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All content ©The Seminole Historical Society. Web Design©Sandy Holloway ©Sandy Creations ©KM HOLLOWAY ENTERPRISES LLC
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Compiled by Jimmy Vines 2007
1822 Searchers find Tate-te-la-hosta-ka = Watermelon Town? Seminole Town ?Seminole? One theory of the name of our city.
1860 Augustus Archer: on land deeds up near Anona; came in from Key West with
his friend, John Lowe. Both were captains of their own ships - the way to carry
merchandise before the railroad.
1865-1868 End of War-Settlers start to come in; Benjamin Campbell and others.
1872 Meares brothers settle at Meares Lake (now Seminole City Park). Aunt Bell
names the area Oakhurst.
1822 Searchers find Tate-te-la-hosta-ka = Watermelon Town? Seminole Town ?Seminole? One theory of the name of our city.
1860 Augustus Archer: on land deeds up near Anona; came in from Key West with
his friend, John Lowe. Both were captains of their own ships - the way to carry
merchandise before the railroad.
1865-1868 End of War-Settlers start to come in; Benjamin Campbell and others.
1872 Meares brothers settle at Meares Lake (now Seminole City Park). Aunt Bell
names the area Oakhurst.
)
1910 John A. Campbell, Seminole resident and father of Marjorie Campbell, who married Jesse Johnson, is an independent fruit buyer and packer in Largo
click on the ad for a larger image
1883 Irvine Adair is the first recorded landowner on the beach. His patent is dated
March 10, 1883.
(Land patents are the legal documents that transferred land ownership from the U.S. Government to individuals.)
1886 Seminole Post Office is created. Gus Archer is Postmaster - at "Triangle".
1887 Robert Leach, Englishman, settles near Meares property - south of
Old Oakhurst Road. Also see Leach Groves.
March 10, 1883.
(Land patents are the legal documents that transferred land ownership from the U.S. Government to individuals.)
1886 Seminole Post Office is created. Gus Archer is Postmaster - at "Triangle".
1887 Robert Leach, Englishman, settles near Meares property - south of
Old Oakhurst Road. Also see Leach Groves.
1882 Florida Map: John's Pass is on the map. Seminole is not. (Left map)
1879 Albert S. Meares opens a post office out of his home; called John's Pass.
Irvine J. Adair is Postmaster.
1880's Seminole taxpayers are on the record at the courthouse in Tampa (from West Hillsborough County). All taxpayers have "John's Pass" as their address.
Irvine J. Adair is Postmaster.
1880's Seminole taxpayers are on the record at the courthouse in Tampa (from West Hillsborough County). All taxpayers have "John's Pass" as their address.
click on the pictures for a larger image
 "Meares home in Seminole Florida 1872 settlers")
 "Meares home in Seminole Florida 1872 settlers")
1888 Orange Belt Railroad is built from Sanford, FL to St. Petersburg. Later becomes Atlantic Coast Line RR. This photo was taken in 1889.
 "Robert Leach, Englishman, 1887 settler, Seminole Florida")
 "Home of Robert Leach, Englishman, 1887 settler, Seminole Florida")
click on the pictures for a larger image
1890 Gus Archer gives one acre of land for church. He and 12 other families are charter members of Marvin Chapel - now, Seminole United Methodist Church.
 "Orange Belt Railway 1889, image from Heritage Village Archives")
click on the picture for a larger image
1894 Thevenets' give one acre for school (where Log Cabin is now).
 "Marvin Chapel & Parsonage, Seminole, Florida")
click on the picture for a larger image
E.H. Giles, the first Pastor, named the chapel after his son, Marvin, a Methodist Bishop. In 1921 a hurricane destroyed the chapel.
1914 - 1916 Seminole Beach and post office. The land for a Seminole Beach development was homesteaded by two men, a Mr. Bradbury and a Mr.Pierson. They built a pier, had a store or two and sold lots (12 blocks laid out), but they had their dream shattered when storms blew away much of their property. A fellow by the name of Charles Reddington bought this land and you know the rest of the story.
1911 Seminole population 75.
1911 Pinellas, previously part of Hillsborough, becomes a county.
(Officially 1 January, 1912).
1915 Seminole Elementary opens on 74th Avenue. It was at least the third school in Seminole.
1911 Pinellas, previously part of Hillsborough, becomes a county.
(Officially 1 January, 1912).
