Fort De Soto Park
county park in Florida, USA
Fort De Soto Park is a county park located south-southwest of St. Petersburg, Florida, operated by Pinellas County. The park consists of 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.
The public source identifies “Fort De Soto Park” as county park in Florida, USA. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Fort, Soto and Park.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Fort De Soto Park”, the useful work is to connect “county park in Florida, USA” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5471030. Authority coordinates are 27.615, -82.736. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Fort De Soto Park”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Fort De Soto Park primary sources, Fort De Soto Park archive and Fort research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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This entry incorporates text from “Fort De Soto Park” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.