Clearwater Florida Information

When the first narrow gauge railroad was built in 1888, the Clear Water Harbor community had about 18 families. Henry Plant, the foremost Central and West Florida developer of the time, later built a standard gauge railroad through Pinellas County. To boost his passenger business, he built several grand resort hotels, including the Belleview Biltmore in 1897.

Clearwater grew steadily throughout the early part of the century. Tourists and settlers were drawn to the area because of the climate and toutings of early developers and speculators. The Florida real estate boom began in earnest in 1921 and peaked in 1925. The bottom fell out in the bust of 1927, foreshadowing the 1929 market crash and nationwide depression.

The city of Clearwater was incorporated on May 27, 1915. The library was built in 1916 with a grant from Andrew Carnegie. In the same year, the city built the first wooden bridge to Clearwater Beach, opening it up for development. Morton F. Plant, the son of the illustrious Henry Plant, donated and raised money for the first hospital in 1914.