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January 2026 Focus: Early Days in Tampa Brick building Tampa Water Works Pumping Station on Highland Avenue, front and side facades: Tampa, Fla., 1918 PA 1832 |
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FEATURED BOOKS FROM THE FLORIDA COLLECTION: |
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by Canter Brown True pioneers, the first generations of African American families in Tampa and Hillsborough County grappled with imposing challenges of race and time. Dating their presence to the Reconstruction, Civil War, and even antebellum eras, these families contributed a cast of farmers, merchants, educators, doctors, politicians, artisans, and other memorable personages who helped to build one of Florida's great cities and counties. The book recounts the stories of one hundred and seven pioneer African American families. |
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by Andrew T. Huse Since its early days as a boomtown on the Florida frontier, Tampa has had a lively history rich with commerce, cuisine, and working-class communities. In From Saloons to Steak Houses, Andrew Huse takes readers on a journey into historic bars, theaters, gambling halls, soup kitchens, clubs, and restaurants, telling the story of Tampa's past through these fascinating social spaces (many of which can't be found in official histories). Beginning with the founding of modern Tampa in 1887 and spanning a century, Huse delves into the culture of the city and traces the struggles that have played out in public spaces. He describes temperance advocates who crusaded against saloons and breweries, cigar workers on strike who depended on soup houses for survival, and civil rights activists who staged sit-ins at lunch counters. These stories are set amid themes such as the emergence of Tampa's criminal underworld, the rise of anti-German fear during World War I, and the heady power of prosperity and tourism in the 1950s. |
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Tampa--the town that began as a Civil War garrison, housed a cigar manufacturer's dream, and became a city oasis in paradise.
Tampa is a spicy mix of cultures and traditions, some from as far away as the tip of South America--others as homegrown as the cigars from old Ybor City. Whether you want to discover the city's secrets, reminisce with the locals, or explore streets that retain the historic flavor of Old Florida, author and local historian Steve Rajtar guides you through the history and historic sites of beautiful old Tampa, with wonderful vintage photographs and street-by-street details of "The Cigar City." |
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By the late nineteenth century, the city of Tampa was a vibrant, cultural center. Through the early twentieth century, two World Wars, and into the modern era, Tampa has continued to grow and prosper by overcoming adversity and maintaining the strong independent culture of its citizens. This volume, Historic Photos of Tampa, captures this journey through still photography from the Burgert Brothers Photographic Archives held at the Tampa Hillsborough County Public Library. From the late 1800s, the Depression era, and to the building of a modern metropolis, Historic Photos of Tampa follows life, government, education, and events throughout Tampa¹s rich history. The book captures unique and rare scenes through the lens of hundreds of historic photographs. |
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by Rodney Kite-Powell Tampa's Davis Islands has long been among the most desirable places to live on Florida's west coast. Built from mud dredged from the bottom of the Tampa Bay, it’s possible few thought the project would amount to very much, with the exception of its creator, David P. Davis. The developer and Tampa native Davis purchased the dredged land in the 1920s during the Florida land boom; the gamble paid off in dividends, as the Davis Islands made him wildly rich and nationally famous. He followed the Islands up with a subdivision twice its size in St. Augustine, which he named Davis Shores. Davis sold his Tampa development in August 1926, but he slipped into debt and died under mysterious circumstances while en route to Europe aboard a luxury liner only months later. Though their creator did not live to see it, work on Davis Islands continued, and the development ultimately became an unmitigated success. |
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by Dr. Rob Norman Spanish explorers arrived in Tampa Bay in the 16th century. Jews were first allowed to live in Florida in 1763 and less than 100 years later, Tampa became a city. The arrival of the railroad and the cigar industry in the 1890s attracted immigrants. Many were Jews, who helped propel growth, especially in Ybor City, where they owned more than 80 businesses. Over the decades, Jews participated in civic and Jewish organizations, the military, politics, and in developing Tampa as a sports center. Today, with about 23,000 Jews in Tampa, there are fifth-generation residents who represent the continuity of a people who contribute vibrancy to every area of the community. |
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by Gloria Jahoda From its idyllic source in the Green Swamp, the Hillsborough River winds past columns of cypress and matted shrubs and opens into Tampa Bay, part of Florida's urbanized, publicized western Suncoast. The river is not a long one, but the size of its legend in contemporary America is far-reaching. Many factors have made the area special: its natural history; its successive waves of immigrants; its wars, booms, and depressions. The cigar industry, banana exporting, cattle raising, fishing, and retirement have attracted many settlers in search of the "Golden Ibis." All too often the vision has proved elusive, but for some, like Henry Plant and Doc Webb, the spectacular was possible. For others, like the Seminoles, a way of life ended. In a narrative that is as exciting to read as it is historically compelling, Gloria Jahoda traces the Hillsborough River's origin to prehistoric times, chronicles the arrivals of the conquistadores, the missionaries, and the marauders greedy for civilizing and for treasure, and points out how 20th-century ambitions threaten to destroy the environment as surely as earlier encroachment annihilated native peoples. |
