Editing Largo, Florida (section)

===Beginnings of the area===
{{For timeline|Timeline of Largo, Florida history}}
The native inhabitants of the Largo area were the [[Tocobaga]] Indians. They are also known as the Safety Harbor culture from their archeological remains near present-day [[Safety Harbor, Florida|Safety Harbor]]. The [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] came to Florida in the 16th century. In the 18th century, the Tocobaga had been virtually destroyed after years of exposure to European diseases, Spanish settlement efforts and warfare between Spain and England. The Largo area, like the rest of Pinellas County, was largely deserted. In 1763, Spain transferred sovereignty of Florida to the United Kingdom. In 1783, Florida fell to Spanish sovereignty once again until it was transferred to the United States in 1821. By 1845, a surveyor recorded the location of Lake Tolulu, apparently south of present-day East Bay Drive and roughly where the Largo Central Park Nature Preserve is today.

[[Image:Largo Central Park Nature Preserve01.JPG|thumb|right|Boardwalk across wetlands in Largo Central Park Nature Preserve, the bed of the former Lake Largo]]
Later homesteaders to the Largo area included the families of James and Daniel McMullen, around 1852. The McMullens and other settlers raised cattle, grew citrus and vegetables and fished. During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], many Largo area residents fought for the [[Confederate States of America]]. James and Daniel McMullen were members of the [[1st Florida Special Cavalry Battalion|"Cow Cavalry"]] driving Florida cattle to [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[the Carolinas]] to help sustain the war effort. Other area residents served on [[blockade runner]]s. Still others left the area to serve in the Confederacy's armies. After the war, Largo area residents returned to farming, ranching, and raising citrus. The [[Orange Belt Railway]] reached the area in 1888. By this time Lake Tolulu had been renamed Lake Largo,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schulte |first=Eileen |date=June 27, 2004 |title=How Largo got its name, maybe |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2004/06/27/Northpinellas/How_Largo_got_its_nam.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040925031516/http://www.sptimes.com/2004/06/27/Northpinellas/How_Largo_got_its_nam.shtml |archive-date=September 25, 2004 |website=St. Petersburg Times}}</ref> and residents of the community west of the lake adopted the name "Largo".