On Dec. 23, 1904, the Tribune announced that a Florida State Fair Association had been incorporated.  With capital stock of $50,000 at $10 per share, the price was placed low so that "every businessman in Florida will be able to purchase stock and that the corporation may be as largely a popular one as possible."

The charter provided for anywhere from three to nine directors to be elected annually.

President Thomas J. L. Brown held 480 shares, secretary Craig Phillips 10 shares, and and treasurer Fuller 10 shares.

Some sections have been omitted below.  Section II stated that the general nature of the business to be conducted was to hold a State Fair between the first day of November and the first day of March, each and every year...
See the whole article.

WILLIAM REED FULLER - From "Men of the South" etc, 1922

Born at Hendersonville, N.C. March 24, 1867, he received his education in the public schools of Atlanta, Ga.  He moved to Florida as a young man and soon became one of the recognized factors in the building up and development of the State.  Mr. Fuller was manager of the first steamship line that operated between Tampa and Mobile in 1887 and 1888.  Upon locating in Tampa he became Commercial Agent of the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad, and when this was absorbed by the Seaboard Air Line (a railroad line) he became its General Agent.  He was manager of the Independent Line of Steamers operating passenger and freight boats for eleven years.  Afterwards, he entered the wholesale grocery business as a partner of Phillips & Fuller from 1895 until 1902.  He then formed the firm of W. R. Fuller & Co. which operated until 1910.  Recognizing the growing demand for building and road materials to to the rapid growth of Florida, he entered that line of business and has been continuously in it, his being the largest of its kind in the State.  He is presently engaged in developing rock, sand and mineral filler plants for building roads and houses throughout the State.  Before his success in this field, a great deal of these materials had to be shipped to Florida from other states.  He has always taken a keen interest in public affairs.  For six years he was president of the Tampa Board of Trade during a time which Tampa attained remarkable growth.  He was personally instrumental in bringing many new citizens and large new capital to Tampa and the vicinity.  He was chairman of the Board of Public Works of Tampa for four years during which time some of the most important public improvements were initiated throughout Tampa.  He is a member of the Tampa Yacht and Country Club and local golf clubs, Knights of Pythias, Elks and other clubs.  He has always given freely of his time, money and efforts to every movement for the material and moral advancement of Tampa and has been identified actively with all civic endeavor for better things.  Mr. Fuller was married March 17, 1891 to Miss Bertha E. DeTar, daughter of Dr. Theodore DeTar of Bradentown.

TAMPA BAY HOTEL FOR SALE

With the estate of H.B. Plant settled a few years earlier, Mrs. Plant and his son, Morton Plant, arranged for their holding company to sell the palatial Tampa Bay hotel, but this was then tied up in litigation between Frank Q. Brown of the Ocean and Gulf Realty Co who had charge of the remaining assets of the Plant System, and Chas. H. Scott of T.J. Scott & Sons, claimants of the hotel property under an option. 

This was finally settled out of court in Dec. 1904, when the two parties realized the ongoing litigation would be expensive.  As part of the settlement, Frank Q. Brown reimbursed the Scotts $25,000 for the funds they had spent on the property and the hotel would be conveyed to Brown.  He then closed the hotel on Dec. 9, 1904. This worried many that the hotel would be bought and demolished.

The hotel's off-season manager, Thomas J.L. Brown, had worked to reopen the hotel and keep his job after having been closed by Frank Brown.  In the hotel's eleven years, and the casino's nine years of existence, they had been the venue for thousands of Tampa's big social, cultural and civic events. One of the events the hotel was a key to success for was the South Florida Fair which up to this point had been a local event with some participation by about ten other counties.  Brown had played a crucial role in making this fair and the May Festivals a success.

**The Casino was not a place of gambling.  It was what we would call a theater/auditorium/convention center today.  It also had a swimming pool under the auditorium floor.  Read more about the Casino.

