Corwin's Ice Cream And Smoothies is named after community dignitary Samuel C. Corwin (1858-1934). Corwin served on the Bradenton Council; he was a Sarasota County commissioner and the city tax collector. When the city was still known as Bradentown, Corwin had an enormous effect on business and commerce, and he played a significant role in shaping the way the area looks today. His influence is most felt within the maritime industry. In the early 1920s, Corwin took charge of the city steamboat dock, and after three years of working as an operator, he purchased it naming it Corwin Dock. In its heyday, Corwin Dock was home to the original Coca-Cola Bottling plant, the Sea Breeze Inn, and the Southern Express Company with the steamer, "Margret," of the Plant Line, making daily trips from Tampa, Florida with round-trip fare set at only $1.50.
Time and constant exposure to the weather eventually took its toll on the dock. Corwin Dock was rebuilt and renamed Memorial Pier in 1930, it was dedicated to 21 men from the Bradenton area that gave their lives in the Great War, and the original marker can still be found outside the neighboring PIER 22 restaurant. With the original dock now gone, Corwin's Ice Cream shop is our way of paying tribute to one of the area's earliest homesteaders and most respected businessmen Samuel C. Corwin.
