Pinellas Point Temple Mound
The platform mound was the
ceremonial center of a major
Native American village.
Tampa Bay, Florida
The bay was surrounded by
villages and mounds when
Spanish explorers arrived.
Pinellas Point Temple Mound - St. Petersburg, Florida
ExploreSouthernHistory.com - Pinellas Point Temple Mound, Florida
ExploreSouthernHistory.com - Pinellas Point Temple Mound, Florida
Pinellas Point Temple Mound
The mound is a surviving remnant of an important
Native American site dating back hundreds of years.
An Archaeological Treasure
Considering the rapid growth of the St.
Petersburg area, it is remarkable that visitors
can still walk the grounds of the Pinellas
Point Temple Mound.

Now surrounded by housing developments
and modern streets, the prehistoric temple
mound was the focal point of a significant
Native American village long before the
arrival of the Spanish in Florida. It was one of
many such mound and village complexes
that once dotted the shores of Tampa Bay.

The mound is a surviving remnant of a large
Indian village dating from the Mississippian
era (A.D. 900 - A.D. 1500). Archaeologists
believe that construction of the Pinellas Point
Temple Mound began around 1,000 years
ago and that the site was occupied up to
about the time that Spanish explorers arrived
on the Florida coast during the 1500s.

The Mississippians, so named because they
spread east from the Mississippi River valley,
were actually many different chiefdoms and
groups that shared common ceremonial,
agricultural and military techniques. Those
living around Tampa Bay relied heavily on
fishing and gathering shellfish for food.

The Pinellas Point Temple Mound was built
by a group called the Tocobaga. They were
living at numerous sites around Tampa Bay
when Spanish explorers Panfilo de Narvaez
and Hernando de Soto arrived in the region.

Local tradition holds that the mound at
Pinellas Point was the site where
Princess
Hirrihigua saved the life of Spanish sailor
Juan Ortiz. Some scholars believe the
incident was the actual inspiration for the
later story of Pocahontas and Captain John
Smith.

The Tocobaga rapidly disappeared in the
wake of the arrival of the Spanish in Florida.
They were wiped out by disease, war and
enslavement at the hands of both Europeans
and other Indian tribes.

St. Petersburg has grown into a major
coastal resort area and modern homes now
cover the sites where the Tocobaga once
lived. Despite the rapid growth, the mound
has survived. The Greater Pinellas Point
Civic Association has spearheaded the effort
to preserve and rescue it from oblivion. It now
features walking trails and interpretative
signs.

The mound is located between Pinellas
Point Drive and Mound Place in St.
Petersburg. The grounds are free to visit.
A Temple Mound in St. Pete
The Pinellas Point Temple
Mound is the focal point of a
Florida "Pocahontas" legend.
Photos by Lauren Pitone
Copyright 2010 by Dale Cox
All rights reserved.
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