The 114 acres of land that now make up Chinsegut Hill and its surrounding preserve were first owned by a Colonel Pearson in 1842. Ten years later Pearson sold the property and the home he had built there to Colonel Francis N. Ederington. Ederington’…

In 1946, Newton Perry and a group of investors made the decision to use Weeki Wachee as the site for their new attraction. Perry had previously been in the U.S. Navy and had experience training Navy Frogmen. This experience would lend itself well to…

Located inside the State Fairgrounds is a unique historical museum called Cracker Country.There you will find a charming variety of buildings that tell the story of Florida’s rural history, the Florida Crackers. The Terry Store was one of many…

Located in the heart of historic Pass-A-Grille is the quaint Gulf Beaches Historical Museum. This one of a kind museum has a history as fascinating as the artifacts inside. The Gulf Beaches Historical Museum was once the community church serving the…

For nearly a century, The Don CeSar has been an icon in St. Pete Beach. Standing eight stories tall, this beautiful Spanish-style hotel and spa can be seen from miles away against the paradisiacal blue sky of Florida. Thousands of people flock to…

Located just minutes from the Hillsborough River State Park Visitors Center and nestled unseen on the northeast side of U.S. 301 lies a true Florida treasure, the Fort Foster Historic Site. The year was 1836 and the state of Florida was in the midst…

The Tampa Bay 1848 hurricane, also called the 1848 Great Gale, was the most severe hurricane to affect Tampa Bay, Florida at this time. The other major hurricane which made a landfall in Tampa Bay area was in 1921. The 1848 hurricane took place from…

The 1921 Tampa Bay Hurricane in late October was the sixth serious tropical storm of that season. It was the first major storm to hit the area since the “1848 Great Gale.” Because of communications by cable and radio, this was one of the first major…