2107 70th Street Ct E
Bradenton, FL 34208

The area that would become Bradenton was first explored in 1539 by Hernando De Soto, who began his search for the legendary El Dorado at Shaw's Point. The original town of Bradentown was incorporated on May 19, 1903. The city took the name of Dr. Joseph Braden, whose nearby fort-like house was a refuge for early settlers during Seminole Indian attacks. The current city of Bradenton was formed in 1943, when the Florida legislature merged the cities of Manatee (incorporated in 1888) and Bradentown.^{[8]Colleges near Bradenton include The University of South Florida-Manatee Sarasota Campus, State College of Florida (formerly Manatee Community College), New College of Florida, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), Gordon University [1] and Manatee Technical Institute. Some of the middle schools are Martha B. King Middle School, W. D. Sugg Middle School, Louise R. Johnson Middle School, Braden River Middle School, Sara Scott Harllee Middle School, Electa Lee Middle School, St. Joseph's Catholic School, and Carlos E. Haile Middle School. High schools include Manatee School for the Arts, Southeast High School, Bayshore High School, Palmetto High School (Florida), Manatee High School, Braden River High School, Lakewood Ranch High School, Community Christian School,[10] Bradenton Christian School, the oldest private Christian school in the county, the Out of Door Academy, and Saint Stephen's Episcopal School.[11] The University of South Florida also maintains a Sarasota-Manatee branch which serves college students in the area. New College of Florida, the state's honors college, is located on the border between Bradenton and Sarasota. International Theological Seminary is headquartered in Bradenton. The world-renowned tennis academy, run by Nick Bollettieri, bears a Bradenton address. The academy is managed by IMG and is also the home of the David Leadbetter junior golf academy. IMG also runs the IMG Soccer Academy for the United States Soccer Federation's (USSF) full-time residency program for the US Under 17 Men's National Team. The Bradenton facilities graduates include U.S. international soccer stars, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Freddy Adu.}