South-southwest of

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, Fort De Soto Park is a park operated by

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical ...

on five offshore keys, or islands: Madelaine Key, St. Jean Key, St. Christopher Key, Bonne Fortune Key and the main island, Mullet Key. The keys are connected by either bridge or causeway. The island group is accessible by

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...

from the mainland. Historically, the islands were used for military fortifications; remnants and a museum exhibit this history. Two piers, beaches, picnic area, hiking trails, bicycling trails, kayak trail, and a ferry to

Egmont Key State Park Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge and State Park is a National Wildlife Refuge and State Park located on the island of Egmont Key, at the mouth of Tampa Bay. Egmont Key lies southwest of Fort De Soto Park and can only be reached by boat or ferry ...

are available. The park is a gateway site for the Great Florida Birding Trail.

History

Early history

The area of today's Fort De Soto was originally inhabited by the

Tocobaga Tocobaga (occasionally Tocopaca) was the name of a chiefdom, its chief, and its principal town during the 16th century. The chiefdom was centered around the northern end of Old Tampa Bay, the arm of Tampa Bay that extends between the present-da ...

Native Americans from about 1000 to 1500 ACE. They lived on

Mullet Key Mullet Key is a historic island near Crystal River, Florida. It is located 3 miles south of the main mouth of the Crystal River, and was inhabited by Native Americans in pre-Columbian times. The island was occupied from roughly 500 to 1500 a ...

and other barrier islands in the area, eating fish, clams, conch, oysters and whelks from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. Their diet was supplemented by occasional game food as well as the plants they gathered.Staff (ndg
"Fort De Soto County Park: Historic Guide"
Pinellas County Parks & Recreation / Friends of Fort De Soto In 1529, the Spanish explorer

Pánfilo de Narváez Pánfilo de Narváez (; 147?–1528) was a Spanish '' conquistador'' and soldier in the Americas. Born in Spain, he first embarked to Jamaica in 1510 as a soldier. He came to participate in the conquest of Cuba and led an expedition to Camagü ...

investigated the barrier islands after his expedition landed between St. Pete Beach and Clearwater, Florida. Ten years later, Hernando De Soto came ashore somewhere near the southern part of

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...

, beginning what would culminate in the conquest of Florida for the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

Military use

In 1849, a detachment of US Army engineers, including future Confederate General Robert E. Lee surveyed the area. They recommended Mullet and

Egmont Key Egmont may refer to: * Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark * Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond ** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the bes ...

s become fortified as appropriate site for coastal defense installations. Both keys could only be reached by boat as they were completely separated from the mainland. Although the US Government did not build any fortifications on the two keys, they did station

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

troops there during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Their purpose was to aid in the Union

naval blockade A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

, with the Egmont Key lighthouse acting as an observation tower. The keys were not used for military purposes again until 1882, when military reservations were created on the two keys. However, fortifications were not built on them until the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

2018 Fort De Soto - 12-inch steel coastal defense mortars

Hillsborough County established a

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

station on the eastern side of Mullet Key in 1889. It became known as Mullet Key Quarantine Station. The Marine Hospital Service took over jurisdiction of the station in 1901. The duty of the station was to inspect aliens aboard ships arriving from foreign ports. By 1925, the station operated with fifteen buildings. The quarantine station operated until 1937, when the

Public Health Service In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

transferred its operations there to Gadsden Point, near Tampa. The main operation on Mullet Key was named Fort De Soto in 1900, in honor of Hernando de Soto. The Army post was officially a subpost of Fort Dade, which was constructed on Egmont Key. These posts were to contain batteries of artillery and mortars to protect Tampa Bay from any invading forces. Construction of Fort De Soto began in November 1898 and was completed in 1906. The foundation was constructed of a seashell

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

formula, and the walls and ceiling used a seashell, stone, and concrete mix. The fort contained

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

and

12-inch coast defense mortar The 12-inch coast defense mortar was a weapon of caliber emplaced during the 1890s and early 20th century to defend US harbors from seaborne attack. In 1886, when the Endicott Board set forth its initial plan for upgrading the coast defenses of ...

batteries, Batteries Laidley and Bigelow. The post consisted of 29 buildings. The post's features included a large barracks, a hospital, a

guardhouse A guardhouse (also known as a watch house, guard building, guard booth, guard shack, security booth, security building, or sentry building) is a building used to house personnel and security equipment. Guardhouses have historically been dormit ...

, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

and carpenter shop, an administration building, and

mess hall The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

with kitchen, a bakery, and a storehouse. The site also had brick roads, concrete sidewalks, and a

narrow-gauge railroad A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

to aid in moving materials and supplies around the post. 2018 Fort De Soto - 40 caliber gun 1

Fort De Soto was active from 1898 to 1910. At least one company was present at Fort De Soto at all times and many times several units were present.

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es were a constant problem and the post was very hot in the summers. In 1910, most of the Army troops were moved from Fort De Soto to

Fort Morgan Fort Morgan can apply to any one of several places in the United States: *Fort Morgan (Alabama), a fort at the mouth of Mobile Bay *Fort Morgan, Alabama, a nearby community *Fort Morgan (Colorado), a frontier military post located in present-day Fo ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

. Only a caretaker force remained; by 1914, only an

ordnance sergeant Ordnance sergeant was an enlisted rank in the U.S. Army from 1832 to 1920. The Confederate States Army also had an ordnance sergeant position during its existence. Ordnance sergeants were part of the Army's Ordnance Department and were in charge o ...

and

game warden A conservation officer is a law enforcement officer who protects wildlife and the environment. A conservation officer may also be referred to as an environmental technician or technologist, game warden, forest ranger, forest watcher, forest g ...

remained at the post. Through most of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a larger

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

force was at the post, usually with about twenty-two privates, two noncommissioned officers, and two commissioned officers. In 1917, four of Fort De Soto's mortars were disassembled and shipped to

Fort Rosecrans Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is located in Point Loma, a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, Navy Region Southwest ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. In November 1922, the Army announced it would inactivate both Forts De Soto and Dade. On 1 July 1924, the Harbor Defenses of Tampa were inactivated, designated as a subordinate installation of the Harbor Defenses of Pensacola, and reduced to caretaker status. By 1926, the forts had been disarmed except for four 12-inch mortars of Battery Laidley at Fort De Soto, which remained under caretaker status. The forts were meant to be reactivated and rearmed in time of war, but that never occurred. From 1929, the 637th Coast Artillery Regiment's mobilization assignment was the Coast Defenses of Tampa, but that unit was never initiated in the

Organized Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

. On 16 November 1935, the Headquarters, Headquarters Battery, and the Medical Department Detachment of the Coast Defenses of Tampa were organized with Regular Army Inactive (Organized Reserve) personnel from the Fourth Corps Area at large. A number of

tropical storms A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dependi ...

and hurricanes severely damaged the buildings on the post. A few were destroyed, as was Battery Bigelow in 1932. The Army attempted to sell the post, but there was little interest. In September 1938, Pinellas County bought the areas on Mullet Key for $12,500.

Conversion to civilian use

Shortly after Pinellas County purchased Mullet Key,, county commissioners granted a lease to Percy L. Roberts for the use of land and buildings on the island the Mullet Key Quarantine Service had once used. The ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' reported the Commission's action in its January 25, 1939, edition:

Lease of Mullet Key buildings to Percy Roberts was ratified Monday by county commissioners who made no change in the tentative lease approved last week.Roberts will pay the county $50 a month for the first year and $100 a month for the next two years for the lease of two buildings on the extreme south end of the county's property on the key.The lessee will operate a daily boat service to the island and will serve fish dinners and rent fishing tackle. The distance from his dock near the Bee Line ferry will be 10 miles. He will land in a sheltered cove on the north end of the island. Trips will be started in about three weeks.

