This is copied from the Pinellas County Government website.
Buried in the sand along the shoreline, a prehistoric pine canoe was found on Weedon Island Preserve, located on the southeast region of the peninsula that is Pinellas County on Tampa Bay. With the ancient discovery, a mystery unfolds: how was quick-eroding wood preserved in the very aggressive salt and sand environment?
An early mode of transportation, the canoe is a unique artifact attributed to the late Weedon Island Culture of the Florida Gulf Coast dwellers of the Manasota Period. Measuring 39-feet, 11-in. in length, but believed to have been upwards of 45 feet in total, the pine canoe holds the distinction of the longest prehistoric canoe ever found in Florida. The canoe features a raised bow that indicates the canoe was used on open water. Under the canoe, a pine pole, used perhaps for paddling, poling, and/or docking the canoe, was also unearthed and dated to the same prehistoric period, approximately 1,100 years ago.
The principal archaeological investigator is Phyllis E. Kolianos, M.A., R.P.A, Pinellas County’s education center manager, who worked with local Pinellas County resident, Harold Koran was the first to discover the canoe. Since the discovery, Pinellas County has arduously taken every step to document, conserve and protect the canoe, the pole and the non-peat environment that is the archaeological site. Only a pre-excavation dig was performed, along with thorough radiocarbon dating and wood sampling, which confirmed the wood as pine, a prevalent local timber after which the county of Pinellas is named.
A comprehensive excavation of the canoe and museum preservation have not yet been determined as numerous resources, both financial and equipment, are needed.
“This discovery expands our understanding and the significance of the not-well-known people of the Weedon Island Culture,” said Dr. Bruce Rinker, Environmental Lands director for Pinellas County. “A tremendous thank you is owed to the team involved in researching and documenting this discovery, including Dr. Robert Austin, Dr. Donna Ruhl and the Friends of Weedon Island, who helped provide supplies and radiocarbon dating.”
History
Lasting some 800 years, the Weedon Island Culture evolved out of a segment of the Manasota Culture, an ancient population that settled along Florida’s rich estuaries and central Gulf Coast 2,500 years ago. The society increased in population and eventually changed in social structure to become the Safety Harbor Culture that met the first Europeans to the area. By the mid-1700s, the Creek Indians entered Florida from Alabama and Georgia and became known as the Seminoles. After the Civil War, Weedon Island became the homestead of early settlers and entered a colorful modern history until recognized and established as an important, historical Pinellas County preserve.
About Weedon Island Preserve and the Cultural and Natural History Center
Today, Weedon Island Preserve is an expansive 3,700 acres, comprised of marine habitats with some uplands—a site rich in Native American history. The preserve is open to the public from dawn to dusk seven days a week and offers many outdoor activities. The 17,000-square-foot Cultural and Natural History Center is open Wednesdays to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but closed Mondays, Tuesdays and holidays. Admission is free. The preserve is located at 1800 Weedon Drive N.E. in St. Petersburg. For more information on the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center and the Pinellas County Environmental Lands Division, call (727) 453-6500 or visit www.pinellascounty.org/environment.
