page_title: Fort De Soto Park
section_title: Conversion to civilian use
hierarchical_section_title: Fort De Soto Park / History / Conversion to civilian use
caption_attribution_description: English: Fort De Soto Park
context_page_description: South-southwest of St. Petersburg, Florida, Fort De Soto Park is a park operated by Pinellas County on five offshore keys, or islands: Madelaine Key, St. Jean Key, St. Christopher Key, Bonne Fortune Key and the main island, Mullet Key. The keys are connected by either bridge or causeway. The island group is accessible by toll road from the mainland. Historically, the islands were used for military fortifications; remnants and a museum exhibit this history. Two piers, beaches, picnic area, hiking trails, bicycling trails, kayak trail, and a ferry to Egmont Key State Park are available.
  The park is a gateway site for the Great Florida Birding Trail.
context_section_description: Shortly after Pinellas County purchased Mullet Key from the federal government in 1938, county commissioners granted a lease to Percy L. Roberts for the use of land and buildings on the island the Mullet Key Quarantine Service had once used. The St. Petersburg Times reported the Commission's action in its January 25, 1939, edition:
  Lease of Mullet Key buildings to Percy Roberts was ratified Monday by county commissioners who made no change in the tentative lease approved last week.
  Roberts will pay the county $50 a month for the first year and $100 a month for the next two years for the lease of two buildings on the extreme south end of the county's property on the key.
  The lessee will operate a daily boat service to the island and will serve fish dinners and rent fishing tackle. The distance from his dock near the Bee Line ferry will be 10 miles. He will land in a sheltered cove on the north end of the island. Trips will be started in about three weeks.
  Roberts, a native of St. Petersburg and local plumbing contractor, had a simple business plan. First, run a passenger boat to Mullet Key facilitating access to the isolated island. This service was expected to attract both fishermen and sightseers. For the fishermen, easy access to the pristine fishing waters of lower Tampa Bay; for the sightseers, easy access to the ruins of historic Fort De Soto and the white-sand beaches facing the Gulf of Mexico. Secondly, establish a hotel and restaurant on the island. Roberts envisioned creating a venue on the island appealing to clubs, associations, and other organizations for group outings of members for fishing, sightseeing, and "dining on fried mullet".
  With lease in hand and business plan formulated, and with the financial support of Charles R. Carter, a local insurance executive and president of the Bee Line Ferry Co., Roberts immediately began implementing his plan.
  For transportation to the isolated island, the passenger boat Hobo was put into service. Hobo operated daily from the Bee Line Ferry Terminal at St. Petersburg's Pinellas Point, pulling away from the dock early morning and leaving for the return trip late afternoon. Hobo was also available for chartered trips in between scheduled runs. "By boat" was not the only means of transportation to the island. A strip of land on the island was cleared in response to requests by some who wanted to fly small aircraft in and out.
  Lodging and eating accommodations on the island were fashioned by renovating a building vacated by the Quarantine Service in 1937. The facility at best was austere, but one who was tired and hungry could get a good night's sleep; plenty of coffee, a hearty serving of bacon and eggs for breakfast; any of an assortment of sandwiches for lunch; and, a family style meal of fried mullet with all the trimmings for supper. A screened-in porch was there for those who just wanted to lean back, prop up the feet, enjoy a cool beverage, and relax. This facility became known familiarly as Mullet Key Lodge.
  Rubert "Rube" Allyn, a writer for the St. Petersburg Times, included in his March 28, 1939, column, "Along the Waterfront":
  When the Pinellas county commissioners leased the old Fort De Soto, and Mullet Key to Percy Roberts, they did a fine thing for the tourists by opening up the vast uninhabited reaches of Mullet Key and the old fort to exploration parties ... Today for a nominal fee, one can take a boat at Pinellas Point, and go to Mullet Key, land at the old Quarantine dock, enjoy an old-fashioned fish dinner prepared in the same manner as the pioneers of 50 years ago, by the Roberts family, and explore miles of uninhabited beaches, bayous, and the old Spanish–American War fort ...
caption: Birds nesting at the top of the tower
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