 A trip to the county seat, across the bay in Tampa, was generally an overnight affair and the automobiles that existed on the peninsula at that time would frequently become bogged down in the muck after rainstorms.Angry at what was perceived as neglect by the county government, residents of Pinellas began a push to secede from Hillsborough.They succeeded, and on January 1, 1912 Pinellas County came into being.