Instructions:
1....Print this file.
2....At its end, click on "rules" to see a copy of the trail rules, print it, and then click where indicated at the end of the 3-page rules and patch order form to get back to the list of Florida trails.
3....If you want a hand-drawn map showing the locations of all of the sites, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Steve Rajtar, 1614 Bimini Dr., Orlando, FL 32806.
4....Hike the trail and order whatever patches you like (optional).
WARNING - This trail may pass through one or more neighborhoods which, although full of history, may now be unsafe for individuals on foot, or which may make you feel unsafe there. Hikers have been approached by individuals who have asked for handouts or who have inquired (not always in a friendly manner) why the hikers are in their neighborhood. Drugs and other inappropriate items have been found by hikers in some neighborhoods. It is suggested that you drive the hike routes first to see if you will feel comfortable walking them and, if you don't think it's a good place for you walk, you might want to consider (1) traveling with a large group, (2) doing the route on bicycles, or (3) choosing another hike route. The degree of comfort will vary with the individual and with the time and season of the hike, so you need to make the determination using your best judgment. If you hike the trail, you accept all risks involved.
The area around Lake Maggiore was owned by Victory Land Company, which was created by Charles R. and Emma Hall to develop Lakewood Estates, located immediately to the west of here amidst today's Lakewood Golf & Country Club. The company went into receivership in 1929.
The City of St. Petersburg purchased 661 acres in 1943 and began developing a nature trail in 1947.
This lake, comprising 375 acres, was a salt bayou until the city dammed it during the 1940s. In the early days it was called Salt Lake.
The road now known as 9th St. began as an old Tampa cattlemen's trail. It was extended into a roadway by John Hayes. Later, this section was renamed to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Leora Lewis, one of St. Petersburg's first female real estate brokers, opened Lewis Tent City in 1922, one of Florida's first mobile home parks. After several years, she sold it for $35,000 to syndicators who resold it for $150,000.
Near here was the home of Seminole War veteran Abel Miranda. He and his family moved to this vicinity during the late 1850s, but fled in February of 1862 when the Union blockading squadron attacked the house and burned it, killing the animals and destroying the gardens.
This section of St. Petersburg is known as the "Old Southeast", and features many homes from the early years of the 20th Century. This two-story brick house with the imposing columns was built in 1924.
This home was built between 1903 and 1907 by Charles A. Harvey of Jessup, Georgia. The 19-room Queen Anne Victorian style home is now operated as a bed and breakfast establishment with three rooms for guests - the Rose, the Yellow, and the Captain's. The house features a wide porch that wraps around the front and side, a many-gabled roof, bay windows, and an asymmetrical window arrangement. Inside are ten-foot ceilings.
Planning to build a harbor for St. Petersburg, Harvey founded the Bayboro Investment Co. Unfortunately, he died in 1914 before he could begin the harbor.
William P. Neeld came to St. Petersburg in the 1870s and began growing oranges, grapefruit, mangoes, and avocados. It is beleived that one of his original trees is the one standing in this yard, and two others until very recently stood at 1021 10th St. S.
This 18,000 square foot community center was named to honor Rev. Dr. Enoch Douglas Davis, who moved to St. Petersburg in 1925. He served the Bethel Community Baptist Church as pastor for more than 50 years, and worked toward the desgregation of Florida schools. Inside the building are the James Weldon Johnson Branch Library, a large hall, three meeting rooms, space for classrooms, and offices of community human service agencies.
This congregation organized on June 28, 1959, and had its first sanctuary built next door at 1717 Tangerine (18th) Ave.
This is the original site of St. Petersburg's first church, built on land donated by Dr. John B. Abercrombie, who came here in 1883. It was moved to another location in 1970, but the county's oldest cemetery remains.
This congregation dates back to 1913, when it was organized by Rev. P.R. James and Rev. G. London. The present sanctuary was built in 1972.
This church began as a mission in 1925 and assumed full parish status in October of 1930. Its sanctuary was constructed in 1926.
Rev. R. Julian Smith organized this church on April 1, 1944, and a building was constructed to house it later that year. It was rebuilt in 1976.
This church, called Glen Oaks Community Church until the 1980s, sits on a portion of the 2 1/2 acres donated by Henry Slaughter for the Glen Oak Cemetery.
In 1876, Henry Slaughter purchased 40 acres here from the state at $1/acre. The shell mound located on the property ws the only area above water during the rainy season. When the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Roberts died and they needed a place to bury him, Slaughter gave them permission to use his land. He later donated the land to create this cemetery.
This church was organized in 1907 and its sanctuary was rebuilt in 1926 by Rev. O.B. Bartley. A new building was erected on the southwest corner in 1975.
The first Episcopal services in the area were held in 1885, and the congregation formally organized on April 20, 1887. The cost of construction was $673, over half of which was raised in England. The church was built in the summer of 1887 on an acre of land donated by Dr. John B. Abercrombie.
In 1970, after the neighborhood changed and the congregation decided to move, the pine church was disassembled and rebuilt at this location. It remains the oldest church building in Pinellas County.
Boyd Hill started working for the city park department in 1936 and supervised the plantings and buildings for the nature trail section of the park. He died in 1957 and the park was renamed Boy Hill Nature Trail the following year.
A zoo was opened in the park, but a problem with vandalism forced it to close in the 1970s. It was redeveloped in the 1980s as Boyd Hill Nature Park.
Accent Florida, by Hampton Dunn (1975)
An Informal History of St. Petersburg, by Page S. Jackson (Great Outdoors Publishing Co. 1962)
Black Florida, by Kevin M. McCarthy (Hippocrene Books 1995)
Florida Bed & Breakfast Guide, by Valerie C. Bondy (Queen of Hearts Publications 1995)
Florida Historical Markers & Sites, by Floyd E. Boone (Gulf Publishing Company 1988)
Florida's Pinellas Peninsula, by June Hurley Young (Byron Kennedy and Co. 1984)
Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture, (University of Florida Press 1989)
Guide to the Small and Historic Lodgings of Florida, by Herbert L. Hiller (Pineapple Press, Inc. 1991)
Historic Homes of Florida, by Laura Stewart & Susanne Hupp (Pineapple Press, Inc. 1995)
Indian Mounds You Can Visit, by I. Mac Perry (Great Outdoors Publishing Company 1993)
Our Story of Gulfport, Florida, by Gulfport Historical Society (1985)
St. Petersburg and Its People, by Walter P. Fuller (Great Outdoors Publishing Co. 1972)
Surf, Sand & Post Card Sunsets: A History of Pass-A-Grille and the Gulf Beaches, by Frank T. Hurley, Jr. (1977)
This Quiet Corner: An Informal History of Boyd Hill Nature Park, St. Petersburg, Florida, by Elizabeth M. Verbeck (1985)
Click here for a copy of the trail rules