In the 1870s, the area once occupied by "Ft. Braden" saw an influx of new residents, prompting land investor and local business owner Major Turner to petition for the community to have its own name and post office. The first town meeting was all but a failure when it did not produce enough residents to qualify for a post office.
After recruiting residents from Fogartyville, Willemsenburg, and Palma Sola, a second town meeting was called. This time enough people were present to petition for a post office, but what would the name be? Major Turner suggested "Bradentown" to honor Joseph Braden. But a misspelling by acting secretary Helen Warner resulted in the petition naming the area "Braidentown."
Misspelled city name
On May 9, 1878, Washington granted the request and Braidentown was made an official post office, with Major Turner appointed as the first postmaster.
Oddly enough, the misspelled name remained in place for 27 years. It wasn't until 1904, when the Braidentown population grew to 2,000, the Florida West Shore Railroad came through, a ferry was regularly transporting residents across the Manatee River daily, and electric streetlights were first used that pressure mounted to fix the mistake.
Finally, on Feb. 1, 1905, the "i" was officially dropped and the name amended to "Bradentown."
From 1905 through 1924, the town prospered, tourism flourished, and Bradentown was moving on up! A new city hall and courthouse were constructed in 1913, the automobile took over the streets, and with it came sewers, streets with sidewalks, and tourists.