Snead Island facts for kids
Terra Ceia Bay from Emerson Point Preserve on Snead Island
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 Snead Island
Location in Florida
Snead Island
Location in Caribbean
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Manatee County, Florida |
| Coordinates | 27°32′09″N 82°36′30″W / 27.5358895°N 82.608216°W |
| Adjacent bodies of water | Gulf of Mexico |
| Area | 365 acres (148 ha) |
| Administration | |
| State | Florida |
| County | Manatee |
Snead Island is a small island located west of Palmetto, Florida. Most people who live on Snead Island have homes there. You can also find places where boats are stored and parts of an old palm tree farm.
The island is surrounded by water. To the north and northeast is Terra Ceia Bay, to the west is Tampa Bay, and to the south is the Manatee River. On the western side of Snead Island, you'll find Emerson Point Preserve. This preserve is a large natural area, about 365 acres (1.48 km2) big, managed by Manatee County. It includes ancient mounds built by Native American people, which are very important historical sites. These mounds are known as the Portavant Mound Site and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The land for the preserve used to belong to the Horton family.
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Snead Island's Past
For about 5,000 years, Native American groups lived on this part of Florida, often staying for certain seasons. They were hunters and gatherers. As the ocean levels rose, the area became a coastline with bays and a river. These changes made it possible for people to develop a culture based on the sea.
Early Native American Life
The Safety Harbor culture people are believed to have built the shell mounds you can see on the island today. They made these mounds from the shells of seafood they caught from the rich waters around them. This happened between 900 A.D. and 1725 A.D.
First Settlers and the Island's Name
The first non-Native American settler officially recorded on Snead Island was Edward Sneed. He started a homestead in 1843 under a law called the Armed Occupation Act of 1842. The island was named after him. Over time, in newspapers and other documents, the island's name was spelled in different ways, like Sneed Island, Snead Island, Sneed's Island, and Snead's Island. Eventually, a common misspelling of the first settler's name became the island's official name.
Civil War Events
During the American Civil War, a U.S. Navy ship called the Kingfish, led by Joseph H. Hallet, landed near what was once a Native American mound at Emerson Point Preserve. At one point, Hallet and his soldiers found a barracks (a building for soldiers) and burned it down. They also captured three boats.
How Snead Island Became a True Island
Even though it was called an "island" from early records, Snead Island wasn't always completely separated from the mainland town of Palmetto. It was only divided by a shallow, muddy area filled with oysters and mangroves. This channel was almost dry at low tide. However, at other times, small sailing boats often used it as a shortcut to Terra Ceia Bay from the Manatee River.
In 1900, this channel, known as "the Cut-Off," was dug deeper. This made it wide enough for larger boats called steamers to pass through. This dredging truly made Snead Island a separate island. Before a bridge was built, people had to use a barge-ferry to travel between the island and the mainland. In 1920, a bridge called the Davis Toll Bridge, which connected the towns of Manatee and Palmetto over the Manatee River, was taken apart. Its pieces were then used to build the Snead Island Bridge.
Modern Snead Island
A large part of Snead Island is still undeveloped, meaning it's mostly natural land. Many of the people who live on the island were born in Florida. This is a bit unusual compared to the surrounding Manatee County area, where many residents have moved from other places.
