Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Another reader with good taste has turned to Sticks of Fire and Ask A Tampan for the answers to their most burning questions.  And once again, we have an answer.  Reader Kassie writes in:

I’m thinking of researching my house (built in 1926) - I’d like to know who the original and previous owners were.  I thought it’d be nice to also research my neighborhood within a two-three mile radius.

I live just off MacDill.  Given the age of my home and surrounding homes, this area is most likely chuck full of interesting history.  It’d be cool to see if there were any major contributors raised/or resided in my area.  Any ideas on how to figure that out without having to research each house individually?

I found info on a man named Jose Marti (I’m guessing that is who Marti St. is named after) but was unsure of the info I found on MacDill.  I found a David MacDill born in S. Carolina but the info was sketchy.

Thanks!
Kassie Hicks
RBH Financial, Inc

Hey there Kassie!  Thanks for writing in!  To learn more about any influential folks who may have lived in your house or neighborhood, you may want to check with the Tampa Bay History Center.  They have a bunch of information just like that.  In fact, I’ve been told that people moving into older houses such as yours make up most of the TBHC’s research requests.

For your street names, here’s the limited information I know right off the top of my head (keep in mind, I am no historian, just a fan):

We recently learned that around 1940, Lisbon Av. was renamed MacDill.  Just about the same time, Southeast Air Base was renamed MacDill Field, now known as MacDill Air Force Base.  I’m fairly certain that both the base and the street are named after Colonel Leslie MacDill.  I have never heard of David MacDill.

Another important moment - I was born at the MacDill AFB hospital (ok, so that’s only important to me).

Anyway, I would also assume (this means I’m not 100% sure) that you are correct about Marti St. being named after Jose Marti.  In the 1890’s, from Tampa (and Key West), Marti led a Cuban revolution to win independence from Spain.  He has been called “Cuba’s Greatest Hero” and the “George Washington of Cuba.”  There is a statue of Marti by the Cuban Club in Ybor City (Palm @ 15th, I think).  While you are there, take a walk by Jose Marti Park.  Marti has a rich history in Tampa - more than I could ever cover in a short post, but you can find out a lot more about Jose Marti online.

Hope this helps you, Kassie, and thanks for contacting us!  Let us know if you find more interesting tidbits about your neighborhood!

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