From Celebrate Clearwater FB page:
Native American Blessing ~ Local legend has it that mounds built by the Tocobaga tribe hundreds of years ago, and a blessing by one their Chief’s, have protected our area from major storms for centuries.
From 900 to the 1500s, the tribe lived in small villages in a 15-mile stretch along the bay in Pinellas County from what is now Safety Harbor to the Gandy area. The Tocobagans’ village capital was where Safety Harbor is today, but their mounds are found from the Gandy Bridge along the peninsula to the Gulf Coast. In those villages, the tribe built mounds made of layers of shells and sand. These mounds were used as temples, homes and burial grounds, making this sacred land.
There have only been 2 hurricanes known to have made a direct hit on our area; the “Great Gale of 1848,” which made landfall in Clearwater in late September—175 years ago and the Tarpon Springs hurricane that struck the region in 1921 – 102 years ago.
Fact, fiction, folklore or fairytale, I’m grateful for the blessing of over a century of good weather fortune!