On this date in Tampa History, March 1

On this date in Tampa history:  March 1, 1908

A fire starts at 12th avenue and 20th street in Ybor City, and destroys 18 blocks and 5 factories.  Damage is estimated to be $1 million, with a loss of approximately 1,000 jobs.

Here is the excerpt for the Tampa Tribune a couple of days later:

“Tampa has suffered the severed blow in all its history. The conflagration which on Sunday morning swept over Ybor City , a hurricane of flame, left desolation in its path – a desolate waste of territory, desolate families in want of bread and, worst of all, desolate hearts that ache in the intensity of their anguish,” (Tampa Tribune, March 3, 1908).