History of Tarpon Springs Told Through Postcards

Jan. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s Postcard History series if Tarpon Springs from local author Carol Mountain. The book boasts more than 200 vintage postcard memories of days gone by in this sunny tourist destination.

With its origins at a small fishing settlement near the mouth of the Anclote River, Tarpon Springs began upriver at a bayou with a freshwater spring where the tarpon jumped at the doorstep of a father and daughter. A traveler from Nassau decided to stay and marry A.W. Ormand’s daughter Mary, who legend tells named the town Tarpon Springs. It was from this humble beginning that a city was carved out by pioneering spirits who loved the natural beauty, abundant fishing and hunting, rich timberlands, and the best of Florida’s sunshine and tranquility.

In 1887, the town became the oldest city of the Pinellas Peninsula, the Orange Belt railroad arrived, and the Anclote Key lighthouse was built. City founders employed immigrating Greeks to enrich the sponging industry with their deep sea diving suits. African Americans were employed by the fisheries and lumber mills. A true diversity of cultures, races, color, and creeds was intertwined.

Highlights of Tarpon Springs:
•   Two thirds of the images in the book were donated from private collections of local residents.
•   In 2012, Tarpon Springs celebrates its 125 year anniversary as the oldest incorporated city on the Pinellas Peninsula, of what was at that time in Hillsborough County.
•   The city is known as the “Venice of the South” due to its extensive waterways. Almost half of the total area is water.
•   Florida's first female physician, Dr. Mary Jane Safford, settled in Tarpon Springs in 1883.

A past president of the Tarpon Springs Area Historical Society, author Carol Mountain reveals a picturesque history of this most unique, authentic, and distinct city and its people, including pioneers, socialites, immigrants, and seasonal and permanent residents.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or
(888)-313-2665.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.

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With more than 7,500 local history titles published to date, Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Widely recognized sepia books feature hundreds of vintage historical images.