Originally from Key West, John W. Curry relocated his family to Manatee in 1860 and constructed several houses close to the Manatee Mineral Spring before and following the Civil War. During the Civil War, Curry sold a number of vessels to the Confederacy

for use as blockade runners, and he and other family members served in the local Home Guard militia.

One of his sons, Samuel G. Curry, served in the 7th Florida Infantry and the Confederate navy, including Service on the gunboat CSS Chattahoochee on the Apalachicola River. One of the Curry houses was used by Union troops as officers quarters during their 1864 occupation of Manatee, while the infantry encamped on the Curry property.

At the end of the war, Curry played a major role in Assisting Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin during his flight through the area to England.

Two of the Curry Settlement Homes are in the process of being restored for public interpretation.

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Information Provided by the Florida Department of State.