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Tampa Bay in History: a Guidebookby Rodney Carlisle This guide to sites in the Tampa Bay Region, presents the sites in historical/chronological order: from pre-Columbian Native American cultures, through Spanish exploration, American settlement, Seminole Wars, the Civil War, growth with railroads, cigars, and sponges, through the Spanish American War and major developments of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
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by Canter Brown A Floridian historian traces the founding of Tampa back to 1824 as Fort Brooke, and draws on previously unpublished material on its history up to antebellum days including the Seminole Wars, hurricanes, and dreams of being a railroad town. |
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Tampa in Civil War and Reconstructionby Canter Brown Brown, who has written several books on Florida and southern history, offers a narrative that explores the conflict and danger of the period and the activities of particular men and women who held the community together. The book includes black and white historical illustrations and photos.
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by Robert J. Kaiser Thanks to the city's natural deep-water port and proximity to the Panama Canal, Tampa attracted residents from all over the world. In the 20th century, the founding blocks of the city we know today were set by visionary pioneers who came together with Henry B. Plant's railroad, the construction of the Tampa Bay Hotel, and Tampa's five "C's": climate, cattle, citrus, cigars, and cheap labor. During this same time in Tampa's history, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication. Postcard photographers traveled the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a photo. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, ignited the nation's passion for the Sunshine State and survive as reminders of an important era in American history. |
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by Shelby Jean Roberson Bender Three years after the 1821 purchase of Florida from Spain, Fort Brooke became the first permanent, modern settlement on the site of present-day Tampa, and a new life began for settlers on Florida's rich gulf coast. By 1855, it was incorporated as the city of Tampa. Continuing its rich, diverse, cultural, and ethnic heritage, Tampa has become the nation's 54th-largest metropolitan community. Its abundant history is uniquely told with a leisurely stroll through the city's historic cemeteries. Oaklawn Cemetery, Tampa's first public burial ground, was created in 1850 when Tampa had only 500 residents. There, one can find governors, senators, mayors, lawyers, doctors, pirates, and thieves--all of whom have a story to tell. By the late 1800s, some of Tampa's most prominent citizens were buried in newly formed cultural and social club burial grounds. |
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by Delphin Acosta
Tampa's Hyde Park was a beautifully located frontier that was not discovered until the latter part of the 19th century. Scattered tiny settlements were farmed and fished along Hillsborough Bay. The fine climate and natural resources lingered until Henry B. Plant arrived with his railroad and steamship line in 1884. Then, like magic, Hyde Park exploded into a visionary community. O.H. Platt created Hyde Park's original subdivision, and Plant opened a fanciful jewel of America's Gilded Age, the Tampa Bay Hotel. In less than 10 years, the backwater that was located along the western edge of Hillsborough Bay became Florida's first magic kingdom. As the Victorian period ended and the 20th century emerged, Hyde Park embraced the aesthetics and cultural changes of the new century. Bungalows dominated new housing in Hyde Park, providing architectural modernism for the emerging middle class. Today, Hyde Park has among the largest intact collections of craftsman and prairie houses in the United States. |
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Ybor CIty stands today as a beacon of history, culture, and legend. In a state primarily known for tourism and citrus, it is a sparkling anomaly: a factory town built by immigrants with an architecture, culture, cuisine, and industry pulsing with distinctive Latin flavor found nowhere else in the world. Here is the largest collection of historic cigar factory buildings and social clubs in the world–most of them built of warm, red brick. And like many factory towns in the late twentieth century, it fell upon desperately hard times and was nearly lost. The story of its founding and growth is a history of the Spanish, Cuban, Italian, German, and Romanian immigrants who were the workers and the visionaries behind its success. The story of its rebirth as a National Landmark town is something of a modern miracle. |
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The Florida History & Genealogy Photographic Archive offers collections of historic images archived at the Florida History & Genealogy Library for preservation of regional and statewide cultural heritage and for educational purposes. |
