In the early years of the 19th century, Florida was a lawless land -- not yet a state, but still an American Territory. It was a wild and rugged terrain, full of pine forests and mangrove-covered islands off the coast of pristine beaches, where sea birds and turtles lay their eggs to the sounds of dolphins playing in the water offshore.
Years later, it was this community that drew WILSON HUBBARD, a kindred spirit to LeVeque, to the spot in 1978. Adding to the natural beauty of the pass, Hubbard built a WATERFRONT BOARDWALK over his already-popular FISHING MARINA and RESTAURANT in 1980. John's Pass Village and Marina has been a must-see attraction on Florida's west coast for decades, always retaining its charm and quiet splendor. Folks come from all over to enjoy our beaches, stroll along our Boardwalk, and fish in the same waters where John LeVeque spent his life searching for his lost treasure -- the treasure he never found.
In fact, some say it's still there . . . |
Escaped slaves from the Southern states found refuge and freedom here, where they joined the Native American tribe of Seminole Indians. In an early example of the individualistic Floridian spirit, the newcomers and natives lived together in peace, living off the land in co-existence with one another. Another type of person was attracted to the West Coast of Florida as well. A sort not unlike the thousands of visitors who make their way to our beaches each year in an escape from the rigor and structured demands of society . . . PIRATES!
One such individual was a man named John LeVeque. A Frenchman by birth, LeVeque found work as a cabin boy in a Spanish Galleon in 1836. Little is known of his life up until this point, but it can be safely inferred that he was of the lowest class in Europe, and held hopes of making his fortune across the sea. Heading for the New World, however, the ship was attacked by pirates. LeVeque was invited to join the pirate crew as a galley slave in return for his life. Cold and afraid, he accepted their offer, and within a decade he went from Galley Slave to pirate himself, from First Mate to Captain of his very own pirate ship. Maybe he remembered what it felt like to be attacked by pirates. Maybe he was simply a good man. Whatever the reason, John LeVeque always allowed his victims to keep their lives and freedom. In the seven years he sailed the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, there is no record of LeVeque killing a single innocent or holding a hostage for ransom. Perhaps this is the reason for his curious economic state. In his entire career as a pirate, the fortune he had amassed totaled one chest of "Pieces of Eight" and Spanish doubloons. He had hidden his chest right off the beach on an island on Florida's West Coast, an area he would oftentimes visit when he had to hide out for a while.
It was an un-named and isolated island that would someday be named Madeira Beach. The life of a pirate was hard and short. If the scurvy or malaria didn't get you, the Dutch and English pirate-hunters surely would! LeVeque understood this and decided to retire from the pirate's life after seven years of captaining his ship. Taking only a small boat, meager supplies, and his treasure map, he left his crew and ship in the Gulf of Mexico, sailing off alone as his men cheered one last cheer for their departing Captain. He was headed for his hideout on Madeira Beach, where he planned on digging up his treasure and continuing on to New Orleans. As he sailed North into the coastal waters, however, he noticed a storm on the horizon. Recognizing the storm as a hurricane, LeVeque held back and waited overnight as the hurricane ran its course.
The next morning, September 27, 1848, LeVeque found that the hurricane had cut his long skinny island clean in two, rendering his treasure map useless. The storm had destroyed the very area of the island where his treasure had been buried! As he sailed through the new pass, and as dolphins played alongside his boat, John LeVeque realized his treasure had been lost forever. Since that day, the inlet has been known as John's Pass, in honor of John LeVeque's discovery and maiden passage through the waterway. LeVeque lived out the remainder of his life on the local beaches, fishing and swimming by day, searching for his lost treasure by night. He lived to a ripe old age, seeing his isolated island become a quaint fishing community. |
