June 8, 1888: First train rolls into terminus 'St. Petersburg'
Orange Belt Railroad Engine 7. Photo: Florida Memory
Peter Demens was born Pyotr Alexeyevitch Dementyev to a wealthy family in Russia in 1850. He inherited estates near St. Petersburg and Moscow but was exiled from Russia after he was accused in an embezzlement scandal.
He landed in Florida and invested in a sawmill and construction company in Longwood. By 1885, he was supplying railroad ties to the Orange Belt Railway, then took ownership of the railroad after its owner couldn't pay him. He decided to extend the railroad from Kissimmee to Tampa Bay, and despite several brushes with bankruptcy and revolts by Demens' railroad workers, the first train rolled to the end of the line in Pinellas County on June 8, 1888, with empty freight cars and just one passenger.
He landed in Florida and invested in a sawmill and construction company in Longwood. By 1885, he was supplying railroad ties to the Orange Belt Railway, then took ownership of the railroad after its owner couldn't pay him. He decided to extend the railroad from Kissimmee to Tampa Bay, and despite several brushes with bankruptcy and revolts by Demens' railroad workers, the first train rolled to the end of the line in Pinellas County on June 8, 1888, with empty freight cars and just one passenger.
Peter Demens
Demens was so proud he named the terminus St. Petersburg, after Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he had spent half his youth. Demens also built the city's first hotel, The Detroit, but both ventures failed and Demens soon sold them and landed in California.
There, he assisted the immigration of hundreds of Russian members of the Molokan Church, a Protestant denomination that split from the Russian Orthodox Church.
There, he assisted the immigration of hundreds of Russian members of the Molokan Church, a Protestant denomination that split from the Russian Orthodox Church.
Read more:
• Florida Today: Russian leaves big impression
• Excerpt from book, Florida History on the Highways by Douglas Waitley
• Florida Today: Russian leaves big impression
• Excerpt from book, Florida History on the Highways by Douglas Waitley