Evan P. Bennett’s new book, Tampa Bay: The Story of an Estuary and Its People, brings together key ideas about our bay as a food pantry, a playground or a cause worth fighting for in one highly readable history.
Photo: Amanda Hagood
Few of us immigrants, or even native Floridians, would look at the vibrant waters and lush seagrass meadows of Tampa Bay and imagine environmental devastation, but Floridians who spent time here in the 1970s and 1980s know a different story.
Just a few decades ago, rapid development and pollution left our estuary so badly degraded that it was the subject of an exposé on 60 Minutes. Evan P. Bennett’s new history book, Tampa Bay: The Story of an Estuary and Its People (University Press of Florida, 2024), chronicles the story of this remarkable ecosystem’s decline and recovery, along with other important histories of the region.
What does this reader say? Tampa Bay should be required reading for anyone planning to live here. It should be handed out along with voter registration cards.
Tampa Bay: A Story of the Estuary and Its People
What sets Bennett’s book apart from other histories of the region (and there are already many excellent ones) is its regional focus: Tampa Bay does not trace the development of a single municipality, but focuses on the estuary itself, including its major tributaries, ecosystems, and human communities.
This approach reveals how the impacts of growth in one part of the Bay Area, such as the construction of the Courtney Campbell Causeway, have affected real estate development and water quality throughout the community of Old Tampa Bay. Thinking across these geographic configurations paints a more complete picture of both the region’s history and the social and environmental challenges it currently faces.
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But what makes Tampa Bay interesting is that it looks at the region from an “ecologically enlightened” perspective: Bennett not only organizes the book chronologically, but also organizes chapters thematically, centered around the changing ways people have lived in and with the estuary over time.
Early chapters such as “The Food Pantry,” “The Harbor,” and “The Playground” detail the Native American culture that fished the ocean and built cities out of shells. Similarly, the chapter “The Harbor” describes the construction of the Port of Tampa and its global economic importance. The chapter “The Playground” details the emergence of bathing and the struggle to desegregate Tampa Bay’s beaches.
Later chapters such as “Sewers,” “Causes” and “Estuarine Mouth” document the enormous damage that local development has done to the watershed (a la “60 Minutes”) and the collaboration between concerned residents and a new science called ecology that has attempted to reverse that damage.
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Tampa Bay History
Throughout, Bennett skillfully contrasts major events in Tampa Bay’s history with the larger forces shaping U.S. history. He connects the region to historical events such as Indian Removal Policy, the development of U.S. air power, and the Civil Rights Movement. In a state that can sometimes feel a bit foreign (ahem, Floridian), readers may be surprised to realize just how American our history is. (We don’t cover this here, but you all know the first Thanksgiving took place in Florida, right?)
Those who aren’t usually interested in history might think this book isn’t for them. And they might be right: historical writing is a very specific and often very academic task. Moreover, Bennett builds his story slowly, thoughtfully, and with many footnotes. But overall, his writing style is accessible and interesting. It skillfully weaves together the voices of politicians, activists, and ordinary citizens who bring the past to life.
Whatever’s on your summer reading list, consider adding Tampa Bay: The Story of an Estuary and Its People. After all, you are part of the story.
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