Tocobaga Event This Friday At Sims Park In New Port Richey

This Friday the West Pasco Historical Society is hosting an event "Terry Kline - Farmers & Fisherman Known As The Tocobaga" at Sims Park Peace Hall. Why should you care? Because the history of New Port Richey is awesome!

Tocobaga huntingPhoto byPinellas County Philippe Park

The Tocobaga are important to this area because they were centered around the Tampa Bay area, but it actually extended a bit from Citrus to Sarasota. The Tocobaga were hunter-gatherers and farmers who made dugout canoes for deep-water fishing and trapping fish. Many of these mounds have been destroyed to make way for construction. There are still a few, the biggest of which is located in Philipee Park in Safety Harbor. This holy mound of layered clay and shell had formerly been home to a temple that sat right on top. It was believed Safety Harbor was actually the "capital city" for the tribe.

Excellent fishermen and womenPhoto byPinellas County Philippe Park

Because of the region's wealth in natural resources, the Tocobaga people numbered in the hundreds of thousands when Conquistador Panfilo de Navarez arrived in Tampa Bay in 1528. Of course, the group was completely eradicated during the next 150 years due to fighting, enslavement, cruelty, and sickness brought by the Spanish. There are none left.

They never had a written language, so we actually don't know that much about them. We do know they were excellent at fishing and farming, and lived in harmony with nature. Which is exactly what we're not doing now-a-days.

Anyway, the event starts at 6pm, with admission being $5. These talks are so much fun, and Terry is a wealth of fun knowldege about all this. I really suggest you go!

Hunting, fishing and trappingPhoto byPinellas County Philippe Park

Peace Hall is located at 5613 Sims Ln, New Port Richey, FL 34652

From the West Pasco Historical Society Facebook page: Terry Kline is a local historian, Native American expert, and artifact hunter. He has served on the WPHS board of directors and was previously the museum administrator.

Peace HallPhoto byAbandonedReclamation

Attributions:

Events - West Pasco Historical Society. (2024, May 7). West Pasco Historical Society. https://westpascomuseum.org/events/

Tocobaga History | tocobagatour. (n.d.). Tocobagatour. https://www.tocobagatours.com/tocobaga-history#:~:text=The%20Tocobaga%20were%20hunter%2Dgatherers,secrets%20lost%20to%20the%20world.

Facebook. (n.d.). https://www.facebook.com/events/1740285446478381/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7D

Tocobaga Temple Mound - Pinellas County. (2024, April 10). Pinellas County. https://pinellas.gov/tocobaga-temple-mound/