The Tampa Daily Times was born in 1893, the result of political power plays and business-interest wrangling. It took the stage Tuesday, February 7 in sandy Tampa, then an unpaved, rough-and-tumble town. Immediately, it claimed a number of remarkable firsts: the first paper in Southern Florida to offer Associated Press wire service stories, the first daily in Tampa, and the first Florida paper to boast a reporter pool of equality with one male and one female reporter.

The paper's lead organizer, Col. Silas Armistead Jones—described by historians as "a human dynamo" and a "father of Tampa"—recruited men cut from the same cloth to serve as backers, advertisers, and employees. The roster included Giddens, Haya, Henderson, Jackson, Junn, Knapp, Lykes, Manrara, McKay, Morrison, Seckinger, Taliaferro, Watrous, and Ybor—in short, the power structure of the day.

From idea to action, the whole effort took Col. Jones less than one week to orchestrate. In a whirlwind of investor pledges, stock certificates, advertisement designs, article drafts, and typeface, his team of “can-doers” had the presses rolling.

In its first week of publication, The Tampa Times —as it became known in later years—set a new journalism standard in the booming community and within a few years it inspired fierce competition.

As the community’s afternoon news source, it went on to define the political, social, and business landscape of old Tampa. It was the paper of record during the town's formative “boomtown” years.

The Tampa Times continued to run 89 years, defining the evening news for generations until it was folded in 1982. Interestingly, a vestige of that boomtown journalism heritage greets readers in the Bay Area each morning on the front page of The Tampa Tribune, in the form of a sub-banner that reads: and The Tampa Times.

Unfortunately, little of that boomtown newspaper record survived to serve as a beacon to historians. Indeed, the first 20 years (circa 1893-1912) are lost. As one distinguished researcher put it, "Historians have studied Tampa their entire careers, but have never ever seen the actual newspaper. Finding an article from The Tampa Daily Times would be like winning the lottery!"

Yet an opportunity to reclaim those lost years most assuredly exists. Surely clippings of this important publication lay undiscovered, across Bay Area counties and Florida, tucked between the pages of scrapbooks and photo albums. What's more, the paper's founder  Col. Jones traveled extensively, proclaiming Tampa the New South's land of opportunity. In his day, thousands of copies of the paper were delivered to civic luminaries across the nation—remnants of Tampa's rich history that can be rediscovered.

Help in this important effort to locate, preserve, and share the stories chronicled on the pages of The Tampa Daily Times. Nearly 20 lost years of our glowing heritage are waiting to be reclaimed.

Contact a representative of the Reclaiming Our Heritage campaign today and learn how you can share our Tampa history with generations of Floridians to come!

FOUNDERS LINKS

The following links offer more information about the founders, backers, and early employees of The Tampa Daily Times.

Mr. Cooper

(general manager, third editor)

Mr. Giddens

(financial backer)

Mr. Haya

(financial backer)

Mr. Henderson, William B.

(financial backer)

Mr. Jackson

(financial backer)

Col. Jones, Silas Armistead

(lead organizer, financial backer, first general manager and editor)

Mr. Junn

(financial backer)

Judge Knapp, Joseph G.

(financial backer)

Mr. Knight, A.J.

(secretary)

Mr. Lykes, Joseph

(financial backer)

Mr. Hern, John Tevis

(second editor)

Mr. Manrara

(financial backer)

Mr. McKay, D. B.

(reporter, second president and owner)

Mr. Morrison

(financial backer)

Mr. Seckinger

(financial backer)

Miss Taylor, Mary A.

(first female reporter)

Mr. Taliaferro, T. C.

(treasurer)

Mr. Watrous

(role TBA)

Mr. Ybor, Vicente

(financial backer)