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OUR CITY: Tampa Bay Area History

OUR CITY The first people to come to the bay were the Tocobaga. Then came the Cubans, the Spanish, and the British. And when the Americans acquired this area, everything changed. Colonel Brooke set up his fort, Peter Demens built the railroad and people began building their lives together. Today, we are the people of Tampa Bay. Some of us were born here, many of us moved here. But regardless of why we reside in Tampa Bay, we are now part of what makes this place great. Dozens of cities, multiple races, thousands of families, countless stories. But also one story. GOD'S WORD For centuries, the Bible has inspired art and music and heroic lives. It covers a long history, presenting the troubles and pain, hopes and triumphs of generations of people. Through all of this, it claims to be telling a single story, and in the end it has a single hero. It is epic, a narrative that moves from ancient events recorded over thousands of years to the story of our lives today. It is all-embracing, a view of the purpose of our lives that is for all people. The Bible is a special book. Some of us have already found the meaning of our lives in its pages. Many of us have never read it. But the greatest story that has ever been told has now come to you. Open it. Read it. Find the life you were created to live. ................................................................................................................................................... The Battle of Tampa took place from June 30 to July 1, 1862 between Union gunboats and Confederate controlled Fort Brooke. Over the three days, there were no casualties on either side. Between lack of industry and a yellow fever epidemic, Tampa's population dipped below 800 from 1870-1880, leading residents to abolish the local government. The city was revived in 1883 with the discovery of phosphate in Bone Valley. In 1903, plumber George Turner, Sr., began draining a lake on his new property so that he could start a garden. Today, Sunken Gardens is home to more than 500 species of tropical and subtropical plants. St. Petersburg is sister city to Takamatsu, Japan and Saint Petersburg, Russia. Henry B. Plant's Tampa Bay Hotel was home to Florida's first elevator. The last measurable snow fall in Tampa Bay was in 1977.

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