A new historical marker honoring the indigenous Tocobaga people and the Narváez expedition was unveiled on September 25, 2021, at the Jungle Prada Site at Park Street and 17th Avenue North in St. Petersburg.
The inscription reads:
JUNGLE PRADA SITE
From ca. 1000-1700 CE, the indigenous Tocobaga people inhabited a
village whose remnants feature in the Jungle Prada site. Archaeologists
hypothesize that a micco (chief) lived in a dwelling atop the 12-foot-
high platform mound overlooking the plaza, which may have served
as a ceremonial area. A 900-foot-long midden mound contains the
refuse of Tocobaga’s primary food source. fish and shellfish harvested
from the bay, as well as other items that help archaeologists better
understand the lifestyle of Florida's indigenous people. Some historians
also attribute this general vicinity to the April 12, 1528 landing of
conquistador Panfilio de Narváez’s expedition to colonize Florida.
Narváez and 300 men departed on an ill-fated overland trek of which
only four survived. Over the next 8 years. those men walked to the
Pacific ocean in search of rescue, becoming the first Europeans and
African to cross North America. Diseases introduced by Spanish
expeditions eventually eliminated much of the native population of
Florida, the likely reason this village was abandoned. Although most
former Tocobaga sites along Boca Ciega Bay were destroyed by
urban development in the 20th century, the Jungle Prada site
remains well-preserved.
A Florida Heritage Site
Sponsored by the Pinellas County Historic Preservation Board,
The City of St. Petersburg, The Anderson Family,
and the Florida Department of State.