Roberts, a native of St. Petersburg and local plumbing contractor, had a simple business plan. First, run a passenger boat to Mullet Key facilitating access to the isolated island. This service was expected to attract both fishermen and sightseers. For the fishermen, easy access to the pristine fishing waters of lower Tampa Bay; for the sightseers, easy access to the ruins of historic Fort De Soto and the white-sand beaches facing the Gulf of Mexico. Secondly, establish a hotel and restaurant on the island. Roberts envisioned creating a venue on the island appealing to clubs, associations, and other organizations for group outings of members for fishing, sightseeing, and "dining on fried mullet". With lease in hand and business plan formulated, and with the financial support of Charles R. Carter, a local insurance executive and president of the Bee Line Ferry Co., Roberts immediately began implementing his plan. For transportation to the isolated island, the passenger boat Hobo was put into service. Hobo operated daily from the Bee Line Ferry Terminal at St. Petersburg's Pinellas Point, pulling away from the dock early morning and leaving for the return trip late afternoon. Hobo was also available for chartered trips in between scheduled runs. "By boat" was not the only means of transportation to the island. A strip of land on the island was cleared in response to requests by some who wanted to fly small aircraft in and out. Lodging and eating accommodations on the island were fashioned by renovating a building vacated by the Quarantine Service in 1937. The facility at best was austere, but one who was tired and hungry could get a good night's sleep; plenty of coffee, a hearty serving of bacon and eggs for breakfast; any of an assortment of sandwiches for lunch; and, a family style meal of fried mullet with all the trimmings for supper. A screened-in porch was there for those who just wanted to lean back, prop up the feet, enjoy a cool beverage, and relax. This facility became known familiarly as Mullet Key Lodge. Rubert "Rube" Allyn, a writer for the ''St. Petersburg Times'', included in his March 28, 1939, column, "Along the Waterfront":

When the Pinellas county commissioners leased the old Fort De Soto, and Mullet Key to Percy Roberts, they did a fine thing for the tourists by opening up the vast uninhabited reaches of Mullet Key and the old fort to exploration parties ... Today for a nominal fee, one can take a boat at Pinellas Point, and go to Mullet Key, land at the old Quarantine dock, enjoy an old-fashioned fish dinner prepared in the same manner as the pioneers of 50 years ago, by the Roberts family, and explore miles of uninhabited beaches, bayous, and the old Spanish–American War fort ...

Bombing range

In less than two years, Mullet Key Lodge became well established and profitable. However, this first for-profit business founded on the island was short-lived. The lease, granted to Roberts in 1939, had to be rescinded because the

US War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

decided it wanted the island back for use as a

bombing range A bombing range usually refers to a remote military aerial bombing and gunnery training range used by combat aircraft to attack ground targets (air-to-ground bombing), or a remote area reserved for researching, developing, testing and evaluati ...

by the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

in support of air bases then being constructed in the Tampa Bay area. That pending transaction was reported by the ''

'' on December 18, 1940:

Mullet Key purchased by the county from the Treasury department in 1938 for $12,500 will soon be taken over by the United States Army Air Corps for use as a bombing range. The Air Corps will pay the county all that has been expended to date and will pay to Capt. Charles R. Carter all he has expended in improving the building into a fishing lodge. It is understood that Capt. Carter has an investment of about $8,000 while the county’s total investment is about $13,800.

In June 1941, the federal government bought back Mullet Key from Pinellas County for $18,404. As planned, It was turned into a sub-post of

MacDill Field MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

and used as a

throughout World War II.

County park

After World War II, the by then-renamed U.S. Army Air Forces had no need for Mullet Key, and it was a sold back to Pinellas County along with adjacent islands Sister Key, Hospital Key, Rattlesnake Key, and Scratch Key. The sale, for $26,495.54, was finalized in 1948. County officials immediately designated Fort De Soto and all of Mullet Key a county recreational area and declared it open to the public. Soon thereafter excursion passenger boats began regularly scheduled trips to the island. In 1962, a toll road, the Pinellas Bayway (formerly State Road A19A, now SR 682), was completed to the mainland, enabling island visitors to arrive by car. On December 21, 1962, Fort De Soto Park opened. On May 11, 1963, Fort De Soto Park was officially dedicated. Its facilities have been expanded over the years. The quartermaster storehouse was reconstructed to become the Quartermaster Storehouse Museum. On December 2, 1977, the Fort De Soto batteries were placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The four 12-inch M1890 mortars and two 6-inch Armstrong guns at Fort De Soto are the only weapons of their type remaining in the United States.

Recreational activities and amenities

The park is open year-round and has the following features: * Several thousand acres of firm-bottomed shallows, making the area a favored destination of wading anglers * Two piers, each allowing fishing. Both have bait, tackle and food concessions. * Various picnic areas. * Fort De Soto, built in 1898, abandoned in phases 1910 to 1948. *

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

Storehouse Museum. * Two swimming areas, North Beach and East Beach. North Beach has been named to "America's Top 10 Beaches" list by Dr. Beach numerous times. In 2005 it moved to the first place in this list, being recognized as America's Best Beach. * 800-foot

boat ramp A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

. * Camping area with a camp store, modern

restrooms A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...

and

laundry room A laundry room (also called a utility room) is a room where clothes are washed and dried. In a modern home, a laundry room would be equipped with an automatic washing machine and clothes dryer, and often a large basin, called a ''laundry tub ...

