Braden River

Braden River. . Side 1 , The Braden River is the largest tributary of the Manatee River and is 35 miles in length. It is named for Dr. Joseph Braden, a Tallahassee sugar planter who came here in 1842 and established a sugar plantation at the western intersection of the Manatee and Braden Rivers. In 1850, settlers began arriving on the eastern side of the Braden River. Lambert and Mary Catherine Vanderipe Hayes came here when Hayes received 40 acres of this land as reward for service in the Second Seminole Indian War. Later, he homesteaded 150 acres adjoining the original property. In 1855, he drowned after falling from a raft while crossing the river. Shortly after his death, a group of local Indians told his widow of an impending Indian attack and she took her three children by rowboat to Braden Castle. While she was gone, the Indians burned her home, which was located about 100 feet north of this site. (Continued on other side). Side 2 (Continued from other side). Other families came to the Braden River area in the 1850s including those of James Cunliffe and the Rev. W.W. Burts. Because of the remoteness of the community, deep friendships formed between settlers. Frequently, families intermarried, further strengthening these relationships. Burts was a Methodist minister and served as a traveling preacher, a circuit rider for the Manatee area. Cunliffe married Mary Catherine Hayes' mother, Nancy Vanderipe, in 1853. In June, 1858, Mary Catherine Hayes married Levin P. Johnson. Their two sons, Morgan and Maurice, formed their own company called the Johnson Brothers Cattle Company. The family owned vast acres of land from what became known as Morgan Johnson Road to Lena Road, which was named in honor of Maurice's wife.