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The Library History Collection contains the history of the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. The collection is comprised of documents, photographs, and other types of media that chronicle the libraries’ past. |
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The Library History Collection contains the history of the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. The collection is comprised of documents, photographs, and other types of media that chronicle the libraries’ past. |
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Published in 1950, the book was the first comprehensive history of Tampa and the Tampa area. It is available in the library's print collection, but presented here as a downloadable ebook which is part of the University of South Florida Library's City, County, and Regional Histories E-Book Collection. |
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LIBRARY AND TAMPA BAY AREA EVENTS: |
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Kotler Gallery Presents - Burgert Brothers on Display January, 2026 John F. Germany Library, 900 N. Ashley Dr., 2nd floor. The Burgert Brothers Photographic Collection provides access to over 20,000 historic images. The collection presents a pictorial record of the commercial, residential and social growth of Tampa Bay and Florida's West coast from the late 1800s to the early 1960s. |
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Cecil Beach Conference Room - 4th floor Topic TBD |
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Introduction to GenealogySaturday, January 10, 11:00 - 12:00 pm
Southshore Regional Library - John Crawford Art Education Studio
Learn tools and strategies for getting started with family research.
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Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Public Library - Gallery on the Avenue Many people wish they had made a recording of a parent or grandparent while they were still living, to hear their voice and hear them describe shared ancestry. Learn techniques and resources for gathering these shared moments. |
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Thursday, January 22, 6:00 - 7:00 pm C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Public Library - Room 204 Learn tools and strategies for getting started with family research. |
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Saturday, January 24, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm John F. Germany Public Library - Cecil Beach Conference Room Learn tips and tricks on how to use Wills and Probate Records. Probate records often pre-date the keeping of birth and death records by civil authorities. Learn how to use this resource to track your family farther back than you thought you ever could. This program will also break down the complicated terminology found in Wills and Probates so you can better understand them. Recommended for adults. |
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by Gilbert King From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King comes a chilling exploration of one of America's most haunting wrongful conviction cases. Based on the hit podcast, Bone Valley dives into the dark heart of rural Florida, where a young man's life was upended by a tragic miscarriage of justice. Bone Valley is at once a revelatory investigation into a murder, a chilling portrait of the criminal justice system, and a uniquely powerful story of grace and redemption. Gilbert King has written a new classic of narrative nonfiction. |
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The book is a collection of children's stories set in Florida. It was first published in 1926. Lloyd Logan, the author, is the pen name of Miss Virginia Hill Smith of Tampa. The book is illustrated with Burgert Brothers photographs. Information about the book comes from a 1926 article in The Tampa Morning Tribune. |
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This guidebook highlights 43 intriguing, little-known destinations in the northern part of the Florida panhandle that reflect the stories and communities of the region and show what makes this area of the state unique. |
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Day Trips from Tampa Bay: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler by Anne W. AndersonRediscover the simple pleasures of a day trip with this fun and friendly guide. For local travelers seeking new adventures in their own backyards as well as for vacationers looking to experience all the excitement the area has to offer, each Day Trips® guide offers hundreds of activities to do, sights to see, and secrets to discover within a two- to three-hour drive and a route map for each itinerary.
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"Jacksonville, Florida, was once the king of the silent film industry. Devastated by fire in 1901 and rebuilt in a wide variety of architectural styles capable of mimicking other locales, the city shared geographic and meteorological conditions also common to southern California. The city was soon discovered to be an ideal location for northern film production companies eager to relocate from the expense and often inhospitable weather of New York
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The Florida Campaign, 1774-83by Robert BuccellatoDuring the Revolutionary War, East Florida was a strategic staging ground for the British campaigns in the south. Early in the war, George Washington recognized the strategic importance of neutralizing this loyalist outpost, before its proximity to Georgia and the Carolinas could create problems for the Patriots. East Florida was a haven for runaway slaves, a paradox considering the large, enslaved population in the colony.