1915 Seminole Elementary opens on 74th Avenue. It was at least the third school in Seminole.
 "Seminole had a Beach! 1914 to 1916")
 "Seminole Elementary School 1912")
1915 Tampa & Gulf Coast Railroad is opened to St. Petersburg. First steam engine comes by Oakhurst and photographed. Big boost for: economy, citrus & agriculture. This RR later becomes Seaboard Airline Railroad. Where the railroad was is now the Pinellas Trail.
1915 - 1919 Oakhurst Post Office in use; Mr. Elrod is postmaster.
1917 Thurstons buy groves from O'Quinns ?
1924 Gandy Bridge is opened; trip to Tampa reduced from 43 miles to 19 miles.
1925 Seminole: Population 100. Now it has a grocer - T.G. Walker.
1925 Map shows Meares Lake and Oakhurst Station on the railroad, due west of Maurice Meares' home (where the trail is and the old City Hall).
1926 Welch Causeway opens (Madeira Bridge - Tom Stuart Causeway) 1st "free bridge" to the beaches.
1929 Stock Market crashes: Bad enough, it was at the end of The Florida Boom.
1932 Pinellas County is 3rd in the state in citrus production. Al Repetto says that, at one time, we were 1st in the grapefruit production with 17,000 acres of grapefruit trees.
1933 Bay Pines Veterans Hospital opens. 1000 laborers get jobs; big help towards the end of the Depression.
1933 Seminole's Log Cabin is built; WPA project and CCC workers put it together. Leon Campbell is behind this project. Jesse Johnson furnishes the lumber.
1933 You can buy a man's suit for $12.50. Closeout price - $6.75! But, who has money?
1940 There are 7 packing houses on Seminole Boulevard.
1940's Gene Mohney and his dad have a chicken farm; over 5,000 chickens. They deliver!
1948 - 1950 Long Bayou has a dam and we have a Lake Seminole with fresh water.
1917 Thurstons buy groves from O'Quinns ?
1924 Gandy Bridge is opened; trip to Tampa reduced from 43 miles to 19 miles.
1925 Seminole: Population 100. Now it has a grocer - T.G. Walker.
1925 Map shows Meares Lake and Oakhurst Station on the railroad, due west of Maurice Meares' home (where the trail is and the old City Hall).
1926 Welch Causeway opens (Madeira Bridge - Tom Stuart Causeway) 1st "free bridge" to the beaches.
1929 Stock Market crashes: Bad enough, it was at the end of The Florida Boom.
1932 Pinellas County is 3rd in the state in citrus production. Al Repetto says that, at one time, we were 1st in the grapefruit production with 17,000 acres of grapefruit trees.
1933 Bay Pines Veterans Hospital opens. 1000 laborers get jobs; big help towards the end of the Depression.
1933 Seminole's Log Cabin is built; WPA project and CCC workers put it together. Leon Campbell is behind this project. Jesse Johnson furnishes the lumber.
1933 You can buy a man's suit for $12.50. Closeout price - $6.75! But, who has money?
1940 There are 7 packing houses on Seminole Boulevard.
1940's Gene Mohney and his dad have a chicken farm; over 5,000 chickens. They deliver!
1948 - 1950 Long Bayou has a dam and we have a Lake Seminole with fresh water.
 "Long Bayou dam 1948 to 1950, Seminole Florida")
Before the dam, our forebear had to wait for low tide to go to Pinellas Park, using that route. That route, we know today as Park Boulevard.
1960's The Big 4 come to town. Trees come down - houses go up.
1962 Seminole High School opens with birdshot and alligators. School is built on a sand pit. Stanley Moore is the first principal.
1962 Seminole High School opens with birdshot and alligators. School is built on a sand pit. Stanley Moore is the first principal.
click on the picture for a larger image
click on the picture for a larger image
click on the picture for a larger image
click on the picture for a larger image
1963 1st Chamber of Commerce. Russell Stewart is president.
1963 Leon Campbell writes a very helpful booklet about Seminole pioneers, their families and where they lived in the 1880's.
1964 1st Senior class graduates at Seminole High.
1965 Seminole Mall, Seminole Post Office and Boy Scouts buildings are built on Jesse Johnson's land.
1963 Leon Campbell writes a very helpful booklet about Seminole pioneers, their families and where they lived in the 1880's.
1964 1st Senior class graduates at Seminole High.
