Description
A postcard depicting a view of Tarpon Avenue, the main street in Tarpon Springs, Florida, looking east. The earliest Americans settlers to Tarpon came following the American Civil War. The town was first promoted by Hamilton Disston (1844-1896) as a town for relaxation and health. In early 1987, Tarpon Springs became the first city to be incorporated on the Pinellas Peninsula. The Orange Belt Railway first arrived in 1887 and sponge harvesting became a prime industry in the area. Tarpon Springs thrived during the Florida land boom of the 1920s and collapsed when the rest of the state bust in 1926, which also saw the devastation of a major hurricane. Despite the land bust and the Great Depression, the sponge industry continued to thrive until 1938, when a blight infested the sponge beds. Instead, the city turned to tourism, capitalizing on its rich Greek culture.
This postcard is part of a collection of postcards kept by Lucile Campbell, a schoolteacher in Sanford, Florida, for 30 years. In 1931, she took advantage of a special rate for teachers and sailed to Europe, where she traveled for several months and is thought to have acquired many of these postcards. During the 1940-1941 school year, Campbell taught at Sanford Grammar School. Before her retirement in 1970, she taught at many other area schools, including the Oviedo School, Westside Grammar School, and Pinecrest Elementary School. Campbell used these postcards as aids in her classrooms to teach advanced subjects, such as Shakespearean drama. The collection, along with her other teaching aids, papers, and photographs, was later found at Sanford Grammar School after it became the University of Central Florida's Public History Center. Campbell's postcard collection and photographs provide insight into the life of a respected Florida educator.