Florida Native American History Hub
Welcome to the Florida Native American Hub! Here the SPIRITS of St. Petersburg will attempt to gather stories of Native American history that is pivotal to the state’s development. As each site is studied, the information below will be transferred to a webpage featuring the SPIRITS research.
Native Americans in Florida:
Resources:
Brandy’s study: The Miami Circle
This is a study of a circular temple structure that was found in the Miami area. It is a remnant left behind by the Natives in the region, now also extinct. When the circle was first discovered, some compared it to Stonehenge and believed that it represented a connection to the European monument. This study was designed for a USF course that Brandy was taking at the time that discussed the circle, its discovery, artifacts, and whether it was the "American Stonehenge". At present, Brandy has not visited the site but plans to within the 2008-2009 time period. More information should be forthcoming.
Tocobaga American Indian Tribe
Connections. (See Mina.)
Location. About Old Tampa Bay.
Villages. The main town was at or near Safety Harbor at the head of Old Tampa Bay.
History. Narvaez probably landed in the territory of this tribe in 1528, but his chroniclers speak of meeting very few Indians. Eleven years later De Soto's expedition disembarked just south in Tampa Bay but came into little contact with this tribe. Two years after driving the French from St. Johns River in 1565, Menendez visited Tocobaga, and left a captain and 30 soldiers among them, all of whom were wiped out the year following. In 1612 a Spanish expedition was sent to punish the chiefs of Pohoy and Tocobaga because they had attacked Christian Indians, but spent little time in the latter province. There is no assured reference to a mission nearer than Acuera, nor do the Tocobaga appear among the tribes which participated in the great Timucua revolt of 1656. Ultimately it is probable that they joined the other Timucua and disappeared with them, though they may have united with the Calusa. It is also possible that they are the "Tompacuas" who appear later in the Apalachee country, and if so they may have been the Indians placed in 1726 in a mission near St. Augustine called San Buenaventura under the name "Macapiras" or "Amacapiras." (See Utina.)
Population. Unknown. (See Utina.)
Connection in which they have become noted. The principal claim to notoriety on the part of the Tocobaga is the fact that Narvaez landed in their country in.1528.
Other resources:
Other locations:
Pinellas Point Mound: SEE SPIRITS LINK
Jungle Prada:
Another well-known, pre-Columbian Indian site can be found off Park Street at Jungle Prada where Narvaez, now seen as a tyrant, came ashore to start his ill-fated march across the American Southeast.
At the time of the Narvaez landing, the Jungle Prada area (now the site of a City of St. Petersburg Park) was the site of a thriving Indian village. A nearby shell mound, or midden as they are called, has been excavated by professional archeologists who dated the site to around 1,000 A.D. The mounds at Jungle Prada make an excellent half-day trip. To get there, turn west off of Park Street toward Boca Ciega Bay, at Elbow Lane N. Park on the south side of the street at Jungle Prada Park.
The SPIRITS of St. Petersburg, and Brandy Stark on two additional occasions, have attended a tour of the Jungle Prada mound. The tour included walking the mound. No unusual EMF readings were detected. Dust orbs were prominent as the location is outdoors. Trees also bloom adding pollution to the air (usually showing up as neon green images).
Personal interviews and testaments given to Brandy from people who worked at the now-closed Saffron's restaurant cited paranormal activity did happen at the location. The building was located on the edge of the mounds and was built by Al Capone as a speak-easy. It had troubles even then (rumor has it that money was stolen from the safe by his own employees). When the owners opened Saffron's the activity started up again. Knowing of the midden next to it, the owners, who were of island heritage, poured rum around the perimeter of the building to appease the ghosts. Activity died down. However, and this was the part that was reported directly to Brandy, employees still had phenomena that they noticed. One of the most fantastic was that one of the radios in the building would turn itself on and change stations on its own. The SPIRITS was not able to obtain a separate private tour of the building outside of the ghost tour, but on the tour no truly unusual images were obtained and no unusual readings occurred.
Resources:
Downtown Ghost Tours
Philippe Mound:
The largest mound complex in the Florida's Beach area can be found in Safety Harbor's Philippe Park. When Columbus landed in the New World, the Safety Harbor site served the central village of the Tocobaga and home of their cacique, or chief.
