Snead Island

The first officially recorded non-native settler to Snead Island was Edward Sneed, who established a homestead in 1843 under the Armed Occupation Act of 1842. The island was named for its first settler. In newspapers and other documents, the name can be found spelled as both Sneed Island and Snead Island, as well as Sneed’s Island and Snead’s Island. Eventually the misspelling became the official name of the island.

Despite its name, it was not much of an island. Snead Island was only separated from the Palmetto mainland by a shallow mudflat that was home to many oysters and mangroves. It was frequently used by small sailing vessels as a shortcut to Terra Ceia Bay, but was nearly dry during low tide. In 1900, the channel, called the “Cut-Off” was dredged deep enough to allow steamers to pass. This dredging solidified Snead Island’s status as a legitimate island, and a barge-ferry had to be used to connect the island to the mainland before a bridge was built. In 1920, the Davis Toll Bridge which connected the towns of Manatee and Palmetto was disassembled and its pieces were used to create the Snead Island Bridge.[2]

Much of the island is still undeveloped. Most of the island's residents are native Floridians, which is atypical in the surrounding Manatee County area.