Weedon Island Preserve

Weedon Island Preserve
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
View of the preserve from top of observation tower
Location	Pinellas County, Florida, USA
Nearest city	St. Petersburg, Florida
Coordinates	27°50′42″N 82°36′07″W / 27.84500°N 82.60194°W / 27.84500; -82.60194Coordinates: 27°50′42″N 82°36′07″W / 27.84500°N 82.60194°W / 27.84500; -82.60194
Established	June 13, 1972
Governing body	Pinellas County Park Department

Weedon Island Preserve
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NRHP Reference #	72000347^[1]

The Weedon Island Preserve is an archaeological area near St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is located on 1800 Weedon Drive NE. The preserve, owned by the state, is leased to Pinellas County. The county's Department of Environmental Management/Environmental Lands Division manages the area.^[2] The name for a period in southeastern Native American history, Weeden Island culture, was derived (with a misspelling) from the area.^[3]^[4] On June 13, 1972, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Recreational activities and amenities

There are two canoeing/kayaking trails in the preserve, and four-and-a-half miles of nature trails for hiking. Other activities include fishing and picnicking.

A 3,000-foot boardwalk leads visitors to a 45 foot observation tower, usable for bird and wildlife viewing. With favorable weather conditions, one can see much of the Preserve and Tampa Bay from this tower, as well as the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Panorama of mostly scrubby swamp, with various buildings/structures visible on the horizon.

View from observation tower. Visible items on horizon, from left to right include: downtown St. Petersburg, Florida; WGES (AM) Antenna; Bartow Power Plant; downtown Tampa, Florida; MacDill Air Force Base; Big Bend Power Station.

Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center

The Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center opened in the fall of 2002. The Center focuses on the natural, cultural and archaeological history of the preserve.^[5] The Hall Gallery displays features changing displays of state and local artists and photographers.

Part of the collection of Native American artifacts from Weedon Island has been digitized and is available online as a virtual tour.

A 40 feet (12 m) canoe was found in the Weedon Island Preserve that is believed to be a Manasotan artifact. It estimated to be 1,100 years old.^[6]

Hours

The Preserve is open seven days a week, from dawn to dusk.

Gallery

Entrance to Weedon Island Culture Center
View of the boardwalk leading to the Preserve's observation tower

References

↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
↑ Weedon Island at City of St. Petersburg
↑ Local Historic Landmarks: Weedon Island Site Retrieved June 28, 2007
↑ "Weedon Island Preserve". weedonislandcenter.org. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
↑ http://www.weedonislandcenter.org/ Weedon Island Center, accessed January 21, 2008
↑ "1,100-Year-Old Prehistoric Canoe Found in Pinellas County, Florida". Retrieved 1 January 2015.

External links

Weedon Island Preserve official site
Milanich, Jerald T., Ann S. Cordell and Vernon J. Knig. (1997) Archaeology of Northern Florida, A.D. 200-900: The McKeithen Weeden Island Culture University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1538-3
Pinellas County listings at National Register of Historic Places
Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
- Pinellas County listings
- Weedon Island Preserve

Protected areas of Florida

Federal

National Parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades

National Memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline

National Monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas

National Seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands

National Forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola

National Wildlife Refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands

Other National Protected Areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Marine Sanctuaries	Apalachicola NERR Florida Keys NMS Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR

State

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier-Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef John U. Lloyd Beach Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef

Botanical Garden Parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks

Lakes, Rivers and Springs Parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Three Rivers Troy Springs Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs

Recreation Areas	Gamble Rogers Memorial

Museums, Historic sites, and Archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater

Preserves and Reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Estero Bay Fakahatchee Strand Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh

State Trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee

State Forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Florida

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Florida

Lists by county	Alachua Baker Bay Bradford Brevard Broward Calhoun Charlotte Citrus Clay Collier Columbia DeSoto Dixie Duval Escambia Flagler Franklin Gadsden Gilchrist Glades Gulf Hamilton Hardee Hendry Hernando Highlands Hillsborough Holmes Indian River Jackson Jefferson Lake Lee Leon Levy Liberty Madison Manatee Marion Martin Miami-Dade Monroe Nassau Okaloosa Okeechobee Orange Osceola Palm Beach Pasco Pinellas Polk Putnam Santa Rosa Sarasota Seminole St. Johns St. Lucie Sumter Suwannee Taylor Union Volusia Wakulla Walton Washington

Lists by city	Miami

Other lists	Black Public Schools Bridges Multiple Property Submissions National Historic Landmarks Woman's clubhouses

Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property