Jesse W. Johnson 

Jesse Johnson was born in Largo on April 1st, 1904 and he moved to Seminole after marrying Marjorie Campbell.   He graduated from the University of Florida.

Jesse Johnson started Seminole Nurseries in 1929 on land he owned that ranged from Seminole Blvd to 113th Street.

Jesse was the first Boy Scout leader in Seminole.  He also was very active with the Seminole United Methodist Church where he was a Sunday School teacher, chairman of the Board of Trustees, and many other committees.  He served on the Board of the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, as well as on a committee that found land for new Methodist churches.

Jesse was a visionary of the Seminole community and he built the first bank on his land where he was the Chairman of the Board.  He also built the US Post Office building, library and Boy Scout headquarters on Johnson Blvd. He also built the original Seminole Shopping Center, which in 1970 was expanded to become the Seminole Mall.

Jesse wanted to see Seminole incorporated as a city so that the area wouldn’t be annexed by St. Petersburg or Largo.  He and others held many secret meetings to take the steps necessary to organize and form the city of Seminole. Many of these meetings were held in his Seminole Mall.

Jesse Johnson’s efforts were instrumental in getting the Park Blvd road built across the Cross Bayou area which then formed Lake Seminole.  He then gave the land to Pinellas County that was used to construct 113th Street.

Jesse built the Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park on his land and owned Sarasota Memorial Park.

Jesse also helped prepare the land that was used to build the Seminole High School football field, as well as the Va-Tech Center.