Proposed Orange Belt Trail in Pasco County would follow a route once powered by steam

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A proposed walking and biking trail in Pasco County is to be called the Orange Belt Trail.

It would run 37 miles across the county from Trinity to Trilby. It would follow the route once used by the Orange Belt Railway.

"It brought people in and took oranges out," said Rui Farias of the St. Petersburg Museum of History.

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But Farias said when the train delivered its first passenger here in 1888, St. Pete wasn’t St. Pete yet.

"When he arrived, the sign said welcome to Wardville," shared Farias.

St. Pete could have also been named Williamstown, for the big landowner John Williams. But, it was his business partner, Peter Demens, the owner of the Orange Belt Railway, who won out. His hometown was St. Petersburg, Russia, which is how this city became St. Petersburg, Florida.

Pictured: Peter Demens

Demens built the Detroit Hotel, named for Williams’ hometown. Demens’ trains came from Sanford and Longwood, across the state, and into our area long before cars.

"You go down the middle of the county from Tarpons Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater, and all those original train stations that were built, the railroad brought people and economic growth to all those areas," explained Farias.

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The proposed Orange Belt Trail will cost more than $40 million dollars, to be funded from the Penny for Pasco sales tax.

Backers of the trail say it will open a world of walking and biking along the route where a railroad opened our area and named our city St. Petersburg.

Pasco County Commissioners could be asked to approve the proposal in March.

Miles of the popular Pinellas Trail are built on right of way once owned by the Orange Belt Railway.