Brief History

Early Days

The barrier island community know today as Treasure Island enjoyed an early history that included pirates, Indians and buried treasure.  During the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish ships sailed the Gulf waters along Florida’s West Coast.  However, the earliest record of exploration of the Boca Ciega Bay area was in 1528 when Pánfilo de Narváez (1470–1528), a Spanish conquistador, came in search of gold and slaves. He sailed into what is now known as Boca Ciega Bay and landed in the jungle areas of St. Petersburg.

As Narvaez and his soldiers went ashore, they found Timucuan Indians there.  The Timucuans, known as “mound builders” lived on what is now the Pinellas Peninsula and its adjacent barrier islands.  Several of the larger mounds in the area have been explored by archaeologists.

Narváez’s landing spot, now named Jungle Prada Site (also known as Jungle Mound, Narvaez Site or Anderson Site at 1710 Park Street North 33710), consists of archaeological Tocobaga mounds, the historical expedition site, and a city bay-side park. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 4, 2003. Jungle Prada is older than Plymouth Rock, Jamestown,or  the Lost Colony of Sir Walter Raleigh. In the soft shoulder of Park Street, reads this historical marker:

“From the site of this ancient Indian village was launched the first exploration by white man of the North American continent; Here landed Panfilo de Narvaez, April 15, 1528.”

The old Mound Park Hospital in St. Petersburg, known today as the Bayfront Medical Center, is located on the site of several previously explored Timucuan mounds.

A Timucuan burial mound as found on Camp Key, which is now the home of the Key Capri Condominiums, and the artifacts found there are on file in the Smithsonian Institute.  Young resident boys living in the Sunshine Beach area of the barrier island of Treasure Island in the mid 1940’s who frequented Camp Key by boat, took the archaeological researchers from the Smithsonian to their Indian mound destination, Camp Key, and helped them unearth and carry away their treasures.

The Great Hurricane

A hurricane in September of 1848 was the most devastating storm on record to ever come to the Pinellas Peninsula and during that time, the flood waters rose 15 feet above the mean low tide.  According to historical records, this hurricane created Johns Pass where it is today.

Settler and Land Purchases

The early settlers of the barrier islands were fishermen who built shacks or lived in houseboats. One such early settler was Tom Sawyer, a fisherman from the Key West area, who homesteaded in the Sunset Beach-Boca Ciega area.

The first land holder in Treasure Island was Thomas F. Pierce who purchased Treasure Island from the State for $1.25 per acre in 1908.  Later, Walter Fuller, a Treasure Island real estate developer, purchased Treasure Island for a whopping $800, and formed a development company.  He sold 25 shares in the company at $1,000 each and development of the barrier island soon started.  Some of the earlier ‘homes’ on Treasure Island, especially in the Sunset Beach Area were Army barrack units moved in from the mainland after the war and many wooden structures were barged in from the mainland.  Many still remain today but have been substantially modified.

The Causeway

The completion of the Treasure Island Causeway in 1939 and the development of the “bathing beach” where today’s St Petersburg Municipal Beach at 110 Avenue is located, soon brought explorers and would be residents to Treasure Island.  Lex Herron a realtor/developer in Sunset Beach, was the first person to drive over the newly completed causeway.

A City is Born

By the mid 1950’s, there was a movement underway to consolidate many of the small towns on the barrier islands into one large community.  One plan considered was to consolidate every community from Pass-A-Grille, on the Southern most end of St. Petersburg to Redington Beach.  This plan built a fire under the small communities to begin taking action to keep their autonomy.

The Towns of Sunset Beach, Boca Ciega, Treasure Island and Sunshine Beach were incorporated by Special Act of the State Legislature on May 3, 1955 and those little towns became known as the City of Treasure Island.

At the same time, developers with a eye to the future, were looking at mangrove islands adjacent to the barrier island of Treasure Island and visualizing the creation of man-made land masses with luxury homes on them.  As a result of these visions, the Isle of Capri Isle of Palms and Paradise Island were born through major landfill efforts.  As  result of the foresight of these early developers, the City of Treasure Island has grown from a 1940 population of 320 to a mature, built out city of circa 7,000 today.

For a more detailed history, click here to see Bonnie William’s book.