Palmetto's Schools

Palmetto's Schools. . Side 1 , From its 1868 home in a log building at 1102 Riverside Drive, S.S. Lamb's home school moved to the corner of 4th St. and 9th Ave. where a frame schoolhouse opened in 1889 with 60 pupils and Miss Frankie McKay (Mrs. James A. Howze) as teacher principal. When voters passed a Resolution on June 15, 1893 to incorporate the City of Palmetto, they also approved a $1,500 schoolhouse bond. The Palmetto Academy opened with 2 classrooms in 1895 at 10th Ave. and 7th St. In 1909 C.A. Rowlett received the school's first High School diploma. The school's 300 students moved out in 1911 for construction of a new red brick building, which opened in 1912. It served until 1959. (Continued on other side). Side 2 (Continued from other side). A 1923 2-story school on 9th Ave. served 700 pupils until 1977. The 1926 2-story Grammar School on 7th Street was dedicated to Mrs. Howze. It was also demolished in 1977. When Palmetto and Bradenton's high schools merged in 1947, this campus housed the Junior High and Frankie A. Howze Elementary. In 1958 a new High School opened on 17th Street. Palmetto Elementary remained on 7th Street until January 2010 when a new school opened on 10th Street. After 115 years, no school was located in downtown Palmetto.