Florida’s Gulf coast draws visitors and new residents in droves every year and Treasure Island is a favorite of those that discover its pristine beaches and small-town island feel. First inhabited by Timucan Indians around 300 A.D., the island off St. Petersburg’s western shores saw slow population growth until a ploy to attract new residents in the early 1900’s created a boom and gave it a name. Several property owners got together and began burying and then discovering chests on the beach that were claimed to be filled with gold and treasures. Word of the finds spread, and people began referring to the area as Treasure Island. The scheme worked and after World War II and through the 1950’s hotels and homes sprang up across Treasure Island. The rest is history!
Today the town of 6,500 residents covers just more than five square miles and boasts over three miles of perfect beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. Although it was the lure of buried jewels that set the island’s growth in motion, today new residents flock to Treasure Island to find a gem in the single-family homes and condominiums with breathtaking views, or others with easy proximity to the beaches, bays and inlets off the Intercoastal Waterway. The city also endears itself to all ages with some of the area’s best restaurants, shoppes and motels. The Treasure Island Causeway connects the city to St. Petersburg and provides direct access to the downtown and routes to Tampa.
Treasure Island’s neighbors: Madeira Beach to the north, and St. Pete Beach to the south, are connected by bridges along Gulf Boulevard, the main route traversing the length of Pinellas County’s 15-mile barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico. The route visits all the popular beach communities near St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Largo. But Treasure Island’s location makes it the perfect spot to set out in any direction to enjoy all that life in Florida has to offer!
