The Rediscovery of The City of Tampa, a 19th-Century Single Screw Steamboat

Summary

In 2013, the City of Tampa, a locally important 19th-century steamboat, was rediscovered in Blackwater Bay. The wooden-hulled vessel moved people and goods between Milton, Bagdad, and Pensacola. The City of Tampa burned to her waterline in 1921 during repairs, and was considered a complete loss. In 1991, Dr. Roger Smith, Florida’s State Underwater Archaeologist, and his team set out to survey the state’s underwater cultural resources. During this survey, only City of Tampa’s boiler material was recorded. She was rediscovered in 2013 with a considerable amount of hull and machinery exposed, though the extent of looting is unknown, sufficient archaeological material is available to warrant further investigation. Visible components at the time of this poster include: port and starboard framing, ceiling and hull planking, machinery, and drive shaft terminating with the still-intact four-blade propeller. This poster discusses the results of the 2013 investigations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Poster Session   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): POS-98,18