10 Native American Mounds In The Tampa Bay Area

Six hundred years ago when the Spanish conquistadores first encountered the shores of Florida, they found a civilization of mound builders. Some of these Native American mounds in Florida still exist today. They can be seen at public parks and private lands throughout the state. Native American mounds in the Tampa Bay area showcase the long and rich history of mound building found in this part of Florida.

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When we think of Indigenous People in pre-Columbian times, we most often think about the Plains Indians. Those are the ones we learn about in school. Though some of them were mound builders, many were not. In Florida, however, shell mounds allowed indigenous people to raise burials and ceremonial buildings high above the coastal waters where they lived. Archaeological finds indicate most of these sites were first inhabited around 200-500 CE. They remained in use until the 16th century when Spanish violence and novel European diseases decimated the Native Americans in Florida.

For hundreds of years after the demise of the Indigenous People, nature grew over the shell mounds and middens. In the early 1900s, human development destroyed many of the mounds around Florida, the shells used as building materials or spread to raise the land to create waterfront homesites. Many Native American artifacts and burials were lost forever. Some, however, remained, either unknown or saved by landowners who understood the significance of the mounds. Many of these sites are the ones that still stand in our state, county, and city parks. Nine of these Native American mounds in Tampa honor the history and lives of the people who built them.

Who Built the Native American Mounds in Tampa?

The Tocobaga Tribe gained influence around the Tampa Bay area starting around 500 CE. Spanish accounts of these indigenous people describe them as tall and muscular. They wore little clothing, their skin adorned with tattoos indicating their social status. They used bows and arrows and threw spears with an atlatl. Living this close to the coast, it’s no surprise that their diet consisted of shellfish, fish, and sometimes even manatees.

The villages of the Tocobaga could be large or small. They had kitchen middens where refuse was discarded and burial mounds. Houses were built around a plaza. The more homes of the prominent members were found near the plaza with the lower status villagers living in huts further away from the plaza. The more important villages also had a temple mound at one end of the plaza, possibly with a ceremonial building on top.

1. Oelsner Mound

Starting north of Tampa, Oelsner Mound in Port Richey sits on private land and overlooks the Pithlachascotee River. An historical marker at the street reads: “This Indian mound is all that remains of a late Weeden Island period community, probably settled about AD 1000 and inhabited for several hundred years. Excavations conducted in 1879 by S.T. Walker for the Smithsonian Institution indicated this was a temple mound. A nearby burial mound, excavated in 1903 by Clarence B. Moore, was subsequently destroyed by developers along with other remnants of the prehistoric community. This mound was preserved by its owner, the late “Aunt” Martha Oelsner, who believed that it also contains Timuqua or Calusa Indian graves.”

📍 4930 Sunset Blvd, Port Richey, FL 34668

2. Anclote River Park

The mound at Anclote River Park in Holiday is all that remains of the Tocobaga village which grew around the freshwater spring in the vicinity. The Native Americans living here when the Spanish arrived called the spring “sweet water”. Though it was once located on land, the spring is purportedly just a few feet from land in the Anclote River now. Called the Spanish Well, it figured prominently in the history of the area, including Tarpon Springs history.

After discovery by Europeans, Spanish galleons often resupplied their water from this spring. Early encounters between the Tocobaga and the Spanish led to violence. The Tocobaga knew these white men had killed many in other parts of Florida and did not wait to find out if they came in peace. One legend of the area says that Panfilo de Narvaez who made landfall further south attempted to show he came in peace by sending only two of his men for water. When those two didn’t return, he sent two more. Then two more and two more. After eight of his men disappeared, he gave up his search for fresh water and sailed away. Another account states that he came back intent on revenge for the loss of his men and slaughtered the Tocobaga at this village.

In the 1700s and onward, the Spanish Well provided fresh water for other Europeans as well as the pirates that patrolled these waters. Knowledge of the freshwater spring passed on to the Key West and Cuban fishermen who plied these waters, then to the white settlers who first built their homes in what is now the Anclote community. The sponge divers also resupplied their boats from this spring.

Like many of the shell middens in the area, the ones at the mouth of the Anclote River were made of oyster shells, conch, whelk, and bones. The remaining mound here was likely a ceremonial mound. All of the others from this village were destroyed.

📍 1119 Baileys Bluff Road, Holiday, FL 34691

3. Philippe Park

The Safety Harbor Site at Philippe Park in Safety Harbor is believed to be the “capital city” of the Tocobaga tribe. The Temple Mound found at this county park is the largest remaining Native American mound in the Tampa Bay area. Post holes at the top of the mound indicate at least one structure stood on top, possibly a ceremonial structure or the chief’s home. The village was built in an L-shape with a burial mound near the Temple Mound. The ramp on the Temple Mound led to the plaza at its base.

