Tarpon Springs' Sponge Industry
Many tourists vacationing on the Florida beaches of Clearwater or St. Petersburg have made the short trip north to the small town of Tarpon Springs. The charming town is lined with Greek restaurants, bakeries, gift shops and of course, the sponge merchants. One ponders, after eating the Gyros, the sweet honey-laced baklava and the powdered sugar-coated wedding cakes, how it all started? How could this small town in Florida boast that over 70% of its residents are Greek-speaking? The answer: because of the sponge industry, this melting pot just didn't melt.
The beginning of the sponge industry in Tarpon Springs actually traces back to Key West, in the early 19th century. Many fishermen would find grass sponges washed ashore after storms. This led to the development of "hook boats" which were small boats that would row or sail a short distance off-shore. These early spongers used a log pole with a three or four prong rake at the end to hook sponges from the shallow waters.
Soon thereafter, the sponge industry boomed in the Key West area. Word of the new industry spread as far away as New York City, which by 1849 became a lively sponging market. Because there was no direct link from Key West to New York by sea or by land, the sponges were first shipped from Key West to Tampa Bay, then carried by wagon from Tampa to New York City by livery business owner Granville Noblit, Sr. Key West became the leading source of natural sponges for the Northeast. This soon changed with technology advancements that enabled men to dive for sponges. The sponge divers found larger beds filled with new and different varieties of sponges further north in the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1889, John K. Cheney, a wealthy Philadelphia banker, observed the sponge industry at Key West, and realized that the sponge variety offered in Gulf of Mexico just off of Tampa Bay was greater and more diverse. He recognized the natural advantage of locating the sponge harvesting closer to both the carriage routes and the richer sponging waters of the Gulf of Mexico. He soon built warehouses in what is now known as Tarpon Springs to try to make it the leading market. He and Ernest Meres became the first sponge merchants in Tarpon Springs, buying for New York interests.
In 1896, John Cocoris, a Greek immigrant and sponge buyer working in New York City, arrived in Tarpon Springs. He went to work for John Cheney and with Cheney's financial backing, recruited 500 sponge divers from Greece. The first diver hired was Demosthenes Kavasilas, who brought his experience from the Mediterranean Sea, as did the second diver, Stylianos Besis. The divers were amazed at the natural fortune of the Gulf of Mexico. Sponges by the thousands darkened the virgin and un-trodden sea floor. The bottom was so thick with sponges, that every 10 minutes the divers sent up baskets filled with large wool-sponges, the best and sturdiest in the world. By evening, the diving boat would be filled with sponges. They began to add more boats and men as fast as possible.
By the end of 1906, 1,500 Greek sponge divers and workers had arrived in Tarpon Springs. The sponge industry grew tremendously in the 1920's and 1930's with a fleet of about 200 ships. In 1936, Tarpon Springs was recognized as the sponge capital of the world, and more than 2,000 Greeks had moved to the area. However, in 1946, a disease (red tide) attacked the Gulf of Mexico and killed almost all of the sponges. To make matters worse, the invention of the synthetic sponge in the 1940's by the DuPont company also devastated the Florida sponge industry. By the 1960's and 1970's the sponge industry began to rebound - although the sponge divers of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas had now become the leaders of the industry. Fate had something else in store because in 1986, the Mediterranean sponges were exposed to blight disease and nearly all sponges in the Aegean sea were destroyed. Tarpon Springs was able to once again claim its title as the "Sponge Capital of the World."
Tourism has now replaced sponging as Tarpon Springs' major economic activity. Thousands of visitors come to the city each year to enjoy the outdoors, play golf or fish. While shopping for art and antiques or touring charming Victorian neighborhoods, tourists have the unique opportunity to take a break and visit the Sponge Docks to experience Greek culture right here in Tarpon Springs.
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