How to Get Lost at Weedon Island Preserve

On a hot March day in 2019 I spent 30 minutes cursing my GPS before I pulled into a well-marked road leading towards Tampa Bay. My GPS had, as she often does, guided me through back roads and obscure neighborhoods rather than giving me the straightest route possible. I pulled into an overflowing parking lot, just missing a young child who penguin-walked into my car’s path. Then I narrowly avoided being hit by a kayak two women coaxed off the roof of an SUV.

It was just before 10:00 A.M., and I barely had time to make it into the classroom at Weedon Island Preserve. It was my birthday, my gift to myself an archaeology talk and hike at Weedon Island. I had never been to the Preserve despite living less than an hour away for more than 10 years. This year, however, a late night scroll on Facebook encountered this event so I paid for a ticket on the spot and marked my calendar.

Weedon Island Preserve is the second largest preserve in Pinellas County, the small peninsular county that lies west of Tampa and holds many of the area’s top beaches. At more than 3,000 acres, it’s probably easy to physically get lost at Weedon Island; however, with it’s unique and storied past, it’s far more likely you’ll get lost in the Preserve’s history than on it’s land or waters.

That was the kind of lost I aimed for on that March day. An interesting talk led to a sweaty hike “behind the scenes” to one of Weedon Island’s current archaeological digs. Though a family emergency cut that expedition short for me, I have been back several times to see the trails and nature center more closely. To get lost in the stories and history that make up Weedon Island Preserve.

About Weedon Island Preserve

Weedon Island Preserve sprawls across part of the west bank of Tampa Bay. More than 3,700 acres of wetlands and waterways flow around and within several islands of pine flatwoods. Thousands of years of human usage have stamped an indelible mark on this land.

True to history throughout the world, ancient humans left a minimal footprint, witnessed now only in shell middens and buried artifacts. More recently, humans have left a larger mark, and though the Preserve strives to keep development to a minimum, failed projects can still be seen on the ground and from the air.

Today, only nine acres of Weedon Island Preserve is developed. These places include roadways, the nature center, kayak launch, parking lots, and the trails and boardwalks. A fully-immersed trip to Weedon Island needs a couple of days. You can do it in one if you’re ambitious or if some activities just don’t appeal to you.

Things to Do at Weedon Island Preserve

Only a small part of the Preserve is accessible by land or water. More than four miles of trails and boardwalks meander through mangrove forests, pine flatwoods, scrub, and uplands. Several trails feature lookouts that open at a pond or waterway. Nearly all of the trails are loops so it’s difficult to get lost. One boardwalk ends at a 45-foot boardwalk which overlooks Riviera Bay.

Weedon Island Preserve also features kayak rentals and kayak trails. Be aware, though, that the kayak trails through the mangrove forest require high tide to make them passable. There are lots of other places to explore via kayak, canoe, or paddleboard though. Many small islands offer places to land and during low tide sand bars emerge around the Preserve.

The Nature Center offers a ton of history, including one of the most complete and largest ancient canoes found in Florida. The fishing pier was once a logging road. And picnic tables scattered beneath the oaks offer a lovely picnic or lunch spot. The Preserve is very popular with kayakers and anyone who enjoys walking or jogging.

• 4+ miles of nature trails and boardwalks
• Kayak rentals and launch
• Fishing pier
• Observation tower
• Nature center
• Remains of the old air control tower
• Historic finds

History of Weedon Island Preserve

At least 7,000 years ago, local native people used the islands in this area as camp sites while fishing and hunting here. Eventually they settled and built villages, creating lives of fishing and gathering, ceremonies and the everyday life of the Tocobaga people.

At this time all of the land masses of Weedon Island Preserve were true islands. Mangrove swamps protected the land from erosion. Oyster beds just off shore provided food and tools. Seagrass beds enticed marine life such as fish, snails, birds, and manatees. Humans caught fish, hunted birds, and gathered snails and mollusks. The land would have also been home to deer, rabbits, alligator, squirrels, and other wildlife.

It was the life of a people who knew how to live with the natural resources around them. Signage around Weedon Island explains how the natural elements work together…

…how animals use the native plants…

…and how people utilized natural resources such as cabbage palms.

Arrival of White Settlers

The Europeans, like in so many places, brought disease and wiped out many of the tribes in Florida. Today we know of the Seminole and Miccosukee which have the same origins. The original Native American tribes of Florida, such as the Tocobaga, Tequesta, and Timucua, disappeared within a couple hundred years of first contact with Europeans. Some of these tribes even gave their names to Florida cities – the Ocali (Ocala), Mayaimi (Miami), Pensacola, and Matecumbe. The Apalachee of north Florida were erroneously placed in South and North Carolina on an early map and gave their name to the Appalachian mountains.

By the time white settlers started homesteading in the Tampa area, the only tribe that remained was the Seminoles. This tribe originally formed from Creeks who moved into Florida seeking land in the 1700s. Remaining Florida tribes joined them as did members of the Yuchis, Yamasses, and runaway slaves. Seminole means “wild one” or “runaway”. The Miccosukee of South Florida were part of the Seminole nation until the 20th century when they formed their own independent nation.

Like the Tocobaga before them, white settlers used the islands in the Preserve as rest spots and camp sites while hunting and fishing. Later, families built simple homes on individual islands to use as weekend or vacation homes. The islands in Weedon Island Preserve still the bear the names of these early inhabitants.

