HISTORY LET'S PEEK INTO THE PAST I f we were to time travel to Florida’s past, we’d no doubt see the villages of the Calusa, Tocobaga and other Native American tribes who laid their claims to St. Pete/Clearwater’s waterfront millennia before European settlers. They flourished for centuries, and you can visit their ceremonial mounds at Maximo Park and Jungle Prada in St. Pete and Phillippe Park in Safety Harbor. While Native Americans had the Florida life down, others were reluctant to brave the heat and mosquitoes. Some intrepid settlers, however, powered through to live and thrive here pre-air-conditioning and pre-medical breakthroughs against malaria and other diseases. They preceded the throngs who moved here after World War II by several decades. downtown area are offered by the Gulfport Historical Society. The Historic Peninsula Inn, a dog-friendly boutique hotel built in 1905, houses a restaurant, Isabelle’s, named after the inn’s friendly ghost. FORT DE SOTO This sprawling county park beloved for its unspoiled beaches held a fortified battle station in its first incarnation. The Historic Fort, which can be found by the Gulf Pier, got its name from Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and was erected in 1900 during the Spanish-American War. No shots were fired from the fort, but it provided a safe haven and place to store munitions for wars to come before the government donated it to the county. See some of Fort De Soto’s artillery and learn about the fort’s history at the Quartermaster Museum. GULFPORT Smugglers and homesteaders were the first to settle on the shores of this hamlet southwest of St. Pete. And if you ask some longtime residents, there are some old ghosts too. The Gulfport Casino, a minty green dance hall that had its heyday in the 1940s, can be found right on the town’s lovely little beach. It’s where you can get gussied up and enjoy ballroom, salsa and swing dances and lessons. Venture to the back to see the tomb of Morris the Cat, the famous TV feline who became the city’s unofficial mascot (and whose spirit is said to wander near the casino). Walking tours of the ST. PETE What’s old is new again at the St. Pete Shuffleboard Club, where families and couples take part in a time-honored Florida tradition. Neglected for several decades, the world's oldest and largest shuffleboard club was founded in 1924. Now it’s a 66 AMERICA’S BEST BEACHES
Gulf To Bay St. Pete Clearwater FL Gulf To Bay 2023: Page 66
