Clearwater FL - 24 Hour Building assures it at the Pinellas County Seat

Many would think mistakenly that St Petersburg, the largest city in Pinellas County would be the County Seat - but it's not - so how did Clearwater become the County Seat - well it's a story  a friend inspired me to write about.

Ed Rybczynski, a well known national speaker on Mortgage Fraud,  challenged us to share a story today about a tidbit or little know fact about our hometown.

So today I was reflecting on how often we've all heard that, "all politics is local". Well this was even true here in Clearwater almost 95 years ago. 

When the Tampa Bay area was originally settled Clearwater, St Petersburg & Tampa were all part of Hillsborough County.

Over time the people of now Pinellas County, known as West Hillsborough, started to feel that their tax dollars would be better spent here. Local leaders wanted more control and input on how their tax money was spent and pressure to secede from Hillsborough County grew. After years of feuding and politicking a bill finally passed and the result was that on January 1, 1912 Pinellas County was created as a separate County.

Now as I mentioned above - all politics is local and so then the leaders from St Petersburg and Clearwater each had strong ideas on why their city would be the perfect County Seat.

Well as I understand the history of events, Clearwater with it's population of about 13,000 then managed to gain control as the County Seat and not wanting to leave anything to chance they decided to secure their place as the Pinellas County seat and built a new wooden structure almost overnight at a cost of around $3,700 back in 1912.

It worked, Clearwater, FL is still home to the Pinellas County Courthouse and is the County seat today even though St Petersburg is a much larger city. 

The offices are located on the corner of Ft Harrison and Court Street  and Cleveland Street.

You must pass all these buildings when you enter and leave Clearwater Beach, Florida via the new High span bridge.

What Clearwater or Pinellas County Stories do you know?

Clearwater Florida Real Estate

Are you looking to buy a Home or Condo in Pinellas County FLorida? Here's what some of our past clients have to say about how we helped them....

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Buyers tell us that selecting a Tampa Bay Real Estate Agent,especially on-line or from a distance, can be a challenge. Some of our past clients agreed to share their experiences and tell you why they think you should work with us. 

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*The above information and images are Copyright © 2007 Cyndee Haydon & Jack Haydon, Clearwater Beach Real Estate Agents and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published.  All rights reserved.  Plagiarism will be detected and is punishable by law.