Some of the graves at the Manatee Burying Ground hold Manatee County pioneer families. Some hold veterans of the Confederate and Union armies. And some, unmarked and beyond investigation, hold mysteries.
Visitors can explore the historic Bradenton cemetery on a guided tour from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, or on their own during Manatee Village Historical Park hours.
Spanish moss hangs from huge oaks on the grounds, many planted to mark graves as an affordable alternative to marble headstones. Yet it’s the marble that has survived to tell the tales of the dead. Storms, including Hurricane Milton in 2024, have felled many of the marker trees, and the wooden headstones have crumbled to dust.
The oldest markers date to 1850, but the graves go back to the 1840s. A ground-penetrating radar scan found as many as 135 unmarked graves in the cemetery.
Among the marked graves are those of Manatee pioneers the Rev. Edward Gates and his wife, Euphemia, who died in 1923 and 1922, respectively.
Also buried there are soldiers who fought in the Seminole Wars and on both sides of the Civil War. They include three members of Florida’s secession convention, Ezekiel Glazier, James G. Cooper and Dr. John C. Pelot, as well as Brig. Gen. John Riggin, an aide to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.
Victims of yellow fever, hurricanes and complications of childbirth rest there, too.
Most of the burials took place in the late 1800s, when cattle roamed and grazed freely, and the cemetery was fenced to keep them out. Until burial laws changed, the dead were laid to rest at ground level in brick vaults capped with cement so floodwaters couldn’t carry them away.
The graves face east, toward Jerusalem and the rising sun, in keeping with Christian tradition. Several Christian denominations share the grounds. Like many cemeteries of its era, it is also racially segregated.
Beginning in 1892, burials were limited to immediate family members of those already interred. The last, a descendant of the Gates family, took place in 1967, after which the cemetery closed.
The cemetery gate is usually locked, but visitors can pick up a key for a self-guided tour at the Wiggins Store in Manatee Village Historical Park, 1404 Manatee Ave. E., during park hours.
For more information, visit manateevillage.org/cemetery-tours.
Cindy Lane is a staff writer for the Tampa Bay Beacons. She can be reached at clane@tbnweekly.com.