morgan johnson road - braden river
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"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 1859, 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 160 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. 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."
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