Clearwater
| Early settlers referred to the area as Clear Water Harbor until 1895 when the name became Clearwaterharbor. By 1906 it was simply Clearwater.One of those first settlers was James Parramore McMullen who along with his six brothers and their descendants proved to be influential in the development of Clearwater. Pinellas was once a part of Hillsborough County, but on January 1, 1912 it became a separate county with Clearwater as its county seat. There was much wrangling with the citizens of the newly formed county as much of the population thought St. Petersburg should be the county seat and some discussion included Tarpon Springs as well, when it was thought the only solution would be to divide the county further. Henry B. Plant built a railroad through the county along with several grand resort hotels benefiting the area and added to its growth. In 1914 growth was steady and permanent with new people coming to make their homes, residences under construction and large new business blocks being built, including the first apartment house built by L. W. Williams. Clearwater grew steadily until the great depression. After WW II when the soldiers who had been trained here returned to live the population surged with large tracts of land platted for the rising population. |
This Page Created February 24, 2011
Updated: 6-6-2011 © 2011-2012 Linda Flowers
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