The railroad actually arrived only when General John C. Williams, founder of St. Petersburg, traded some of his land to have the rail line built. On June 14, 1888, the first train of the Orange Belt Railroad arrived, giving Clearwater and the Pinellas peninsula a rail link to the outside world.

Clearwater’s first railway passenger station, a Russian-style frame building, was built in 1888, based on a design by Demens.

With the arrival of tourism, the first hotels and the first railroad, Clearwater was no longer a quiet homestead. It was poised for the further growth which came its way in the 1890s, as we will see in the next chapter.

Part One: The Beginnings Part Two: The Healthiest Spot on Earth Part Three: Clearwater Roars into the 1900s Part Four: The Good Old Days Part Five: The Gala Decade Part Six: Boom Days!	Part Seven: Hard Times Part Eight: The Road Back Part Nine: The Tides Of War Part Ten: Clearwater Pitches in Part Eleven: Local Citizens Welcomed Troops Bound for Combat
Supplement: Why Clearwater?

Recommended Reading: Clearwater: A Pictorial History, by Michael L. Sanders; Yesterday’s Clearwater, by Hampton Dunn; A History of Pinellas County, By W.L. Straub; and Clearwater: A Sparkling City, by Roy Cadwell.

YOU ARE PART OF THE HISTORY OF CLEARWATER

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