Panfilo de Narvaez landed somewhere in the Tampa Bay area in 1528 and may have passed near the Tocobaga capital. Only four of his 400 men survived the expedition. In 1567, Pedro Menendez de Aviles (founder of St. Augustine) came to this site searching for a direct water route between St. Augustine and Florida’s west coast. He left 30 men near the Safety Harbor Site to establish a mission and spread Christianity. When a Jesuit priest returned to the area in January 1568, he found all 30 men killed and the Tocobaga village abandoned.

Pinellas County acquired the site in 1948. Excavations and investigations continued at the mound and surrounding land for many years after. It’s now a popular county park, Philippe Park, encompassing 122 acres with walking and running paths, historical sites, a boat ramp, kayak launch areas, playgrounds, and picnic shelters. Most importantly, the temple mound holds a place of reverent honor in the park and continues to educate visitors about the people who lived here first.

📍 2525 Philippe Parkway, Safety Harbor, FL 34695

4. Abercrombie Park

Abercrombie Park is a small neighborhood park in St. Petersburg. It borders Boca Ciega Bay and the Parque Narvaez neighborhood. The Native American mound found here is part of a larger complex which extends into the neighborhood to the north. Some mounds still exist in that neighborhood on private land. This may also have been part of the larger Jungle Prada site to the south. A second shell midden, now completely excavated, once stood near the remaining mound. Now a circular embankment near an interpretive sign, artifacts found during those excavations include fish bones as well as shells from whelk, conch, scallops, oysters, and clams. These finds underscore the important role the shallow estuary of Boca Ciega Bay played in the lives of the Tocobaga Indians who lived here.

📍 Park Street and 38th Avenue N, St. Petersburg 33709

5. Jungle Prada de Narvaez Park

The mound complex at Jungle Prada once covered 24 acres. Today the park features a large mound, a boat ramp, and a fishing pier. These mounds are the southern extent of the complex. The large mound just south at Sacred Lands might have been a temple mound. LIDAR has revealed other nearby mounds on private property. A large burial mound to the north of the park was destroyed in the 1920s to make room for a night club.

This site was first occupied around 1000 CE with the major mound-building activity happening between the 14th and 16th centuries. Like other sites of Native American mounds in Tampa, the Jungle Prada complex was occupied by the Tocobaga at the time of first contact with the Spanish. Though a plaque by the fishing pier claims Panfilo de Narvaez landed there, no archaeological evidence supports that claim. The archaeology does, however, suggest that Pedro Menendez de Aviles expedition had contact with this village just as it did at Philippe Park.

📍 1700 Park Street N, St. Petersburg, FL 33710

6. Weedon Island Preserve

Weedon Island Preserve is best known for the outdoor adventures nature lovers enjoy in the more than 3,000 acres of the Preserve. These activities include hiking several miles of trails, kayaking the kayak trails, and fishing. Though Weedon Island Preserve has a long and colorful history, many people don’t know that shell middens hide quietly deep in the wooded lands.

Indigenous People began using the islands in this part of Tampa Bay around 7,000 years ago. They first used the islands as places to camp or rest on hunting and fishing trips. Eventually, their descendants, the Tocobaga, settled on the islands in small villages. Their mounds included kitchen middens and burial mounds. The 1920s saw many of these mounds destroyed like so many other Native American mounds in the Tampa Bay area at that time. The shells were used to construct roads on the islands.

In 1923, land developer Eugene Elliot faked an archaeological find in one of the mounds to draw attention to his residential development plans. Jesse Fewkes from the Smithsonian Institute visited the site. He recognized the fake but also recognized the importance of the mounds and began excavations. In all, more than 400 skeletons were removed from the burial mounds. Eugene Elliot used the excavations as a marketing gimmick to entice would-be buyers; as part of the sales pitch, these prospects could watch Fewkes at work. Excavations continue to the present day at Weedon Island.

Archaeology holds a strong presence at the Preserve. AWIARE – Alliance for Weedon Island Archaeological Research and Education – has offices and a lab at the Preserve. Though the shell mounds are not readily accessible to the public, archaeologists hold talks and educational hikes to their excavations several times a year. AWIARE also hosts a week-long adult archaeology camp. Many of the artifacts found at the preserve can be seen at the Cultural and Natural History Center, including the largest ancient canoe found in Florida which was found at the Preserve.

📍 1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33702

7. Maximo Park

I first learned of the mounds at Maximo Park from Dr. Robert Austin. One Saturday while volunteering in the lab at AWIARE, we spent an hour or so talking about the different Native American mounds in the Tampa Bay area. Well, him talking and me listening and asking questions. I had seen lots of Facebook posts and photos of Maximo Park – the boat ramp, the small beach, the view of the Bay but nothing about the archaeological site. Given its location, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the Tocobaga lived there as well.

