ECONOMIC SUMMARY

Tampa Bay was first used as a harbor and landing place by Panfilo de Narvaez and Hernando de Soto who conducted one of the early Spanish expeditions to explore the new world. However, no attempt was made to create a settlement at this point until 1824, when the United States established a military post at the head of Tampa Bay. The growth of this community was slow until after the first railroad to the town was completed in 1884. In 1886 the town obtained a city charter and was designated as a United States port of entry. Development of the city was rapid from this time on, as was demonstrated by the growth in population from 720 people in 1880 to 15,839 in 1900, while by 1920 the total had reached 51,608. In the 10-year period from 1920 to 1930 the population nearly doubled, reaching a total of 101,362.

Development of the harbor and port has been contemporaneous with that of the city itself. During the early days of the city's existence the port was handicapped by the shoal condition in the upper end of Hillsboro Bay, but in 1880 a project was adopted by the Federal Government for the deepening of the channel to the city of Tampa. Subsequent river and harbor acts have further contributed to the improvement of the harbor and its entrance, so that at present deep-draft vessels are able to reach both Tampa and Port Tampa.

Geographically Tampa holds an advantage over all other Florida ports in that it is situated approximately midway of the west coast of the Florida peninsula, and is in direct competition with Pensacola to the north and Jacksonville and Miami on the east coast. It is about 220 miles north of Key West and 330 miles southeast of Pensacola, and is the most important port along the west coast of the State. It is in a favorable position to carrry on trade with the West Indies, Central America, Mexico, north coast of South America, and with the west coast of South America via the Panama Canal. Its location also places it in a position to be a natural port of call for ships plying between ports on the Gulf of Mexico and those of the United Kingdom, Europe, and Africa.

This location makes Tampa the logical center for trade originating in or destined to 23 counties in the central section of the State. This area, which embraces a total of 19,978 square miles, or 36 percent of the total area of the State, contains 37.2 percent of the total population. In this region, which is one of the most productive in the

entire State, agriculture, mining, lumbering, manufacturing, and the production of dairy products are carried on extensively. Agricul ture plays the most important part in the economics of this ares, there being a total of 2,311,690 acres of land under cultivation as of January 1, 1935, or 38.2 percent of all the farm land in Florida. The value of the agricultural products produced in this area to the State and to the port of Tampa is evinced by the fact that, according to the latest decennial census figure, 57.5 percent of all crops produced in the State originated in this territory. It must be remembered that a large percentage of these products, especially the citrus fruits, for which this region is the center, are shipped not only to points in the United States, but also to foreign lands, and that Tampa provides the only logical point of assembly for that portion which is shipped by water.

Mining of phosphate rock has long been an important industry in Florida. The principal commercial deposits of this natural resource are found in close proximity to Tampa in an area roughly circular in outline in the southwestern part of Polk County and the eastern part of Hillsborough County and extending over into northwestern Hardee and northeastern Manatee Counties. In 1934 the total shipments of this commodity amounted to 2,369,334 long tons, valued at $8,076,317, of which 57.1 percent moved through the port of Tampa. While there are no actual figures available showing the total production of forest products in this area, an idea of the value of the industry to the port may be obtained from the fact that 120,829 short tons moved through the port to foreign and domestic points in 1935. The value of manufactured products in this region in 1933, the last year for which biennial census figures are available, accounted for 41.7 percent of the total for the State. This industrial development was centered in the area immediately adjacent to the port, namely, Hillsborough, Polk, and Pinellas counties, although the remainder of the region engaged in manufacturing to a limited extent. Chief among the manufactures of the region are cigars, canned fruits, fruit juices and food products, cigar boxes, paper cartons and containers, fertilizer, and cement.

There are 122 cigar factories in Tampa which employ 9,300 workers with an annual pay roll of over 8 million dollars and which produce an approximate average of 300 million cigars annually. The manufacture of boxes, paper cartons, and wrappers is closely allied with this industry and also with the canning and packing industry. The preparation of fertilizer and fertilizer materials for domestic and foreign consumption is also an important industry. Cement production, at one time an important factor in the foreign trade of the port of Tampa, has declined considerably, production at present being largely for domestic consumption.