Fort DeSoto and Beach Towns in Florida
Like most of Florida’s coastline, the Pinellas Peninsula is lined with small islands or keys. Near the City of St. Petersburg, these islands offer beautiful beaches, some history, and, of course, resorts. Fort DeSoto Park Fort DeSoto Park covers five keys at the southern tip of Pinellas Peninsula. It sits at the main channel into Tampa Bay, so the site played a key role in several wars fought by and among the United States. The keys were used by the Union Navy during the Civil War to help anchor the blockade of Tampa Bay. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the local governments in Tampa and St. Petersburg were worried about being invaded, so they petitioned the federal government to build a protective encampment at the mouth of Tampa Bay. The fort was never fully enclosed by walls, so the only structure left is the poured concrete embankment that offered protection to the Laidley Battery, a collection of eight 12-inch mortars, of which four are left today. Fort DeSoto was...