The Jungle Country Club History Project: The Journeyings of George A. Abeel

A treasure trove of St. Pete images from the 1920s was recently discovered in a scrapbook titled "Journeyings of George A. Abeel." Abeel played oboe and other instruments for the Sousa Band and the Royal Scotch Highlanders. Many of the photos were taken in 1922-23 while he was working here as a musician during the winter tourist season. The scrapbook was found at an upstate New York estate auction and individual photos are for sale on eBay. These photographs open a window into our neighborhood's past.

Jungle Yacht Basin

This photo is described as being on the border of the golf course. It appears to be the Jungle yacht basin (now called the Admiral Farragut Academy boat basin) with Boca Ciega Bay in the distance.

After colorization:

Vintage postcard of the yacht basin:

Jungle Scenes

Click on the images to enlarge.

In the captions above, John's Pass is referred to as Dead Man's Pass. I had never heard of Dead Man's Pass, nor had Jungle historian David Anderson, but he has a plausible explanation: "Maybe they called it that because of all the skeletons supposedly found on that little island."

Photo of the 14th and 15th fairways on the Jungle course. The photographer was facing southwest near the present day 1500 block of Robinson Drive. Country Club Road can be seen on the right.