The First Settlers

The Ross Family

The first white settler to occupy any of the Weedon Island land was Lorenzo Dow Ross and his wife, Inez, who moved to the island in 1866. They lived on the southern tip of what came to be known as Ross Island. Their eldest son, Percy, died on Weedon Island in 1886 in a hunting accident. Two years later Lorenzo Ross died from food poisoning and was buried on Weedon Island beside his son. Inez moved to Jensen Beach where she lived until 1942.

The Weedons and Others

In 1886 Captain W. B. Henderson bought Weedon Island with his war bonds. He gave the land to his daughter, Blanche, when she married Dr. Leslie Weedon in 1898. The Weedons used the island as a weekend getaway, building a small wooden house at the top of one of the shell mounds. Dr. Weedon enjoyed growing grapefruit, archaeology, and the natural beauty of Weedon Island. Though he sold the property in 1923, his dream was for it to become a preserve one day.

A neighboring island, now known as Benjamin Island, belonged to the Benjamin family who purchased the island from Captain Henderson in 1878. The island remained in the family, first as a getaway and then as a residence, until 1912.

Commercial Enterprises Land on Weedon Island

Beginning in the 1920s, Weedon Island Preserve was almost lost to the relentless march of development which has made Pinellas County the most densely populated county in Florida. Remains of the many plans for the Preserve can still be found. For instance, a logging company built the present-day fishing pier as a bridge in 1922. Constructed of pine and cabbage palms, the bridge connected Weedon Island to Shell Island to the south (now a housing development). The logging company used the bridge to move their operations to Shell Island. This construction resulted in a number of changes to Weedon Island:

• Approximately half the pine trees on the southern half of Weedon Island were cut down.
• Riviera Bay was dredged with a dragline and the fill used to build up a road between Weedon Island and the mainland.
• Indian mounds were excavated and used as fill for the road.

In 1923, Dr. Weedon sold Weedon Island to a land developer, Eugene Elliott, who further changed the face of the area. Elliott faked the finding of archaeological artifacts in the Indian mounds to draw attention to his developed. Fortunately, the man who arrived to investigate both realized it was a fake and also saw the potential impact to history that could be found in the Indian mounds. Excavations continue on Weedon Island even today.

Eugene Elliott, however, lost his holdings eventually, going bankrupt in the late 1920s. His grand plans for the island had included residences, hotels, restaurants, and night clubs. He turned Dr. Weedon’s home into a hotel and even had a speakeasy on the island. From time to time, bootleggers and guests crossed paths and exchanged gunfire.

In the 1930, Grand Central Airport opened on Weedon Island. It became the headquarters of Eastern Air in 1931 and quickly became a popular airport for its many airshows and inexpensive flights. However, the airport suffered tax problems with the city of St. Petersburg and was sold in 1941. Renamed Sky Harbor Airport, it was leased to the US Air Force during WWII for pilot training. After the war, Sky Harbor tried to compete with St. Petersburg’s airport but lost on that front ending operations in 1953 after the bridge between Shell Island and Weedon Island burnt for a second time. The control tower burned down in 1967 but the hangar remained a storage for parade floats until 1989.

Digging Up History

Just a few minutes late to the archaeology talk, I slipped into the classroom at the Weedon Island Nature Center and stayed out of the way against a bank of cabinets by the door. For an hour, Dr. John Arthur and two of his Ph.D. students discussed the history of Weedon Island and the people who lived there. We learned about work being done with otoliths – fish ears – which have growth rings like trees. We learned about the Weedon Island canoe, an 1,100 year old 40-foot long canoe which is the longest dugout ever found in the Eastern United States. And we sifted our own container of fill pulled from the current excavation site. I found a piece of pottery. And took several photos to share my find with Facebook.

After a break, we walked one of the “staff only” trails to a house where AWIARE houses some of their finds and where archaeology students can live while doing their research. One room was packed from wall to wall with thousands of artifacts such as arrow points, pottery pieces, and animal fossils.

We walked another 10 minutes or so, part of the trail open to a hot midday sun, part of it shaded by gnarled scrub oaks. The foot path was wet and muddy and absolutely delighted my imagination when it opened to a field of shoulder high ferns. More recently, I recognized the spot along a spur of one of the trails, having come in from the public side and not the AWIARE side. This year, however, the ferns are brown from the record-breaking cold we’ve had.

At the dig site, the sun beat down on us in the middle of the day, the day ridiculously hot for an early March day. Though the site was mostly shaded, most of us shuffled from foot to foot, sweat dripping into the soil at our feet. Some people sat on a downed tree. Others sat on the ground. In an unspoken agreement, the rest of us who stood rotated from leaning on one of the larger trees to standing and back to leaning, instinctively knowing when to step away and let someone else lean for a bit on the tree.

Dr. John and his students discussed the site and their findings, the importance of those findings. If you love archaeology, it’s all very fascinating. One trench contained part of a home, the home in a known village near a midden.

Weedon Island Preserve Today

Today, excavations continue at Weedon Island and other nearby sites. The history of the area continues to deliver fascinating tales and amazing artifacts. Most visitors to Weedon Island Preserve, however, know the park most for its outdoor activities. The Preserve remains a favorite with locals and tourists. Next time you’re in St. Petersburg or Tampa and want a unique water adventure, rent a kayak and explore the waters around Weedon Island. And imagine life here 100 years ago. Five hundred years ago. Or even longer.

What did you think of this look at Weedon Island? Have you visited the Preserve? Do you have a preserve or park filled with history near you? Tell us about it in the comments below!