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In these 26 interviews conducted between 1972 and 1997, novelist Harry Crews tells the truth—about why and how he writes, about the literary influences on his own work, about the writers he admires (or does not), about which of his own books he likes (or does not), about his fascination with so-called "freaks." |
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2d edby Timothy O'KeefeHiking South Florida and the Keys features thirty-nine of the finest trails the region has to offer, from wet cypress swamps to dry pinewood forests. Four sections--Short Family Hikes, Day and Overnight Hikes, Long Haulers, and Walking the Florida Keys--comprise this user-friendly guide. |
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by Janet Freeman
Step into The History of Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Coaches, Quarterbacks, Championships-The Full Career of a Franchise for a thrilling, all-access look at one of the NFL's most dramatic stories. From the infamous 0-26 start to the electrifying Super Bowl wins, this book brings every heartbreak, triumph, and unforgettable moment to life. |
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Just Freedom: Inside Florida's Decades-long Voting Rights Battleby Daniel RiveroThis book tells the story of the fight to restore voting rights to people with past felony convictions in Florida. Daniel Rivero details the advocacy and action that helped 1.4 million people gain the right to vote-and the obstacles still preventing them from doing so
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This unique blend of memoir and history interweaves autobiography with the history of the slave trade and the American South.
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Miami's Art Boom: From Local Vision to International Presenceby Elisa TurnerIn Miami's Art Boom, art critic Elisa Turner captures the evolution of Miami's visual arts community before and after the inaugural Art Basel Miami Beach, revealing how local artists, galleries, and museums transformed the city into a hub of global artistic exchange.
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Riverboat Landing: a History of the Ocklawaha River Steamboatsby Michael MasonStep back into a time when paddlewheel steamboats glided through the moss-draped bends of the Ocklawaha River, carrying passengers, freight, and the lifeblood of Central Florida's early industries. Riverboat Landing preserves and republishes the entire text of Edward A. Mueller's classic Ocklawaha River Steamboats. Building on Mueller's work, Michael C. Mason adds heartfelt reflections and historical insights into the river's broader legacy.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers by Luke HanlonThis title introduces football fans to the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise. The book features exciting photos, informative sidebars, a timeline, a map of NFL teams, a glossary, and an index.
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Tears and Flowers: a Poet of Migration in Old Key Westby Feliciano CastroA rare glimpse into the history and literary culture of the Cuban community in Key West in the early twentieth century, this book makes the poetry of Feliciano Castro--a writer, printer, editor, and cigar factory lector--available in English for the first time.
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The Unlikely Parks of Tampa Bay: A Scenic History by Thomas KenningFrom Philippe Park to Fort DeSoto, from Boyd Hill to Weedon Island, from the Skyway Fishing Pier to Big Bend Manatee Viewing Center, The Unlikely Parks of Tampa Bay: A Scenic History offers a rousing look at the roundabout backstories behind ten of the region's most beloved natural spaces.
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ON DISPLAY IN THE FLORIDA HISTORY & GENEALOGY LIBRARY, 4TH FLOOR OF THE JOHN F. GERMANY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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 Hillsborough State Bank |
Florida Banking Records Collection The Florida Banking Records give insight and context to the history of Florida's economy. They date from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. The records come from several banks of historical significance and include Hillsboro State Bank, Bank of Dunedin, First Savings and Trust Co., and SunBank. The records were stored for several years in a warehouse and were scheduled to be destroyed. In 2014, a SunTrust bank employee asked the Florida History & Genealogy Library if they would accept the donation. In 2021 the library started an in-house preservation project. This includes cleaning, repairing, and cataloging the records.
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Gasparilla Through the Years: From the Burgert Brothers Photographic Collection The video display features photographs of Gasparilla kings and queens, pirates, and parades, from its beginning in 1904 to the mid-1960s. |
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