Tampa, Florida is a golf retirement community and vacation area for seniors.
Tampa, FL History
Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon first arrived in the Tampa Bay area in 1513. In 1824, two months after the arrival of the first settler, the U.S. Army established Fort Brooke to protect the strategic harbor at Tampa Bay.
Development of the Tampa Bay region began after the territory became part of the United States in 1845. In spite of a blockade and Federal occupation during the Civil War, the area grew steadily. Henry B. Plant's 1884 railroad extension to the Hillsborough River provided access to new areas. Tampa owes its commercial success to Tampa Bay and the Hillsborough River. The discovery of phosphates near Tampa in the late 1880’s brought mining and shipping industries to the area. In 1886, Vicente Martinez Ybor established a cigar factory in Tampa. From the steps of Ybor's factory, José Marti, sometimes called the George Washington of Cuba, exhorted the cigar workers to take up arms against Spain in the late 1800's.
The military has also had an ongoing role in Tampa's development. The city was the primary outfitting and embarkation port for U.S. troops bound for Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
Tampa, Florida – Vacation Area and Golf Retirement Community
Today, Tampa's port is the seventh largest in the nation. It is also a very popular golf retirement community and vacation area. Senior Travel Genie has resources for golf courses and much more in Tampa, Florida.
