Editing Dunedin, Florida (section)

==History==
Richard L. Garrison was the first person given a land grant in Dunedin in 1850. The settlement was originally named "'''Jonesboro'''" by George Jones, the owner of the area mercantile. Two [[Scotsmen]], J.O. Douglas and James Somerville, later named the settlement Dunedin after applying for the first post office in northern Pinellas County. The name is taken from Scottish Gaelic ''Dùn Èideann'', the Scottish Gaelic for [[Edinburgh]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scottish History of Dunedin |url=https://www.dunedin.gov/Activities-and-Recreation/Arts-Culture/Scottish-History-of-Dunedin |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.dunedin.gov |language=en-US}}</ref> With a dock built to accommodate larger sailing vessels, Dunedin became an important trading center and at one time it had the largest fleet of sailing vessels in the state.

In 1899, it was incorporated as the "'''Town of Dunedin'''" mainly as a response to numerous complaints about pigs running rampant in the settlement, leading to a still-standing ban on livestock within city limits. By 1913, the town had a population of only 350.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dunedingov.com/city-departments/emergency-services/fire-administration/fire-department-history|title=Fire Department History &#124; Dunedin, FL|website=www.dunedingov.com}}</ref> It became incorporated as the "'''City of Dunedin'''" in 1926.

=== Dunedin and the Roebling Alligator ===
[[File:Florida - Dunedin - NARA - 23936601 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Food Machinery Shops, 1941]]
During and shortly before [[World War II]] the [[Food Machinery Corporation]] (FMC) factory in Dunedin (now demolished) was the primary site for the production of the [[Landing Vehicle Tracked]] (LVT) developed by FMC Dunedin's Engineers and [[Donald Roebling]] of [[Clearwater, Florida|Clearwater]] from Roebling's own Alligator.<ref name="Dunedin Thru the Years 1850–1978">William L. Davidson, Dunedin Thru the Years 1850–1978 (Charlotte, N.C.: Delmar Printing Co., 1978)</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.museumoffloridahistory.com/exhibits/permanent/wwii/panel.cfm?panel=3_6 |title=Museum Exhibit - Florida Remembers WWII @ Florida OCHP |website=www.museumoffloridahistory.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129045459/http://museumoffloridahistory.com/exhibits/permanent/wwii/panel.cfm?panel=3_6 |archive-date=2010-11-29}}</ref>

Initial training<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg_PHTYdC-Y| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201225556/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg_PHTYdC-Y| archive-date=2014-02-01 | url-status=dead|title=- YouTube|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref> on the LVT was done at the [[FMC Corporation|FMC]] factory under the auspices of the first Amphibian Tractor School, led by Major [[William W. Davies (USMC)|William W. Davies]].<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DHyoKP0ozt4C&q=Dunedin+and+the+Roebling+Alligator&pg=PT196 | title=Florida in World War II: Floating Fortress| isbn=9781596299290| last1=Wynne| first1=Nick| last2=Moorhead| first2=Richard| year=2010| publisher=History Press}}</ref> Until barracks and maintenance facilities were completed, the school and its students were housed in the [[Fenway Hotel|Hotel Dunedin]]. After training, the Marines from the first Amphibian Tractor School were sent to flesh out the [[Combat Assault Battalion|1st Amphibian Tractor Battalion]], which has served with distinction since. In mid-1944, the Marine unit in Dunedin was transferred to [[Camp Pendleton]], [[California]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19440529&id=KKFPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yE4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7117,5271099|title=St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com}}</ref>