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Charlie Harper, 63
By CARRIE WEIMARN, Largo Times Editor
Published December 2, 2007
The history of Largo dates to the early 1840s. Actually, 1842 when the McKay brothers - John McKay and two of his brothers - came to the area that is now called Anona, in and around McKay Creek and Indian Rocks Road. That came as a result of the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 where if you agreed to settle on the land, you got 160 acres. So the three brothers each got 160 acres and the land that's now around McKay Creek north toward Harbor Bluffs, Harbor Hills and what is now Belleair Bluffs. After the McKays, there was a steady slow influx of settlers into the Anona area until 1859 when John Lowe sailed his schooner, the Sea Drift, into the Largo area. Came in through Clearwater Pass, which was known as Little Pass in those days, down Clearwater Harbor and stopped along what is now Indian Rocks Road. Lowe's Landing in the Anona area grew to be quite a little commercial hub for that time period. That steady growth in the Anona area was the beginning of commercial Largo. It stayed that way until about 1888, when the original railroad, the Plant Railroad, started coming through Largo. Now the railroad started up around Sanford, came south to Tampa, and then was built from Tampa over around the north part of Tampa Bay through Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater, Largo and then down into St. Petersburg. The Largo depot was built first in the 1880s. The second depot was built around 1927. It stayed in the Largo area until around 1967, when it was torn down. The commercial part of Largo was in the area of what is now Missouri Avenue and West Bay Drive. That was the hub of the area, it was the Pinellas Hotel, the Largo Hotel, the railroad station and the Feed Store. The Plant Railroad, as it was called, was built in the 1880s. Pinellas Hotel The Pinellas Hotel was built in 1911. To this day, it remains the only building in Largo that's on the National Historic Building Landmarks. The hotel was right next to the railroad, actually just west of it, and sat with the old Largo Hotel in what was the downtown commercial area. Visitors used to get off the train, come to the hotel and then stroll up and down what was called Church Street, now West Bay Drive. The hotel still is in existence. It sits along Missouri Avenue and Seminole Boulevard. Charlie Harper
To hear more,visit pinellas.tampabay.com SHARE YOUR STORY Do you have a good story that you'd like to tell us? If so, we want to hear. If you're a Largo resident and want to share your oral history, contact Carrie Weimar, Largo Times editor, at 727 445-4152 or cweimar@sptimes.com BIO: Charlie Harper - Served as city commissioner from 2002-2005. - Member of the Largo Area Historical Society. - Retired Progress Energy executive.
[Last modified December 1, 2007, 21:25:51]
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