A short history of the City of Largo
(extracted from the City of
Largo web page)
In the mid
1800s people began settling in the
area that is recognized today as Largo.
The first settlers included recognizable
names such as Belcher,
McMullen,McKay, Taylor and Wilcox who
had a significant role in shaping the history
of Largo. By 1886 the Orange Belt Railroad,
later known as the Atlantic Coast Line, was
constructing a railroad through the area and
a group of residents living here at the time wanted
a train station in the still unnamed area. The
station had to have a name and after much discussion it was
agreed the town should take the name of a nearby lake,
Lake Largo. The lake was later drained, but was located
in the area where the Largo Central Park Nature Preserve
is currently located. The first post office was built
in 1888. By the end of the 1800s Largo was becoming the
.Citrus City. because of its rich farmland and accessibility
by rail.
In 1905,
the Town of Largo was incorporated and
measured one square mile. Pinellas
County was incorporated in 1912. The Town
of Largo in 1913 became only the second
community in the nation to adopt the Commission-Manager
form of government. The town population
by then exceeded 300 people. That same year,
the first electric street lights were installed.
The Largo Library opened in 1916 using a single room
in Town Hall. Largo officially became a City in 1925
as the town limits were extending all the way to where
Belleair Beach is today. A 24 member Chamber of Commerce
was established in 1925. More than 1,000 people were living
in the City by that time. A severe freeze crippled the citrus
industry in the late 1920s and then, during the depression
era, the City was forced by a State Supreme Court ruling
to revert back to a being a town while contracting its boundaries
to the original 1905 town boundaries.
Throughout the
early to mid 1940s, the effects of
World War II impacted the way people lived
and conducted business in the Town of Largo
in much the same way the rest of the country
was affected. By the end of the decade the
war was over and things were getting back to normal.
In 1948, the first movie theater opened on West Bay
Drive featuring Abbott and Costello.s .Buck Private
Come Home.. By 1950, the Town.s population exceeded
1,500 people and would more than triple to 5,000 by 1955
as a result of the City.s new annexation policies.
Another
freeze in 1962 severely hurt the citrus
industry and the owners of the groves began
to sell the large tracts of land to developers
for future home sites. As the population
grew and subdivisions were built, the City
constructed a new town hall, library, and recreation
center to meet the needs of the growing community.
By the mid 1970s,
the Town of Largo once again was a
city after more than 70 years. The City
measured approximately 13 square miles
with a population of almost 60,000 residents.
During this same time the City began acquiring
the County Fairgrounds property and surrounding
land for the future development of Largo
Central Park. Throughout the latter parts of the
20th century the City saw continued growth in
the population due to annexation policies and
development. As the City celebrates its Centennial
it has grown to over 74,000 residents and continues
to seek opportunities for growth.
