In June of 1859, on one of his stops along the intercoastal waterway in search of fresh water and safe anchorage, Captain Lowe made landfall in what was then the virtually uninhabited Pinellas peninsula. 

So where was Lake Largo and where did it go? Visit the Largo City Hall or drive along East Bay Drive at Highland Avenue and you will be in old Lake Largo. As Largo developed along the path of the new railroad, the city began to grow in all directions even to the east toward the lake. Developers eyed the area of the lake and saw new potential uses

Over a century ago, in about 1905 to be exact, a young nineteen-year-old by the name of John Gainey left his hometown of Brazil, Indiana and headed south to the land of sunshine and orange blossoms! Why he came to Largo, we don’t know for sure. Was it the fact the newly incorporated town of 291 residents needed a carpenter to help with the building boom?

Long before Leslie Estep and family arrived in Largo, there had been a lumber business sitting alongside the railroad tracks at Third Street and Fifth Avenue NW serving the needs of the growing community. The earliest lumber operation located on that site is believed to be a sawmill owned by John S. Hussey.

What was the one place in our hometown which was frequented more than anything else by Largo’s teens? Why, the Milk Bar, of course! There wasn’t a Friday night that went by but what you and your friends didn’t pile into that old Chevy after a football game and head to Thomas’ Milk Bar for a juicy hamburger and thick chocolate shake!

Countless men and women from Largo have served in the armed forces through the years, beginning with the Civil War, and continuing until the present day, made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives for our country.