History buff that I am, I decided to take my trusty Nikon Coolpix and document some of the historical things that can be seen here in Tampa/St Petersburg FL. While for most of its past Florida was just a remote backwater, there is still history to be found here. So join me below for a photo tour of Tampa Bay's past.
A quick Reader's Digest version of Tampa Bay's history:
The original inhabitants of Tampa Bay were the Tocobaga Nation, who were allied with the powerful Calusa group that covered most of southern Florida. The first European to land in Tampa Bay was Narvaez in 1528. Finding no gold, he stayed only a short time. He was followed in 1540 by Hernan De Soto. DeSoto also moved on after finding no gold. By the end of the 16th century, European diseases had wiped out nearly all the Tocobaga people, then spread into the rest of Florida and virtually wiped out the entire Calusa Nation.
Now virtually empty and considered worthless swampland, Florida was given to Britain in 1763 under the treaty ending the Seven Years War, then was given back to Spain in the Treaty of Paris in 1783 (which also granted independence to the United States). By the mid 18th century, bands of Creek natives from Georgia had moved into the largely unpopulated territory of Florida, and formed the Seminole culture. When the US purchased Florida from Spain in 1821, the US military moved in to establish forts (including Fort Brooke at present-day Tampa), and conflict with the Seminoles was inevitable. In a series of three Seminole Wars, the natives were driven into the inaccessible Everglades, and Florida became a US State in 1845. Ft Brooke became the nucleus of the Village of Tampa which, though almost completely destroyed by a hurricane in 1848, grew large enough to be reincorporated as a city in 1855, with Judge Joseph B Lancaster as its Mayor.
During the Civil War, Tampa Bay was blockaded by the US Navy. In 1862, a Union warship sailed into Tampa Bay and demanded the city's surrender; when that was refused, the ship fired a number of shells into the city, then withdrew. A year later, a small force of Union soldiers was landed at the mouth of the Hillsborough River and burned some Confederate blockade runners before withdrawing. In 1864, a larger Union force was landed, destroyed the guns at Fort Brooke, and occupied Tampa for three days before leaving.
After the Civil War, Tampa Bay developed into a center for shipping citrus fruits and cattle, which were produced in the Florida interior, and of phosphates for fertilizer, which were mined in the Tampa area. Population growth was limited by the prevalence of yellow fever in the area, as well as the lack of overland travel routes to the rest of the US. That changed in 1884, when Henry Plant ran a railroad across Florida to connect Tampa Bay with the Flagler railroad that had been built along the Atlantic Coast. When Vicente Ybor moved his cigar-manufacturing operation from Key West to Tampa, cigars became the most important industry. In 1898, Tampa Bay became a major shipping center for the Spanish-American War, sending supplies, equipment and men (including Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders) to the fighting in Cuba.
In 1914, the first regularly-scheduled commercial airline was established in Tampa Bay, using two Benoist seaplanes to carry a single passenger across the Bay between Tampa and St Pete.
In the 1920's, after yellow fever had been eradicated, Florida (and Tampa Bay) saw a major land boom, as tourism became an important industry. The wealthy established winter homes in the area, while hotels like the Vinoy in St Petersburg catered to the tourists.
During World War Two, the US Army established MacDill Air Base to train pilots. MacDill is today the headquarters for Central Command, which ran both of the Iraq Wars and the Afghanistan War.
THE TAMPA BAY HISTORY CENTER
Located in downtown Tampa, the History Center has a collection of objects depicting the history of the Tampa Bay area.
A collection of Tocobaga stone tools.
Since suitable stone was hard to find in Florida, many tools were made of other materials. This is a digging implement made from a seashell:
A Spanish rapier:
Spanish armor and helmet:
Seminole clothing:
A uniform from the First Volunteer Regiment in the Spanish-American War--known as the "Rough Riders":
A Mauser and a Krag-Jorgensen rifle, used by US troops in Cuba during the Spanish-American War:
A pair of decorative flower vases made during World War One by troops in the trenches, from empty artillery casings:
A spike from the Plant railroad that connected Tampa Bay to the rest of the US:
One of the "White Hats", worn by African-American volunteers to help keep the peace during racial tensions in the 1960's:
A US Air Force flight suit used in the First Gulf War:
THE USS AMERICAN VICTORY
The "American Victory" is a Victory Ship built in the later half of the Second World War to carry cargo to England. Larger and more sturdy than the earlier "Liberty Ships", the Victory Ships suffered severe losses at the hands of German U-Boats. The "American Victory" went on to serve as a cargo carrier in the Korean and Vietnam wars. She is now docked in the Port of Tampa as a floating museum.
A small museum is located inside the ship:
Ammunition for the ship's defensive guns:
The propeller from a captured German U-Boat:
Looking up at the cargo hatch from below decks:
Looking down into the cargo hold:
The cargo winches on deck:
The forward deck gun:
Interior corridor:
Crew cabin:
Engine room:
DOWNTOWN TAMPA HISTORICAL MARKERS:
Although the historical structures and sites in Tampa are long since gone, markers note where they once stood:
OAKLAWN CEMETARY
The earliest cemetary in Tampa Bay, it is located right next to the main downtown bus terminal.
ST PETERSBURG MUSEUM OF HISTORY
A small museum located near St Pete's landmark Pier.
A Tocobaga dugout canoe that was found preserved in the sediment at the bottom of Crescent Lake in St Petersburg:
Stone tools and pottery found at the Weedon Island archeological site:
Depiction of feather-hunter. In the early 20th century, hunting shorebirds to provide feathers for women's hats was a major industry in St Pete.
World War Two artifacts, including a bazooka and a Browning Automatic Rifle.
"St Petersburg Oddities"; a mastodon thigh bone found in St Pete, and conjoined-twin calves born in Spring Hills.
A pipe and a hat worn by Gen Douglas MacArthur.
"Our Lady of The Nile". In the 1920's, during the "King Tut" craze, a traveling exhibit was touring Tampa Bay by boat. The boat developed engine trouble, and when the captain was unable to pay the repair bill, he traded this Egyptian mummy instead.
The Benoist seaplane that flew between Tampa and St Pete in 1914, making it the first regularly-scheduled commercial airliner in the world. This replica was built in 1983: