Pass-A-Grille
N 27° 41.343 W 082° 44.278
17R E 328615 N 3063965
One of the oldest resort areas on the West Coast. Site of first European explorations in Florida.
Waymark Code: WM4Z6G
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 10/16/2008
Views: 33
For 10,000 years, Indians hunted the praries and fished the waters of what later became Pass-A-Grille. The last group of Native Americans to settle in the Pinellas County area were the Tocobagas around 1000-1700 A.D. This area was first visited by Europeans in 1528, when the Spanish explorer, Panfilo de Narvaez, anchored off Pass-A-Grille Pass. Afterwards, the island was used as a camp ground for fisherman to obtain freshwater and to grill their catch. According to legend, it is thought that Pass-A-Grille derives its name from the French, Paees and Grilleare. In 1857, John Gomez, self styled, "last of the pirates," begun bringing excursionists here from Tampa, which gave this area the distinction of perhaps being the oldest resort on Central Florida's West Coast. Zephaniah Phillips, the first homesteader settled here in 1886 and by the turn of the century Pass-A-Grille had its first hotel and a ferry boat service from what is now Gulfport. The town of Pass-A-Grille Beach was incorporated into the City of St Petersburg Beach in 1857 and in 1989 a section of Pass-A-Grille was declared a National Historic District.
Marker Number: none
Date: none
County: Pinellas
Marker Type: Plaque
Sponsored or placed by: unknown
Website: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new, and if you took any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark.
Please post a photo at the marker location.