Major William Iredell Turner

Major William Iredell Turner. William Iredell Turner was born in Richmond, Virgina and grew up in Alachua County, Florida, where he spent his early adulthood as a cattle rancher. He became a major with the Florida Volunteers in the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). He later served with the Confederate Army during the Civil War, but his military career was cut short due to complications from an earlier injury. After the war, Turner and wife Isabelle, settled in Manatee County, at a shady spot they named Oak Hill. The Turner plantation and orange grove at Oak Hill soon flourished, and within a few years, several other homesteaders joined them. The settlers bred cattle and hogs, grew citrus and tobacco, and harvested lumber. Together, Turner and his neighbors, including Crawford Parrish and his son John Parrish, formed the community that would later be known as Parrish. In 1877, Turner purchased 7 acres of land at Fort Braden on the Manatee River. Turner subdivided the acreage into lots, which quickly sold. He built a store and warehouse, "The Mansion House," a large home and hotel, as well as a dock, all along Main Street. He dubbed his new community Braidentown, a misspelled tribute to Joseph Braden, the area's first settler. In 1878, Turner opened Braidentown's first post office, where he served as postmaster. Considered the founder of Bradenton, Turner is buried in Parrish Cemetery.