Ybor City may be the most historic area in Tampa. Of course, it is home to some of the original restaurants and businesses in the area but the story of how the town was created is even more fascinating to me.

In the late 1800s Vicente Ybor moved his cigar rolling factory from Havana Cuba to Key West. He always dreamed of starting a company town. The officials in Tampa at the time gave him the chance by selling him 40 acres in the middle of town. He moved his operation to the Tampa area and it started to grow. He brought in Cuban families, Spanish families, Italian families, and even German families. These different families fill different roles in the cigar business. He built housing throughout the town for all the employees and necessary infrastructure in this area now carries his name.