"Tampa" a Tampa Travel Page by Tolik

Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon first visited the West Coast. Hernando de Soto sailed into Tampa Bay in 1539 while searching for gold. . The Indian tribes living there called their village 'Tanpa', which means 'sticks of fire'. Early explorers misspelled the name when they drew up maps, and the area became known as Tampa. The Spaniards focused their attention on settling eastern Florida and left the western areas alone.

In 1824, only two months after the arrival of the first American settler, four companies of the U.S. Army established Fort Brooke to protect the strategic harbor at Tampa Bay. Development of the Tampa began after the territory became part of the United States in 1845.
Henry B. Plant brought his railroad to town and built an elaborate hotel designed after the Alhambra in Spain putting Tampa on the tourist map. With its deep port and easy water accesses, Tampa thrived. When phosphates were discovered nearby in the late 1880, the resulting mining and shipping industries prompted a boom of growth and wealth. Tampa’s port is now the 7th largest in the nation; a pleasure cruise line operates as well.