Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs, Florida Location in Pinellas County and the state of Florida Location in Pinellas County and the state of Florida Tarpon Springs, Florida is positioned in the US Tarpon Springs, Florida - Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs is a town/city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States.
The populace was 23,484 at the 2010 census. Tarpon Springs has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any town/city in the US. Downtown Tarpon has long been a focal point and is presently undergoing beautification. 1.1 Sponge trade Some of the newly appeared visitors spotted tarpon jumping out of the waters and so titled the locale Tarpon Springs.
In 1882, Hamilton Disston, who in the previous year had purchased the territory where the town/city of Tarpon Springs now stands, ordered the creation of a town plan for the future city. On February 12, 1887, Tarpon Springs became the first incorporated town/city in what is now Pinellas County. Less than a year later on January 13, 1888, the Orange Belt Railway, the first barns line to be assembled in what is now Pinellas County, appeared in the city. During this time the region was advanced as a wintering spot for wealthy northerners.
Sponge diving mural at the Tarpon Springs Sponge Exchange.
The trade continued to expanded in the 1890s, and many blacks and caucasians from Key West and the Bahamas settled in Tarpon Springs to harvest and process sponges.
A several Greek immigrants appeared in this town/city during the 1890s to work in the sponge industry.
In 1905, John Cocoris introduced the technique of sponge diving to Tarpon Springs and recruited divers and crew members from Greece.
The sponge trade soon became one of the dominant maritime industries in Florida and the most meaningful company in Tarpon Springs, generating millions of dollars a year.
The 1953 film Beneath the 12-Mile Reef, depicting the sponge industry, takes place and was filmed in Tarpon Springs. In 1947, a red tide algae bloom wiped out the sponge fields in the Gulf of Mexico, causing many of the sponge boats and divers to switch to fishing shrimping for their livelihood, while the rest left the business.
Eventually, the sponges recovered, allowing for a lesser but consistent sponge trade today.
In the 1980s, the sponge company experienced a boom due to a sponge disease that killed the Mediterranean sponges.
Today there is still a small active sponge industry.
Visitors can often view sponge fishermen working at the Sponge Docks on Dodecanese Boulevard.
In addition, visitors can appreciate shops, restaurants, and exhibition exhibits that detail Tarpon Springs' Greek heritage.
In 2007 and 2008, the City of Tarpon Springs established Sister City relationships with Kalymnos, Halki, Symi, and Larnaca, Cyprus, honoring the close historical link with these Greek-speaking islands.
Tarpon Springs Depot, assembled in 1909, is one of the earliest surviving train station buildings in the Tampa Bay Area.
There are a several locations in Tarpon Springs which have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Tarpon Springs Historic District Tarpon Springs Greektown Historic District Old Tarpon Springs City Hall Old Tarpon Springs High School Many sites related to the sponge trade inside the Greektown District have also been recognized.
Meres Sponge Packing House Symi (Sponge Diving Boat) Nicholas III (Sponge Diving Boat) Nicholas VI (Sponge Diving Boat) Anastasi Sponge Diving Boat According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city of Tarpon Springs has a total region of 16.9 square miles (44 km2), of which 9.1 square miles (24 km2) is territory and 7.7 square miles (20 km2) (45.83%) is water.
Tarpon Springs Tarpon Springs' climate borders on humid subtropical and tropical savanna, with warm temperatures year-round, although winters evenings are cool.
Winters are warm, with daytime highs of 72 F (22 C) to 80 F (27 C), and eveningly lows of 45 F (7 C) to 60 F (16 C).
Freezing temperatures (32 F (0 C) or lower) occur on average every other year, while snow flurry is extremely rare; there was accumulation in 1977 and 1989, while the years 1899, 1954, 1958, 1973, 2001, 2006, 2010, and 2014 either saw light snow different with rain, or flurries.
Daytime temperatures usually range from 88 F (31 C) to 95 F (35 C), with temperatures over 100 F (38 C) very rare.
Spring and fall are generally warm.
Climate data for Tarpon Springs, FL American and Greek flags flying in Tarpon Springs.
In the city, the populace was spread out with 19.2% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older.
Scenes of Tarpon Springs Natural sponges in Tarpon Springs Sponge boats Tarpon Springs Boy Scouts wearing fustanellas (1960) A double-headed eagle portrayed in a stained glass window inside Tarpon Springs' St.
Tarpon Springs is known for elaborate theological ceremonies hosted by the St.
Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, part of the Greek Orthodox Church, including the January 6 Epiphany, celebration that includes youths diving for a cross and the blessing of the waters and the boats.
The celebration attracts Greek Americans from athwart the country, and the city's populace is known to triple in size for that day.
The blessings conclude with the ceremonial throwing of a wooden cross into the city's Spring Bayou, and boys ages 16 to 18 dive in to retrieve it: whoever recovers the cross is said to be blessed for a full year. Following the blessings, the celebration moves to the Sponge Docks where food and music are made part of the festivities.
On January 6, 2006, the 100th anniversary celebration of the Epiphany services in Tarpon Springs was the occasion for a visit by Bartholomew I, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is considered "first among equals" of all hierarchs of the Orthodox Church.
Dodecanese Avenue in the Greektown Historic District of Tarpon Springs is still grow as both a traditional improve and a tourist destination.
Along the way it passes the marina, the sponge boats docked along the Sponge Docks on the north side of the street and the Sponge Exchange on the south side of the street, west to the boats docked outside Pelican Point Seafood.
The Tarpon Springs Heritage Museum in Craig Park offers an exhibition about the history and culture of the Greek Community.
The Safford House Museum on Parkin Court is a historical home exhibition that tells the fascinating story of one of the city's early families.
The Depot Museum on Tarpon Avenue provides an overview of Tarpon Springs history.
The Tarpon Springs Police Department has 48 sworn officers.
Tarpon Springs is referenced by Cmdr.
Tarpon Springs High School a b c "Tarpon Springs Area Historical Society History".
"Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Tarpon Springs city, Florida".
"Greek Ancestry Search - Greek Genealogy by City - e - Podunk.com".
"Illuminating change coming to Tarpon downtown".
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015".
"First-timer grabs the Epiphany cross in Tarpon Springs".
The City Of Tarpon Springs Police Department.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tarpon Springs, Florida.
City of Tarpon Springs official website Municipalities and communities of Pinellas County, Florida, United States
Categories:
Cities in Florida - Cities in Pinellas County, Florida - Greek-American culture in Florida - Greektowns in the United States - Populated places on the Intracoastal Waterway in Florida - Sponge diving - Tarpon Springs, Florida
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