Another conquistador, Hernando De Soto, visited this capital of the Tocobaga, whose name loosely translates to "the place of the gourds." Measuring 20-feet high and roughly 50- by 100-feet at the top, the mound at Philippe Park is undoubtedly the best-maintained and most easily accessible Indian Mound in the area.
The Safety Harbor Site has been designated as a Registered National Historic Landmark. Near the temple mound, archaeologists excavated a burial mound and unearthed more than 100 skeletons and ceremonial pottery.
The people who inhabited the Philippe Park now are described as the Safety Harbor Culture, the latest in a long-line of Native American cultures that existed before European contact.
Heard word of mouth:
The story is that the mound was once a temple mound and that one of the Native American spirits still guards it. It has been said that the spirit is either a chief or a priest/shaman and that he is seen walking up the mound or standing at its top.
Brandy of the SPIRITS did an investigation at Philippe Mound during a picnic over the summer of 2001. Though no other paranormal investigators were present, there were other people at the mound. It was a daytime investigation and only the EMF meter and her camera were used. No unusual readings were found and nothing turned up on the camera.
Resources:
Weedon Island:
Word of mouth story:
One Spanish explorer, nicknamed “Red Beard” for his bloody ways, was raiding the Native American tribe settled on Weedon Island. A man from the tribe went out and begged the Spanish to leave. In response, “Red Beard” cut off the man’s ears and nose. As “Red Beard” prepared for the final blow, the man’s mother came out and begged for his life. “Red Beard” released his dogs on her; the canines disemboweled her.
The tribe buried both man and his mother in the shell midden near Weedon Island preserve. Rumor has it that the mother’s spirit still guards the park and that she has been seen by others.
The SPIRITS did a day tour of Weedon Island preserve in May 2005. No registered activity took place on EMF meters, sensitives did not pick up any unusual activity, nor did we get anything in photographs. However, a Spiritualist practitioner who happened to be in the park at the same time we were claimed that the woman's presence could be felt all throughout the park. She also claimed that others had told her that they had seen the old woman there.
A review of Weedon Island, as written by Brandy Stark for City Life magazine:
Get Away Adventures
Brandy Stark
Weedon Island Preserve
Nature enthusiasts, rejoice! Weedon Island Preserve offers seven-day-a-week year round outdoors activities. The park is open dusk to dawn for strolls along the boardwalk, viewing nature from the forty-five foot tall observation tower, and, for the romantic at heart, picnicking.
In these hot summer months, water activities hold strong appeal. The park offers a four-mile looping canoe trail that allows observers to glide through a mangrove forest, sea grass flats, and even skirt the edge of Tampa Bay. Wildlife abounds through these wetlands and some might see the bright pink splash of a spoonbill, the slender gray lope of an egret, or a white ibis searching for a snack.
Stay physically fit by moving through the four-and-a-half miles of hiking trails for a land-bound view of the habitats at the park. These trails are handicap accessible and lead to the observation tower, plus offer another nice view of the waterways.
To cool off, head inside the museum located at the head of Weedon Island Preserve. Inside are interactive displays featuring artifacts once belonging to the first Floridians: the Native American communities that inhabited the land. Shell middens yielded these artifacts, including painted pottery, shell bowls, and arrowheads.
Perfect for an individual or a family, Weedon Island Preserve Center offers guided nature hikes every Saturday. To register, call 727-453-6506.
Resources:
Ghosts of St. Petersburg, Florida by Tim Reeser
SPIRITS of St. Petersburg
Clam Bayou:
Heard word of mouth:
Clam Bayou is supposedly the place where two lei lines cross. As such, a Native American spirit, possibly a shaman, protects the area. He has been seen in the trees and wilderness out in the area.
Resources:
Sunshine Skyway:
From the Tampa Bay Triangle: Dead Zone, by Capt. Bill Miller
Rumor has it that the original Skyway was cursed. It was built on the remnants of a midden that was sacred to the now extinct Florida Native Americans. Even the name "Sunshine Skyway" was said to be a subconscious connection to the original midden and Florida's true Native inhabitants. Since the bridge opened, it had issues with suicides (it doesn't hurt that it's also the tallest bridge in the Bay area). The final disaster struck in 1980 when a boat hit the bridge and caused part of it to fall into the water, sending 34 people to their doom. For more information, please see the SPIRITS Urban Legend page dedicated to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
