Sponge Capital of the World

Grass sponge

June 1905 was the month that the Greeks arrived in Tarpon Springs to start fishing for sponges. Newly arrived Americans settlers had discovered sponges in the Keys  around 1820s. The west coast sponges were discovered accidentally in 1873 by Key West turtle fishermen whose nets were foulded by sponges off the mouth of the Anclote River. Sponges came to the area to work the beds and some moved to Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs got its name from a woman Mary that moved here with her father, she saw some fish jumping and thought they were Tarpon, they ended up being mullet, but Tarpon Springs stuck.
 In 1890 John Cheyney a Tarpon Springs businessman opened the Anclote River and Rock Island sponge Company across the river from Tarpon. During the 1890s sponge packing houses were built in the City, sponge presses were installed and buyers moved into Tarpon Springs. Gradually the sponge business shifted from Key West, Cuba and the Bahamans also moved to Tarpon Springs. By 1900 Tarpon Springs was considered the largest sponge port in the United States.

This is wool sponge

 It was, however the Greek immigrants who expanded and refined sponging in Tarpon Springs. The individual who is responsible for the Greek involvement is John Corcoris, who arrived in Tarpon Springs in 1896 as a sponge buyer for a New York firm. He went to work for John Cheyney, who financed Corcoris' early efforts to make the industry more efficient. In 1905 Corcoris introduced the first mechanized sponge fishing boat to Tarpon Springs and brought in 500 Greek divers from Kalymnos, Halki, Sumi, Hydra, Spetse, Aegena and other Greek Islands. Other Greeks soon arrived and family's were established!

Sponge vase