Talbot County GaArchives News.....Letter to the New Era from Harry C. Brown in Florida December 17 1903
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Carla Miles cmhistory@mchsi.com November 20, 2003, 10:28 pm

The Talbotton New Era

The Talbotton New Era
Thursday, December 17, 1903
Page Two

Letter From Florida

Dear New Era:

For some months I have been traveling in Florida, and in many places I find old 
friends from Georgia.

This week I have visited the finest city on the Florida coast – Tampa.  The 
city and suburbs would not have numbered more than 5,000 souls 15 years ago, 
yet today there are 35,000 people in and around Tampa, and the prospect is that 
in the next decade that number will be doubled.

Hillsboro County has taken advanced ground upon the subject of good roads and 
the results will be seen at once.  Three years ago the city and county began to 
build 6 miles of road out toward the water dam.  The town has simply built all 
along that road.

Now the county has floated bonds amounting to $450,000, and it will begin the 
construction of turnpikes along the main public highways.  They estimate that 
two hundred miles of this road will be built.  It is constructed of phosphate 
rock, which crushes and seems to cement together into solid pavement.

There are 169 cigar factories in Tampa and all sorts of people at work in them –
 Cubans, Spainards, Dagos and Negroes; and the latter are as good as the 
others.  The entire business of west Tampa and Ybor city is dependent upon the 
cigar factories, and with the exception of the factories and bar-rooms all is 
wide open on Sunday.  When a lot of this motley foreign population gets to 
talking you imagine you hear the confusion of tongues at the famous old Tower 
of Babel.

On Tuesday I took passage on the beautiful steamer, Manatee, to visit the 
Manatee River and the towns of Palmetto, Manatee, Braidentown and St. 
Petersburg, the first three on Manatee River and the latter on the west side of 
Tampa Bay.  Braidentown is the largest of the river towns but all of them are 
beautiful.  At Palmetto is a unique little hotel built on driven piling out in 
the river two hundred yards from shore, and to get a salt bath one has to jump 
off of the porch out into the water.  The lady who keeps it says she would not 
live on shore after having lived on the water, and that it is exceedingly 
healthy there.

At Braidentown the leading hotel is kept by Mr. G.O. Turner and his charming 
wife.  The hotel is a gem.  Mr. Turner is son of Mr. John H. Turner and 
grandson of Mr. Jas. Turner, who, a number of years ago moved from Talbot to 
Stewart County.  Mr. Turner is great-nephew of old Uncle Nat Athon whom all the 
older people of Talbot County used to love so much.  How often have I heard my 
father and many of the older citizens of the county refer to Uncle Nat Athon as 
the best man they ever knew.  Mr. Turner has a beautiful manly little boy who 
bears the name of Nathaniel Athon Turner.  If there are any old friends of 
Uncle Nat Athon in Talbot County who would like to communicate with his nephew, 
they can write to Mr. G.O. Turner, Braidentown, Fla. and we can assure them 
that he will appreciate their letters, and if they ever call on him they will 
find an elegant gentleman.

Yours Truly,

Harry C. Brown




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