Bethany is an unincorporated community in

Manatee County Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat and largest ci ...

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. The community was previously known as Riley.

History

Advertised as an “ideal and natural orange land,” a post office was established at what was then Riley on October 12, 1894. The community was named for one of its earliest property owners and first postmaster, William O’Riley. That same year, a church established by O'Riley was built in Riley and named Bethany Missionary Baptist Church. A school was also opened and was called Bethany School. By 1897, the Riley community was home to 14 households. As the citrus industry in the area grew, new nearby communities such as

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

and Oak Knoll were developed. The Riley Post Office was discontinued on April 7, 1914, in favor of delivery at the newly established Oak Knoll post office. After the post office closed and there was no official reason to refer to the area as Riley, it quickly became known by Bethany in reference to the community's school and church.

References

Unincorporated communities in Manatee County, Florida Unincorporated communities in Florida {{ManateeCountyFL-geo-stub