Oak Knoll is an unincorporated area in
Manatee County,
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 ...
.
History
Oak Knoll was a small unincorporated community located near and named after the 100-acre Oak Knoll Grapefruit and Orange Company's farm (also known as Huyler's Grove). Located southeast of
Parrish and just north of
Bethany
Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba, lace
Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
of Lazarus (name), L ...
, Oak Knoll was an agricultural community built around the citrus industry.
In 1914 a residential development was planned for the area by attorney Dan McCord of Des Moines who managed a grove in the area. The development was 16,000 acres along the Manatee River. Although planned subdivision was never built, a community of farmers and winter residents developed. In April 1914, the Oak Knoll Post Office opened. By the fall of 1914, a large hotel was built by the Manatee River Developing Company in the center of the tract. In 1915, the small rural school in the community was replaced by the school board with a new Oak Knoll School. By 1916, over 100 families were residing in the Oak Knoll community, but the community remained very rural. In 1920, the Oak Knoll Post Office was closed and service was moved to the
Verna Post Office.
For several decades, Oak Knoll continued to be used to in reference to that area, but by the 1970s, it largely became referred to as part of the larger Parrish area.
References
Unincorporated communities in Manatee County, Florida
{{ManateeCountyFL-geo-stub