Other Military
Though MacDill AFB is the primary subject of Hillsborough County military postcards, the collection also includes a wide variety of other bases, monuments, and forts. One of these is Fort Brooke, a military outpost which operated at the mouth of the Hillsborough River. Fort Brooke was established in the 1820s to guard against the Seminole Indian population between the first and second Seminole Wars. The site would serve critical roles during these conflicts and the Civil War. It would be difficult for anyone to recognize the spot today, where the Tampa Convention Center now sits, as a centuries-old military post. A hickory tree also stands nearby, marking an Indian mound probably left by the Timuquans.
Found in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory also emerges in many Hillsborough military cards. The building still stands at 522 N. Howard Avenue, where it now serves as a Jewish Community Center. Performers, politicans, and celebrities have appeared at the fort, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Elvis Presley, and John F. Kennedy. Dedicated the day after the Pearl Harbor attack, Fort Hesterly was commissioned by Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal and was used by the National Guard until 2005.
Another important military base, the Drew Army Airfield, once functioned where the Tampa International Airport is now located. In fact, the original L-shape of the airfield can clearly be seen in aerial views of TIA. Drew Field opened in 1928 and was used as a training site for figher and bomber units during World War II, before those crews were deployed overseas.