. *

Snack bar A snack bar usually refers to an inexpensive food counter that is part of a permanent structure where snack foods and light meals are sold. Description A beach snack bar is often a small building situated high on the sand. Besides soft dri ...

with

gift shop A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collec ...

at the old fort. Fort De Soto birds

* Seven-mile multi-purpose trail. * 2¼ mile canoe trail. * Barrier-free

nature trail An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural, techn ...

. * Paw Playground, an area to exercise pets. * Ferry to Egmont Key, site of

Ecology

Fort De Soto Park is a hub for biodiversity, featuring various ecosystems such as

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

and

hammocks A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a wove ...

. Over 328 species of birds have been documented at the park, with large areas of the North Beach protected for both the nesting of breeding birds, and the stopover of migratory birds. However, due to factors such as habitat loss and increased abundance of the

brown-headed cowbird The brown-headed cowbird (''Molothrus ater'') is a small, obligate brood parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America. It is a permanent resident in the southern parts of its range; northern birds migrate to the southern ...

(a brood parasite), species such as the

mangrove cuckoo The mangrove cuckoo (''Coccyzus minor'') is a species of cuckoo that is native to the Neotropics. Taxonomy The mangrove cuckoo was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition ...

, black-whiskered vireo, and

prairie warbler The prairie warbler (''Setophaga discolor'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Description These birds have yellow underparts with dark streaks on the flanks, and olive overparts with rusty streaks on the back; they have a ye ...

no longer breed in this location. As with many beach habitats in the region, also breeding in this park are endangered Loggerhead sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtles. Fort De Soto sea turtle nest mosbo6

Gallery

File:St. Petersburg FL Fort Desoto path01.jpg, A walkway File:2018 Fort De Soto - main bike path.jpg, The main bike path to North Beach File:2018 Fort De Soto - data booth.jpg, A "data booth" used to relay elevations and azimuths from observers to mortar crews File:St. Petersburg FL Fort Desoto03.jpg, The fortification for Battery Laidley; the data booth is on the left File:Sunshine Skyway Bridge, from Fort DeSoto (2).jpg, A view of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge from Fort De Soto File:Egretta rufescens Fort DeSoto, Florida.jpg, Reddish egret
(''Egretta rufescens'') File:American Oystercatcher - Flickr - Andrea Westmoreland.jpg, American oystercatcher
(''Haematopus palliatus'') File:Black Skimmer at Fort Desoto - Flickr - Andrea Westmoreland.jpg, Black skimmer
(''Rynchops niger'') File:Black-bellied Plover with worm - Flickr - Andrea Westmoreland (1).jpg, Black-bellied plover
(''Pluvialis squatarola'') File:Fort De Soto Park (8416017620).jpg, Brown pelican
(''Pelecanus occidentalis'') File:Great Egret with breakfast - Flickr - Andrea Westmoreland.jpg, Great egret
(''Ardea alba'') File:Great Horned Owl at Fort DeSoto - Flickr - Andrea Westmoreland.jpg, Great horned owl
(''Bubo virginianus'') File:Black-crowned Night Heron - Flickr - Andrea Westmoreland.jpg, Black-crowned night heron
(''Nycticorax nycticorax'') File:Marbled Godwit at Fort Desoto - Flickr - Andrea Westmoreland.jpg, Marbled godwit
(''Limosa fedoa'')

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm
Pinellas County listings
a
National Register of Historic Places

Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
*
Pinellas County listings
*
Fort De Soto Batteries

FortDeSoto.com
- A site dedicated to Fort De Soto Park
Laboratory for Coastal Research & National Healthy Beaches Campaign
Florida International University
Fort Desoto Trail
a
100 Florida Trails
Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida, Desoto Ghost towns in Florida Parks in Pinellas County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Pinellas County, Florida Florida in the American Civil War Military and war museums in Florida Museums in Pinellas County, Florida Former populated places in Pinellas County, Florida Beaches of Pinellas County, Florida Beaches of Florida 1962 establishments in Florida Protected areas established in 1962