Florida Historical Markers Near St. Augustine Indian Prisoners

Florida Historical Markers Near Safety Harbor Espiritu Santo Church

This page is dedicated to Florida historical markers near Safety Harbor Espiritu Santo Church. There are many historical markers in Florida. This marker in Pinellas County is an excellent example.

Espiritu Santo Church

This Florida Historical Marker is entitled Espiritu Santo Church Site of Early Spanish Missionary Efforts , and is located in Safety Harbor in Pinellas County, Florida. The location is 2405. Marker can be reached from Philippe Parkway near Enterprise Road.

Inscription on the Marker

The inscription reads:

Espiritu Santo Church. Site of Early Spanish Missionary Efforts. , On Pentecost Sunday, May 26, 1539, Hernando de Soto sailed into Tampa Bay and named it “Bahia Espiritu Santo” (Holy Spirit Bay). A decade later it is believed that the famed Dominican missionary, Father Luis de Cancer, was martyred nearby after spending six weeks in the area in an attempt to spread the Gospel among the native peoples. The stained glass window over the main doors pays tribute to Father de Cancer. Twenty years later, St. Augustine founder, Pedro Menendez de Aviles came here with a fleet of ships, leaving a captain, 30 soldiers and a Jesuit priest who erected a chapel with the intention of ministering to the native Tocabaga. The mission had to be abandoned within a few years because of hostility and distance. Nearly 400 years later, the present parish was established on this knoll overlooking Old Tampa Bay, close to the site of the ancient Spanish mission on Bahia Espiritu Santo.

 

Installed in 2011.

Maps & Location Views

Using mapping services from Google, we can show detailed location maps and street views if they are available.

Sometimes you will be able to see the Espiritu Santo Church Marker in Google Maps. A 360-degree view of the area near the marker is available on the link below. You can see the marker or monument and read it in many cases.

The History of Safety Harbor

Florida Historical Markers Near Safety Harbor - Espiritu Santo Church

Count Odet Philippe, a French aristocrat who is credited with bringing the grapefruit to Florida in 1823, initially homesteaded Safety Harbor (formerly known as Worth’s Harbor and Green Springs). Early in the 18th century, when pirates exerted a significant impact in the region, the moniker Safety Harbor was first used.


With its storied Espiritu Santo Springs, the famed Safety Harbor Resort & Spa is a fixture in the neighborhood. Tourists have been coming to this region since the turn of the century to refresh in the spring waters. It took a whole day of adventure to go there by boat from Tampa or stagecoach from Clearwater. Today, tourists fly in from all over the world to enjoy the resort’s way of life.

About the Florida Historical Marker Program

One of the most well-known and noticeable public history initiatives of the Division of Historical Resources is the Florida Historical Marker Program. It is intended to increase residents’ and visitors’ enjoyment of Florida’s historic places and to increase public knowledge of the state’s rich cultural past.

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