MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Want your children to experience life in the late 1800s?
Like washing clothes on a washboard living?
And planting real seeds — not Roblox crops.
You can do this at Manatee Village Historical Park’s 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday, July 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Originally created to mark the country’s 200th anniversary in 1976, the village is made up of historic buildings, including Florida’s earliest courthouse — the Old Manatee County Courthouse built in 1859-1860.
A few visitors got a sneak peak scrubbing experience, with washcloth-sized towels, a half-filled washtub, a washboard and a block of soap.
Enter the cousins — a group of young visitors totally willing to check out life circa the late 1800s.
Harrison Doxey, who turns 11 in a few days, is corralling the group. His take on being a 19th-century Floridian?
“That would probably be pretty hard. Especially if I had to, like, I don’t know, wash my mom or dad’s shirts or something that are really big,” Doxey said.
“It started with a group of women who didn’t want to see their church get demolished,” said the village’s Brianna Wilson.
So the 1887 church came here, and the church continues to offer marriage and vow renewals — with several planned through the celebrations.
Nearby, a historical marker explains this place in honor of the 200th anniversary of this country’s independence.
The community saved this space 50 years ago, keeping the culture alive by understanding the joys and toils of our past.
Virginia Johnson
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