Resources about the St. Petersburg area's long and unique Native American history are shared here.
Local archaeological sites such as Weedon Island and Maximo Park remind us of the region's earliest Native American cultures. Indigenous people from the Late Archaic Period were the first caretakers of this land from approximately 3000 BC/BCE to 500 BC/BCE. Native Americans from the Manasota and Weedon archaeological cultures were in the Tampa Bay area between 500 BC/BCE to 800/1000 AD/CE. The Safety Harbor culture, which took place from about 800/1000 AD/CE to the early 1700s, included the Tocobaga people who built the shell mounds near the current University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus.
Today's Florida Seminole and Miccosukee Native American Nations are proud descendants of the various Indigenous people who first called this area home.
Video: "Weedon Island’s prehistoric past gives glimpse into Native American culture."
By photojournalist Mike Hughes, WTVT-TV, FOX 13, March 25, 2021.
Arsenault, Raymond. St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950.
Norfolk: Donning Co, 1988.
Weedon Island Preserve. The Weedon Island Story.
Tarpon Springs, FL: Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management Environmental Lands Division, 2005.