Captain James Parramore McMullen, the first of seven brothers who moved into this area, settled in an east Clearwater log cabin around 1850 after visiting the area nine years earlier. His brothers homesteaded different parts of Pinellas County, influencing politics, engineering, law and farming in this area for years to come. Many county residents can trace their roots to Captain Jim's homestead.
Clearwater's coastal proximity and access by boat were an advantage over the underdeveloped stagecoach and horseback trails. Word of mouth spread pioneer tales that men could kick fish onto the beach at low tide while their wives scooped them up with their aprons, that hunting in the pine and oak forests was bounteous and that the rich soil provided excellent farming opportunities.
While farmers were growing corn, cotton and sweet potatoes, others raised hogs, poultry, goats and sheep. Most farms were small and self-sufficient, but plantation agriculture was just starting to catch on by the eve of the Civil War. Open cattle herding grew heartily each year.
While its beautiful scenery was unique, in many ways Clearwater was a typical community of the deep South of its day. important progress was unhastily made. It was not until 1849 that Hillsborough County commissioners authorized the first road from Tampa to Clearwater. and in 1850, the first post office was finally established at the foot of the bluff on Turner Street’s west end.
Life in Clearwater was disrupted when war broke out between the North and the South and this is the subject of the next chapter. Part Two: The Healthiest Spot on Earth
Recommended Reading: Clearwater: a Pictorial History, by Michael L. Sanders; Yesterday’s Clearwater, by Hampton Dunn; a History of Pinellas County, By W.L. Straub; and Clearwater: a Sparkling City, by Roy Cadwell.
We are working on the next editions of the series to bring it up to the present. If your life, or your family’s or your neighbor’s is an interesting chapter in Clearwater history, please write to Freedom Magazine c/o Church of Scientology, 503 Cleveland Street 33755, or call (727) 467-6860 or e-mail coscw@scientology.org.
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