The land that is now Maximo Park in south St. Petersburg was likely first inhabited seasonally around 5,000 years ago. A permanent Tocobaga village arose here around 2,000 years ago. The park now focuses mostly on recreational activities, particularly the playground, picnic areas, nature trail, observation tower, and boat ramp. It’s also a culturally-significant place.

The main, and largest, mound in the park sits near the boat ramp and parking lot with a good view of the waters at the mouth of Tampa Bay. A paved road encircles the mound which is clear of trees and vegetation except grass. The other mounds within the park, shell middens, suffer from erosion and vandalism. Most are now overgrown to the point that it’s nearly impossible to know they exist unless you’re looking for them. What you will find lots of along the nature trail is shells, many of which have eroded out of the shell middens.

📍 Sunshine Skyway Lane S and Pinellas Point Dr S, St. Petersburg, FL 33711

8. Pinellas Point Mound

The Pinellas Point Mound located at Indian Mound Park in south St. Petersburg is a temple mound that was once part of a major village. The small neighborhood park has preserved the mound and area history. Like many other Native American mounds in Tampa, though, this one is also just a fraction of its original size. Accounts from the early 1900s indicate a ramp existed on the mound’s south side. Part of the western portion of the mound was destroyed in 1929 and the ramp disappeared in the 1950s. Visitors to the park can learn more about the mound and the Tocobaga along an interpretive walking path. The city of St. Petersburg also has interesting 3D map and visualization available online.

📍 Mound Place S and Bethel Way S, St. Petersburg, 33712

9. Madira Bickel Mound State Archaeological Site

The Madira Bickel mound became the first state archaeological site in 1948. This land was donated to the state by the Bickel and Prine families. The state park contains a temple mound, the Madira Bickel mound, and the much smaller Prine Burial Mound. The Madira Bickel mound stands 20 feet high and has a wooden staircase leading to it’s flat top. It’s approximately 100 feet by 170 feet at the base. Vandalism and climbing the sides of the mounds rather than using the stairs eroded the mound. It’s now overgrown and covered in vegetation to help protect it.

The Prine Burial Mound is 40 feet wide and only two feet high; however, most of this mound was destroyed by development. It was likely much larger when this was a Tocobaga village. The park features a small parking lot, a paved sidewalk to the temple mound, and educational signage.

Despite Madira Bickel’s rather plain and boring appearances, this was the site of a major Tocobaga village which covered this northwestern portion of Terra Ceia Island. The park covers ten acres, most of which is wooded or wetlands. The Native American village, however, would have been much larger. Three other middens have been identified, all three now mostly destroyed and built over. The village was first inhabited approximately 2,000 years ago. It overlooked shallow, protected bays filled with marine life, birds, and other resources.

📍 955 Bayshore Drive, Terra Ceia, FL 34250

10. Portavant Mound at Emerson Point Preserve

Of all the Native American mounds in the Tampa Bay area, Portavant Mound ranks as my favorite. Located in lovely Emerson Point Preserve on Snead Island, a 1-mile interpretive trail winds around and over several shell middens. The crushed shell path passes beneath an oak canopy with a variety of native plants beneath. The site has frontage on the Manatee River with several overlooks showing the riverfront.

Starting in at least 800 CE, possibly earlier, this site was occupied by Native Americans, probably the Tocobaga. Like the inhabitants in other prehistoric villages around the Tampa Bay area, these subsisted on fishing, collecting shellfish, hunting for deer and other animals, and foraging for plants on the interior hammocks. Edible native plants in this area include sea grapes, American beautyberry, native coffee, and the prickly apple.

The temple mound at Emerson Point was one of the largest in the Tampa Bay area. At this site, the building(s) at the top of the mound was periodically burned or torn down, covered with a layer of shell midden, capped with a layer of earth, and buildings constructed atop the mound again. No one knows why they did this.

Unlike the other mounds around much of Tampa Bay and the rest of Florida, white settlers preserved this one. Several homesteaders built their own homes on the temple mound, recognizing the advantage a homesite there had – protected from flooding and better breezes from the river. The last private owners of the land, the Hortons, were careful to preserve the mounds and sold the 195 acre site to the state of Florida and Manatee County in 1991.

📍 5801 17th Street West, Palmetto, FL 34221

Visit the Native American Mounds in Tampa

The next time you visit the Tampa Bay area – or if you live there – take a couple of hours to visit one of these historic sites. Any time I find myself at one of these mounds, I can’t help but look around and imagine how the villages looked. Canoes at the shoreline or perhaps in the water with men fishing from them. Children playing in the shallow water, perhaps climbing trees or chasing small animals. Thatched-roof huts surrounding the main plaza and temple mounds. It was a hard life but one worth fighting for as the Spanish found out when they first encountered the Tocobaga. They were the guardians of their villages and their lifestyle. In the same way, visitors to the Native American mounds today are guardians of those mounds and the history that we pass to future generations.