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TAMPA

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Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 393 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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TAMPA , a See also:

city and the See also:county seat of Hillsboro county, See also:Florida, U.S.A., in the western See also:part of the See also:state, at the See also:head of Hillsborough See also:Bay (the E. See also:branch of Tampa Bay), at the mouth of the Hillsborough See also:river. Pop. (188o) 720; (1890) 5532; (1900) 15,839, of whom 5085 were See also:foreign-See also:born and 4382 were negroes; (1910, U.S. See also:census) 37,782. It is served by the Tampa See also:Northern, the See also:Atlantic See also:Coast See also:Line and the Seaboard See also:Air Line See also:railways, and by lines of steamers to the See also:West Indies and to the Gulf and Atlantic ports of the See also:United States. The larger vessels enter at See also:Port Tampa (pop. in 1905, 1049), 9 M. from the city, on the W. See also:side of the See also:peninsula separating Hillsborough Bay from Old Tampa Bay, the W. branch of Tampa Bay. In See also:order to reach See also:water sufficiently deep for the steamers, the railway tracks have been carried by See also:earth filling about seven-eighths of a mile into the bay. The United States See also:government has greatly improved the See also:harbour, and in 1899 adopted a project (modified in 1905) for constructing a channel 26 ft. deep and 300 ft. wide (500 ft. across the See also:bar) from Port Tampa to the Gulf of See also:Mexico; in See also:July 1909 8o per cent. of this See also:work had been completed. In 1905-1908 the channel of Hillsborough Bay was made 20 ft. deep at mean See also:low water and 150 ft. wide from the See also:lower bay to the mouth of Hillsborough river, with a turning See also:basin at the inner end 450 ft. wide and 1050 ft. See also:long. Tampa Bay has permanent See also:sea-coast defences. Tampa is the See also:principal gateway for See also:trade and travel between the United States and the West Indies. Owing to its delightful See also:climate and its attractive situation it has become a favourite See also:health resort. Many visitors are attracted by the fishing (especially for tarpon) and See also:shooting in the vicinity, water-See also:fowl being plentiful in the Bay, and See also:deer, See also:quail and See also:wild turkeys being found in the vicinity inland.

There are large prehistoric See also:

shell-mounds at See also:Indian See also:Hill, about 20 M. S.E. Tampa is an important See also:shipping point for See also:naval stores and phosphate See also:rock, for vegetables, citrus See also:fruit and pineapples, raised in the vicinity, and for See also:lumber, See also:cattle and See also:fuller's earth. The Florida Citrus See also:Exchange has its head-quarters here. After the See also:Spanish-See also:American See also:War (1898) a large trade with the West Indies See also:developed. Cattle and See also:pine lumber are sent to See also:Cuba, and See also:Havana See also:tobacco and See also:fine grades of Cuban See also:timber are imported. There is a large trade with See also:Honduras also. The imports increased from $755,316 in 1897 and $490,093 in 1898 (an extremely unfavourable See also:year owing to the Spanish-American War) to $4,179,464 in 1909; the exports from $820,792 in 1897 and $521,792 in 1898 to $1,344,786 in 1899 and $4,492,498 in 1909; a part of the See also:custom-See also:house clearings of F.ey West are actually shipped from Tampa. In 1905 the value of the factory product was $11,264,123, an increase of J9 per cent. since 1900. The principal product is cigars; most of the tobacco used is imported from Cuba, and the manufacturing is done chiefly by Cubans who live in a See also:district known as Ybor City. It is said that more clear Havana cigars are manufactured in Tampa than in Havana. Other manufactures are boilers, foundry products, lumber and fertilizers; and there are two shipyards.

Tampa Bay was the landing-See also:

place of the expeditions of the Spanish explorers, Pamfilo de See also:Narvaez and Hernando de See also:Soto. (See FLORIDA.) In See also:January 1824 the United States government established here a fort, Fort See also:Brooke, which was an important See also:base of supplies during the second See also:Seminole War, and around it a See also:settlement gradually developed. The fort was abandoned in 186o, and its site is now a public See also:park. During the See also:early part of the See also:Civil War a small Confederate force was in See also:possession, but in See also:November 1862 it was driven out by United States gunboats. Tampa See also:grew rapidly after the completion of the first railway thither in 1884, and in 1886 it was chartered as a city and became a port of entry. During the Spanish-Amei ican War United States troops were encamped in De Soto Park in Tampa, and Port Tampa was the point of embarkation for the United States See also:army that invaded Cuba.

End of Article: TAMPA

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