Ballast Point
In the late 1800s, James McKay, HT Lykes and other cattlemen used Ballast Point as a port. Their seafaring schooners loaded up with rocks for ballast on their way out and then dropped the ballast when they returned, just before entering the shallow channel. In 1891, a wealthy New York couple, Chester and Emelia Chapin, bought 110 acres and began residential development in the area that was already known as Ballast Point. As the neighborhood grew, Emelia created a luxurious park with a pier and elaborate pavilion. She named it Jules Verne Park after the author who name-checked “Tampa Town” in his famous novel, From the Earth to the Moon.