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Like many early settlers of St. Petersburg, Cary A. Harvey had a vision for his new hometown. Tired of his Georgia lumber business, Harvey moved to the newly incorporated city of St. Petersburg in 1903. His dream was to turn the marshy swamp land just south of "downtown" into a thriving community with stately homes, industries and more pressing — a deep water port to attract those businesses and future residents.
Harvey's Florida Dream rode on the backs of several failed attempts to conquer the wilderness. The first was between 1869 and 1872, when Dr. James Hackney purchased over 400 acres of land spanning from Booker Creek to today's Bayboro Harbor. Nearby, brothers Orville and William Perry purchase 80 acres. Both the Perry Brothers and Dr. Hackney proved unsuccessful in reaping any riches from their lands.
In 1873, W. F. Spurlin arranged with Hackney and the Perrys to purchase all their holdings. For the next two seasons, Spurlin attempted to tame the wild lands and make it profitable. It wasn't. Disheartened and certainly disgruntled, Spurlin sold his 500 or so acres to none other than John Constantine Williams at a severe loss.
Williams, who had purchased 900 acres of neighboring land from the State, would barter some of his vast holdings to attract a rail line into the small coastal village. In June of 1888, Peter Demens’ Orange Belt railway was near completion. His locomotive "Mattie" arrived, huffing and puffing smoke, on the 8th. While Williams witnessed much progress in his new town, he never completed transforming the mucky and marshy southern portion of his land holdings. He passed in 1892.
Little happens in the area for the next dozen years. By 1905, new citizen Cary Harvey purchased a large portion of southern land from Williams’ widow, Sarah. The following year Harvey created the Bayboro Investment Company with the intent to create his stately subdivisions and his grand harbor.
All the while, locals, politicians and other groups were in a long contentious battle of how best to use the city's growing waterfront lands. Some wanted a vast network of beautiful city parks, while some wanted a large working waterfront with shipyards and industry. Harvey's grand dream helped put a halt to much of the debate. The waterfront would be for the people, and the southern inlet, now known as Bayboro Harbor, would be for the port.
While the dredges began their tasks of widening and deepening the harbor, homes and businesses appeared on the southern shores of Tampa Bay. Following Harvey's death in 1914, developers built nearby subdivisions like Harbordale, the Old Southeast and Roser Park.
If C.A. Harvey could have seen one hundred years in the future, he would have seen his Harbor play many roles. From the establishment of Albert Whitted airport and a United States Coast Guards station, to the St. Petersburg Maritime Service Training Station and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, Harvey's dream is now a rich part of the Sunshine City's history.