Cedar Hammock is an unincorporated area 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 ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Flanked by

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a principal city in the Sarasota metropolitan area. Dow ...

to the north and

Oneco Oneco (sometimes called Owaneko) was a sachem of the Mohegans in the Connecticut Colony and the son of Uncas. During King Philip's War (1675–78), he was a battlefield commander and has been credited as one of the executioners of Canonchet. Late ...

to the south, Cedar Hammock was a hardwood hammock which became a popular location for

truck farming A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to so ...

in the early 20th century.

History

Many residents of Bradenton maintained farms in Cedar Hammock. One of a few named hammocks in the area, Cedar Hammock was about 6,000 acres but only partially farm-able due to large areas of wetland. The hammock was home to several farms which grew onions, cabbage, potatoes, and other produce. Until 1906 when a drain was dug to Ware's Creek, much of the area was water-logged by several feet. The Cedar Hammock area did not start to experience large residential growth until the late 1940s as trailer parks began to open on former farmland along the Tamiami Trail. In 1950, the Cedar Hammock Civic Association was founded by residents to promote improvement of the area. In 1952, the association and area residents waged and won a battle against the city over Bradenton developing a garbage dump in Cedar Hammock. In 1957, the Cedar Hammock Fire Control District was established.

References

Unincorporated communities in Manatee County, Florida Former census-designated places in Florida {{ManateeCountyFL-geo-stub