Researching the History
of a Piece of Property
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to Historical Records Library
One of the first steps is to check the Tax Cards
which were created by the Property Appraiser’s Office in
the early 1960s. They are filed by Data Parcel or Tax Identification
number. These cards show if a building was located on the property
in the 1960s, approximately when it was built, and what from what
materials is constructed.
Working backwards through time starting with the
present day owner and using indexes, deeds showing buyers and
sellers of the property can be traced. Take, for example, a patent
deed showing transfer of title for land in the Manatee settlement
from the United States Government to Ezekiel Glazier in 1849.
Glazier obtained this property under the Armed Occupation Act
which gave 160 acres of land to settlers in the Manatee Lands.
If the property is in the City of Bradenton, information
about it may be found on the city water ledgers.
The Historical Records Library has a large collection
of aerial photography maps made since 1940. This shows the north
tip of Anna Maria Island in 1946.
City Directories list information about residents
who lived in cities. The Historical Records Library has directories
for the years 1918, 1922-4, 1926-9, 1939, 1945, 1947, 1951, 1955,
and 1958 and for most years between 1960 and the present. This
is a page from the 1918 City Directory for Palmetto showing residents
by street address. Note that all streets were named, not numbered
at that time.
Sanborn Fire Insurance maps were made for cities
to give fire insurance companies anywhere in the country information
about a building’s construction, location and proximity to
fire equipment. This is a section of the 1929 map for downtown
Bradenton just north of Manatee Avenue between 10th and 13th Streets.
Copies of some government survey maps are located
in the Historical Records Library. These are survey maps of the
Manatee area drawn in 1951.
Subdivision plats were recorded with the Clerk of
Circuit Court’s office. Copies of these are also in the Historical
Records Library. This is a plat of Long beach on Longboat Key
recorded in 1914.
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