Editing Madeira Beach, Florida (section)

==History==
Prior to European colonization, the area that makes up what is now Madeira Beach was rarely permanently inhabited. The local [[Tocobaga]] chiefdom used the land to harvest seafood, but did not live on the land.

The modern shape of Madeira Beach was formed by a hurricane, the [[1848 Tampa Bay hurricane|"Gale of '48"]], carving out the strait now known as John's Pass. The new waterway was named after an early homesteader, John (Juan) Levique.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Schnur |first=James Anthony |title=Images of America Madeira Beach |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=9781467110396}}</ref>

Several aborted attempts to settle the area occurred in the early 1900s, but it was not until 1926 that a causeway was built between the mainland and Madeira Beach, allowing for the first houses to be constructed in the area. A bridge was built crossing John's Pass a year later. Madeira Beach incorporated as a town in May 1947. The town annexed the nearby municipality of South Madeira in 1951. Significant [[dredging]] operations on the intracoastal causeway dramatically expanded the land area of Madeira Beach in the 1950s and 1960s. Additionally, the town annexed some land on mainland [[Pinellas]] in 1955 for the construction of a shopping center and a school, now Madeira Beach Fundamental School.<ref name=":0" />

The town saw significant construction in the 1970s and 1980s, including the construction of many beach condos and hotels along the beach. Today, it remains a sleepy beach town, popular as a vacation destination.