The Tampa Board of Trade drew cigar maker Vicente Martinez Ybor to the region in 1885.
By MICHAEL CANNING
Published January 16, 2004
Vicente Martinez Ybor is likely the most ascribed name locally, with the possible exception of Wills Hill, the British colonial secretary for whom the Hillsborough river and county were named.
Hill never set foot here, but Ybor certainly did. Only Henry Plant, perhaps, did more to set Tampa's development into motion.
Born in 1818 in Valencia, Spain, Ybor moved to Havana at age 14 and worked as a grocer's clerk. Within a few years he was selling cigars for local manufacturers. By 1853, he had established his own cigar factory.
Spurred by the Cuban revolution, Ybor moved his factory to Key West in 1869. Three years later, his son, Edward R.M. Ybor, and former Havana associate Edward Manrara joined Ybor's business. Eventually, fires and labor strife motivated Ybor to relocate his factory again.
In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade, eager to establish a major industry in fledgling Tampa, wooed Ybor and his friendly competitor, Ignacio Haya. The following year, Ybor and Haya opened Tampa's first cigar factories and Ybor City was established. Soon after, Ybor, his son and Manrara established the Ybor City Land and Improvement Company, which brought more cigar factories to Tampa.
The industry grew quickly, and in 1892 Scottish lawyer Hugh Macfarlane followed Ybor's cue and offered cigar makers free land and buildings a few miles northwest of Tampa. By 1895, West Tampa was incorporated. By the turn of the century, there were as many as 200 cigar factories between Ybor City and West Tampa, giving Tampa the distinction as "Cigar City."
Ybor had 10 children by two wives, including four from his first wife, who died in 1862.
