Clair-Mel City in Tampa in Hillsborough County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Scottish Chief Anchor

Hillsborough County Veterans Memorial Park

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, March 7, 2022

1. Scottish Chief Anchor Marker

Inscription. The Tampa Tribune published a story in 1982 about Calvin “Poppa” Taylor, a treasure hunter of sorts, who claimed to have gotten inside information from a descendant of McKay who revealed where to look for sunken treasure. The story includes a photo of Taylor posing with a steering wheel he says is from either the Kate Dale or the Scottish Chief. Taylor said he got the wheel during a dive he made in the 1960s and for years told everyone he had found the Scottish Chief. “You’ll find them out there, sunk deep in the mud and silt,” Taylor told the tribune at the time. “The hulls are still there, buried along the bank. But it’s too damn dirty to see.” Tom Wagner, spokesman for The Florida Aquarium, which is coordinating the funding for the archaeological project, said researchers were aware of Taylor’s claims and used that information, along with information from people living along the river, and data collected from sophisticated sonar equipment to pinpoint exactly where the ship’s wreckage lies. The Kate Dale and the Scottish Chief belonged to Capt. McKay, for whom McKay Bay is named, both were in the business of smuggling,

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most likely cotton, to help operate and provision the Confederacy, Morris said. Nobody knows for sure, but legend has it that the Scottish Chief was towed downriver to the bay where it’s steam engine was pulled and installed in another ship.

This anchor and other items were believed to have been found and recovered by a local diver known as Calvin “Poppa” Taylor in the mid to late 1960s. He placed them at Rivercove Park in Tampa. The anchor was moved from Rivercove Park to its current location at the Veterans Memorial Park, around 2005.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 27° 58.626′ N, 82° 21.792′ W. Marker is in Tampa, Florida, in Hillsborough County. It is in Clair-Mel City. It can be reached from U.S. 301 0.3 miles south of East Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard (Florida Route 574), on the right when traveling south. Marker located within Hillsborough County Veterans Memorial Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3602 N US-301, Tampa FL 33619,

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, March 7, 2022

2. Scottish Chief Anchor Marker

United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Florida’s Tampa Bay.

It is also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Battle of Fort Brooke (here, next to this marker); Cow Cavalry Monument (a few steps from this marker); The Battle of Tampa Monument (a few steps from this marker); Battle of Remagen Bridge (a few steps from this marker); First Seminole War (a few steps from this marker); Two Peoples, Two Cultures (within shouting distance of this marker); Mexican War, 1846-1848 (within shouting distance of this marker); Veterans of an Earlier Era (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tampa.

Also see . . . Blockade runners of the American Civil War.

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(Submitted on March 8, 2022, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 8, 2022, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 534 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 8, 2022, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.