Pioneer Days on Tampa Bay’s Gulf Beaches

Edited with an introduction and notes by R. Wayne Ayers
Though Spanish fishermen from Cuba camped on the key, and native Tocobaga Indians visited in an earlier era, the beaches were virtually unsettled when George Lizotte arrived. An early postcard of Lizotte on a fishing skiff shows the island’s only two structures. They were the home of original settler Captain Zephaniah Phillips and a tent erected by Lizotte to house workers building his Hotel Bonhomie. George Lizotte would figure prominently in the barrier islands’ history, both as an observer and participant. As an eyewitness to the events taking place, Lizotte gives a fascinating inside look at the Gulf beaches’ transformation from a primitive settlement to a major tourist destination.