Chronological Mileposts in the History of the Pinellas Peninsula
| Prehistory – 1513 | Indigenous cultures: Archaic through Mississippian | |
|---|---|---|
| 1513 – 1842 | 1513 – 1565 | Age of the Conquistador (throughout La Florida) |
| 1513 – 1763 | First Spanish period (throughout La Florida) | |
| 1528 – 1549 |
Conquistors/missionaries visit Punta Pinal
(Panfilo de Narvaez through Dominican Fr. Luis Cancer de Barbastro)
|
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| 1500s – early 1700s | Demise of indigenous native peoples (Tocobagas) | |
| 1763 – 1784 | English period (sparse settlement in Tampa Bay region) | |
| 1784 – 1821 | Second Spanish period (throughout La Florida) | |
| late 1810s – 1842 | Seminoles arrive and live in west central Florida | |
| 1820s – 1840s | Early white settlers and sailors arrive (i.e., Odet Philippe) | |
| 1835 – 1842 | Second Seminole War | |
| 1842 – 1860 | Early organized settlement under Armed Occupation Act of 1842 | |
| mid 1850s |
(settlers obtain clear titles to property, rather than occupying lands as squatters)
Increased travel by boat to Key West, Cedar Keys, Tampa |
|
| 1861 – 1877 | Civil War and Reconstruction | |
| 1860s – early 1870s | Abandonment of some farmsteads; population decline | |
| 1877 – 1888 | Enhanced agriculture and slight population growth | |
| mid 1870s | Decline of cotton; early emphasis on citrus (still small-scale before the arrival of railroads); early “roads” | |
| mid 1870s – mid 1880s | Arrival of notable developers and their agents (i.e., Hamilton Disston, Anson Safford, John C. Williams) | |
| 1888 – 1901 | Railroads usher in the “Bourbon Era” along the Pinellas Peninsula | |
| 1887 – 1888 | Orange Belt connects region with Sanford and points north | |
| 1880s – 1900s | Expansion of farms and citrus enterprises near railroads | |
| 1880s – 1910s | Decline of early coastal communities bypassed by the railroad (Anona absorbed by Largo; Bay View overtaken by Clearwater; Anclote replaced by Tarpon Springs) | |
| 1898 | Spanish-American War, and later construction of Fort De Soto and expansion of facilities of Egmont Key | |
| 1901 – 1918 | First land boom and demands for “home rule” | |
| 1901 – 1911 | Increased demands for separation from Hillsborough | |
| 1901 – 1950s | Expansion of citrus culture across Pinellas | |
| 1910s | Opening of additional railroad lines to Pinellas | |
| 1912 | Political autonomy from Hillsborough County | |
| 1917 – 1918 | Participation in World War I | |
| 1918 – 1926 | Second land boom along the Pinellas Peninsula | |
| early 1920s | Improved transportation through “good roads movement” | |
| early 1920s | Last major hurricane to hit the Tampa Bay region directly | |
| 1924 | Opening of Gandy Bridge | |
| 1926 – 1940 | Economic retrenchment, increased agricultural productivity, and some growth | |
| 1926, 1928, 1935 | Major hurricanes hit southern Florida | |
| 1934 | Opening of Ben T. Davis (Courtney Campbell) Causeway | |
| 1941 – 1945 | Mobilization and globalization during World War II | |
| 1945 – 1971 | Golden age of roadside attractions, fun ‘n’ sun, and Progressive Pinellas | |
| early 1950s – present | Increased suburbanization; demographic explosion | |
| 1950s – 1960s | Finger islands appear along the coast; dredging; Tampa Bay and Boca Ciega Bay become “sick”; acres of mobile homes replace citrus groves | |
| early 1950s – 1990s | Cold War industries (Honeywell, GE, etc.) | |
| early 1950s | Early suburban shopping centers (Tyrone Gardens, Central Plaza) | |
| 1950s – 1960s | Decline in agriculture, commercial aquaculture, and sponging | |
| 1950s – 1960s | Increased popularity of roadside attractions (Sunken Gardens, Aquatarium, Tiki Gardens), motor courts and hotels, and other venues that gave the area a distinct character (opening of Fort DeSoto, dinners at the two Kapok Tree restaurants) | |
| 1954 | Sunshine Skyway, beginnings of new US-19 move transportation arteries further from downtowns | |
| 1954 – 1964 | Early challenges to segregation (sit-ins, expansion of segregated facilities such as Gibbs Junior College in defiance of Brown) | |
| 1964 – 1971 | Legal challenges to segregation (from the initiation of the Bradley case to the 1971 federal implementation decree requiring busing to maintain integrated facilities) | |
| 1960s | Arrival and expansion of Interstate highways in region | |
| 1960s | Remodeling “God’s Waiting Room” | |
| 1971 – Present | Built culture, a concrete county, and changes in the Florida “Dream” | |
| 1971 | Disney opens, Tampa International Airport arrives | |
| 1970s – 1990s | Decline of state societies, changes in tourism, snowbirds fly in different directions | |
| 1970s – present | Condos consume the shoreline, cross-county congestion | |