Career
He was a successful businessman who introduced cigar making and citrus to the Tampa Bay region. His descendents, including the McMullen and Booth families (for whom McMullen-Booth Road is named), are among the county’s most well known pioneer clans. Philippe was buried in Philippe Park – his former plantation – in 1869, but the exact location of the gravesite is unknown.
Odet Philippe
Born Lyon, France, 1787
Died at this Site 1869
As the first European
settler in Pinellas County
he established Saint Helena
Plantation, now Philippe Park
Philippe was the first
to cultivate grapefruit
in Florida and introduced
cigar-making to Tampa
His descendants populated
this frontier.
He was
said to be a doctor
and of noble birth.