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Sponge Exchange ca. 1910s
Greek men gather in the courtyard at an early version of the Sponge Exchange. The Sponge Exchange was founded around 1907 or 1908 as a nonprofit corporation with shares owned by 50 buyers. At this cooperative space across the street from the Sponge…
Men stringing sponges
Men string sponges on a Greek boat in the Anclote River. After cleaning the sponges, members of the crew typically sort the sponges according to type and size, then string them on twine using heavy needles about two feet long—this keeps them sorted…
Man hauling sponges
A man hauls large sponges from a loaded lateen sail sponge boat on the Anclote River in 1921. The name on the boat is barely legible, but it is probably Taxiarchis Mihail, or St. Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of Symi. The boat in the…
Man selling sponges
Mass tourism bloomed after World War I as the middle class expanded. As a result, tourism based on the sponge industry and Greek culture developed early in Tarpon Springs. This image shows a store selling sponges at 629 Dodecanese Boulevard in 1921.
View from Sponge Exchange
In this view looking north from the Sponge Exchange to the boats lining the Sponge Docks, men examine enormous piles of strung sponges harvested on recent trips. When the photograph was taken in 1921, the old wooden buildings had been replaced with…
View of Sponge Docks
In 1921, dozens of Greek boats in the sponge fleet line the wooden docks where men work and an anchor lies. Along with the lone horse-drawn buggy are the Sponge Exchange jitney and cars that are probably owned by the more affluent sponge merchants.
Eleftherios Venizelos
Greek prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos (1864–1936) delivers a speech at Anclote Lighthouse on January 30, 1922. One of the most respected Greek statesmen of the 20th century, Venizelos led the Greek national liberation movement and promoted…
St. Nicholas Greek School c.1920s
The Greek community opened its first parochial school in 1925. In the early years, 200 children attended daily classes after public school. St. Nicholas Greek School employed three teachers and assistants who taught Greek history, language, culture,…
Tarpon Elementary class photo 1935
The third grade students of the Tarpon Springs Elementary School pose for a class photograph in March 1935. Note that children of Greek heritage number almost 50 percent of the class. During this era, schools were racially segregated, so African…
TSHS Future Homemakers of America 1948
The Tarpon High School Future Homemakers of America chapter appears with their teacher on March 1, 1948: front row, Mrs. Simmons, Irene Harvey, Zula Peperis, Mary Tsalichis, unidentified, Else Sakiotis; second row, Evelyn Kotis, Bessie Johns,…