1965 Seminole Mall, Seminole Post Office and Boy Scouts buildings are built on Jesse Johnson's land.
click on the picture for a larger image
1964 - 1965 Push by Seminole residents to renovate Seminole Bridge. It works.
1967 The 1st Pow-Wow. Read the city's Pow-Wow history here.
1969 Seminole Volunteer Fire Department, SHS Warhawk Boosters and many others (and a lot of BBQ chicken) raise money to convert a swamp into a football stadium for the high school.
1969 Gene Harris, Seminole Fire Department volunteer, builds both concession stands at the stadium for $265.00 (and that was for refrigerators and pipes). They are still in use. Other volunteer firemen built stands for home and visitors.
1970 Seminole becomes a city! The first mayor is Russell Stewart; honorary mayor is Jesse Johnson; 8 city Councilmen are elected, including Arnett Brown, historian and long-time active citizen of Seminole. Dennis DeLoach and Bill Dunlap are the first attorneys for the new city.
1967 The 1st Pow-Wow. Read the city's Pow-Wow history here.
1969 Seminole Volunteer Fire Department, SHS Warhawk Boosters and many others (and a lot of BBQ chicken) raise money to convert a swamp into a football stadium for the high school.
1969 Gene Harris, Seminole Fire Department volunteer, builds both concession stands at the stadium for $265.00 (and that was for refrigerators and pipes). They are still in use. Other volunteer firemen built stands for home and visitors.
1970 Seminole becomes a city! The first mayor is Russell Stewart; honorary mayor is Jesse Johnson; 8 city Councilmen are elected, including Arnett Brown, historian and long-time active citizen of Seminole. Dennis DeLoach and Bill Dunlap are the first attorneys for the new city.
 "City of Seminole, Florida, first school built on land donated by the Thevonet family")
click on the picture for a larger image
1974 City buys, for $200,000, Meares Lake and property for City Hall and city park.
1984 City of Seminole: Population 5,000.
1986 - 1989 New Seminole Post Office.
1991 City buys land and church for recreational purposes - it is named The Holland Mangum Recreation Complex. Cost is $1.5 million. City later spends an additional $1 million to increase the size of the property to 15 acres.
1992 2nd library opens - now City Hall.
2003 Dennis L. Jones Seminole Community Library at the St.Pete College, Seminole campus opens.
2006 November 16, Seminole celebrates 36th Anniversary as a city! As a community, about 130 years.
2007 City of Seminole, Population: 19,000, with the greater Seminole area: 126,000.
1984 City of Seminole: Population 5,000.
1986 - 1989 New Seminole Post Office.
1991 City buys land and church for recreational purposes - it is named The Holland Mangum Recreation Complex. Cost is $1.5 million. City later spends an additional $1 million to increase the size of the property to 15 acres.
1992 2nd library opens - now City Hall.
2003 Dennis L. Jones Seminole Community Library at the St.Pete College, Seminole campus opens.
2006 November 16, Seminole celebrates 36th Anniversary as a city! As a community, about 130 years.
2007 City of Seminole, Population: 19,000, with the greater Seminole area: 126,000.
 "1970 Seminole Courier announcement, the City of Seminole, Florida")
 "1970 Seminole Courier announcement, the City of Seminole, Florida")
click on the pictures for a larger images
This Seminole history was compiled by Jimmy Vines, in 2007. As our community continues to grow, the SHS continues to collect and preserve our past. As of 2009, the SHS is without a permanent location to house its ever-growing collection of photographs, artifacts and stories. If you or anyone you know would be interested in assisting the SHS find a permanent home, please contact any SHS Board member. The SHS would like to share its priceless collection with all of the community!
A small collection of our history can be viewed, in photographs; located in room 210 B at the Holland Mangum Recreation Complex - at any membership meeting. You don't have to be a member to attend a meeting!
A small collection of our history can be viewed, in photographs; located in room 210 B at the Holland Mangum Recreation Complex - at any membership meeting. You don't have to be a member to attend a meeting!
Share YOUR stories and photos! Do you have a special historical memory of Seminole, Florida? Do you have historical photographs of Seminole, Florida? Please consider sharing them with the community! Photographs can be e-mailed to our webmaster, for immediate posting on the website. Originals can be preserved with the Seminole Historical Society. Thank You!
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 "Hillsboro County 1882, Library of Congress")
 "Hillsboro County 1873, courtesy USF")
This 1873 map shows Clear Water - NOT Clearwater and no Seminole. (map below)
note the spelling of Hillsboro