Bethany is an unincorporated community in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The community was previously known as Riley.

This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (August 2018)

Bethany, Florida
Unincorporated community
Bethany
Bethany, Florida Location within the state of Florida
Coordinates: 27°28′27″N 82°15′51″W[1]
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Manatee
Elevation	66 ft (20 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	941
FIPS code	12-05850[1]
GNIS feature ID	300018[1]

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.[2] 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.[3]

As the citrus industry in the area grew, new nearby communities such as Waterbury 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