ross island florida --pirate story?

[indiana_jones]

anyone heard of the history of ross island in florida??

its about 1-2 miles south-east of weedon island preserve in pinellas county.

supposedly there are triangle tree markings high up on some trees and supposedly there used to be a pirate fort there......

and supposedly a chest was found there in the 60's.......

anyone know anything?


i have a local lead will talk to...

but anyone heard or know any of the history?

i read up on weedon island quite a bit..... lotsa indian artifacts there. and some civil war soldiers graves where found there also (2 i think)....
i have been there several times... and pirates never occured to me!!

thanks!!

-=walt=-

 

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[Salvor6]

The island was named after John Ross, a Civil War veteran who settled the island in 1865. His grave and tombstone is there as well as his sons grave. It is now a state park and there is no digging allowed. I went there before it was a state park and found numerous holes around the island. There is a story that the island was once home to a band of pirates that raided ships going to Tampa.

 

[CaptnBillygoat]

As I have heard it, Henry Ross, an associate of the pirate Lafitte, established a small fort & pirate settlement on Ross Island in the early 1800s. From this base of operations Ross and his pirates conducted operations in the Gulf of Mexico until the U.S. Navy authorized an operation from Key West to wipe the pirates out, which they virtually did. The survivors disappeared into the mangrove swamp trying to escape the U.S. Navy, (supposedly) leaving their treasure behind.

 

[godisnum1]

Here's two of the grave stones I took right outside of the gate at Weedon Island.