatee County. They would cross the Manatee River here to travel to Pine Level, which was the county seat (the main town for government). In 1879, the first bridge across the Manatee River was built right in Rye.
New Plans for Rye
In 1882, a cattle rancher named Sam Mitchell moved to Rye from Tampa. He had plans to create a new neighborhood there. He opened the community's first store. He wanted the community's Post Office to be named Mitchellville. However, the Postal Service said no because that name was already used somewhere else in Florida. For a short time, people unofficially called the area Mitchellville. But by 1884, it officially went back to being called Rye.
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The Decline of Rye
By 1897, Rye had grown to 72 families, and a second store opened. At its busiest time, the community had a post office, a sawmill, a gristmill (for grinding grain), a school, and several stores.
However, as new ways to travel developed, like railroads and cars, river travel became less important. This made Rye feel more and more isolated. On January 3, 1929, the post office closed, and Rye's official township (its local government) was ended.
Rye Today
In 1988, the last original wooden buildings, which were the old Rye Home and its separate kitchen, were destroyed in a fire. You can still find the Rye Family Cemetery at Rye Preserve today.
