Manatee Village Historical Park — Attraction in Bradenton

This Historical Village is Amazing!!!! Filled with Amazing Historical Artifacts and Buildings. Our family really Loved our visit! We are a family of History buffs, we enjoyed that many of the exhibits had backstory information so you could get a real feel for each display. The ladies that work there were so kind and sweet. The lovely lady when we arrived at the General Store was just the sweetest...she gladly gave us plenty of fun Historical facts and was very warm and welcoming. Our youngest daughter had fun doing the scavenger hunt...and was happy to get her prize at the end. Her favorite building was the old church.. It's a very relaxing place. It's a free(Donations Accepted) place to bring kids or just spend the day...but it's a great way to get a feel of immersive history.....Also...if you want to go visit the cemetery across the way...you have to ask person in the General Store for the key....Def worth the visit to the cemetery...there's both a confederate and union solders buried there as well as other notable people. The Graves are very old and our daughters loved reading the names and learning about the people who are buried there. We noticed most of the Graves are around the border and thought it would look nice with a garden in the middle with commerative plaques and benches. Very well loved visit we will...

As MVHP is free to visit (donations accepted) I wasn’t expecting much, but it far and away exceeded my expectation. The concentration of historic buildings on this compact site is fascinating. The park’s main building is fronted by the K.W. "King" Wiggins General Store, stocked with an eclectic collection of goods which have long since gone out of production. In this main building is also a gift shop, and an upstairs area displaying many pictures, documents and other artefacts. The grounds contain an old steam locomotive and numerous furnished buildings which you can enter, including a church; a one room school house; a court house; a barn; a boat works and the Stephens House. The buildings and exhibits are very well done. Give yourself at least 2 hours to thoroughly see everything. A worthwhile place to visit if you have the slightest interest in the past, you will come away with an idea of how life was in the area a...

A Bradenton visit must! They have off hours but totally worth it. Old, Florida cracker structures with detailed history of each one..Manatee burying grounds next door. See and take pictures with a volunteer dressed in period costumes who tour you around with fun precise detail. Great Florida Cracker Christmas event with period Scrooge and Victorian santa who even let's me sit on his lap and take pics, vendors, choir, dancers...gorgeous round gazebo that sometimes has a musical act...you can even rent the old time church for your wedding! Agricultural equipment, houses are decorated with period items, schoolhouse, and fabulous country store which was moved from other locations as the other buildings were...the general store set up takes you back to 1880. A horse carriage sits in the entry. Grab a rocking chair and sit a spell. One of my favorite...