LIBRARY ASSOC. EXPECTS A MAY FESTIVAL

In mid-January 1905 a library association was formed with Louise Dodge as secretary.  Louise had already resigned from the Tribune and had become a history teacher at Tampa Preparatory School and in ten days would join the staff of the Jacksonville Times-Union as their Tampa correspondent.

The Association planned to use the May Festival as a fundraiser, but as of yet, no plans had been announced to hold the festival.

ANOTHER STATE FAIR INCORPORATION

Less than two months after the Florida State Fair incorporation of late Dec., 1904, another incorporation was filed as "The Florida State MID-WINTER Fair Association" with W. F. Stovall replacing W. R. Fuller as treasurer.  Stovall was owner and publisher of the Tampa Tribune.  No explanation was given for the new name or the replacement of treasurer Fuller. Thomas J. L. Brown remained as president, J. Craig Phillips was secretary, and Stovall the treasurer.

This incorporation also stated the same period to hold the fair, between the first day of November and the first day of March, each and every year...

 

See the whole article.

	From "Men of the South, A Work for the Newspaper Reference Library" (Stovall was the Tampa editor.) WALLACE FISHER STOVALL (1922) "W.F. Stovall, President and Manager of The Tribune Publishing Co. of Tampa and editor of The Tampa Tribune is not only a conspicuous example of success achieved by patient and untiring effort, but by reason of the well-directed work done through his paper for the benefit of Tampa and the State of Florida, has become one of the most valued and indispensable citizens of that great and growing commonwealth.  Thrown at an early age entirely at his own resources, he has steadily climbed upward on the toilsome ladder of public life, and while yet a young man, has reached a position of great influence in the field to which is labors have been consistently and exclusively devoted."
Born in Elizabethtown, Ky on Jan. 4, 1869, the son of Jasper and Eliza (Duncan) Stovall.  Left an orphan at age five, he spent his early years on a farm while attending public schools of his native town.  He moved to Florida in 1886 at 17 years old and entered into the business life with a job at a country newspaper at Lake Weir and later Ocala, Sumterville, then Bartow.  Starting at the "bottom" he learned the business first in the laborious print shops.  In 1890 at age 21, he established The Polk County News at Bartow, at which he was the owner, editor and general manager, and often the printer and pressman.   He saw an inviting opportunity in Tampa and so his Polk County News was left behind in Bartow for a promise of future commercial importance.  In 1893 The Tampa Tribune was born.  The paper soon kept the pace of development and advancement of Tampa and went from a "blanket sheet" with out-of-date equipment and limited circulation to become in 27 years the leading journal south of Jacksonville, with modern equipment, Associate Press service, and the largest, most complete, it became the most prosperous and progressive newspaper in South Florida.  He recently completed the construction of the W. F. Stovall building, a modern seven-story office building.  He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a Mason. Wallace F. Stovall died on Apr 16, 1950 at age 81.  Read his lengthy obit in the Tampa Tribune.  Read his obit in the Tampa Times.
Photo by Joanne Iwinski-Miller at Find A Grave.
The 1870 Census of Elizabeth Town, Ky. shows Wallace's parents were W.J. Stovall, a hotel keeper, and Sally Stovall.  Although "Sally" could be a nickname, it's not a nickname for Eliza or Elizabeth.  Both were born circa 1837-1838 in Kentucky.  Wallace may have had a twin brother, Thomas.           The 1860 Census shows the same family in Elizabeth Town.  Wm. J. Stovall, a farmer, at 22, Sally A. is also  22. Wallace's older sister Minnie was 5 months old.  The Stovall's next three children would be born after this census and before the 1870 Census. Listed above the Wm. J. Stovall family is Senna Stovall of age to possibly be Wm. J.'s mother, (58) and H. Stovall (24) of age to have been Wm. J's brother.   The above possibility is confirmed by the 1850 Census of Hardin County, KY, showing William J. Stovall (12) in the home of "Cena" Stovall, age 48.  With probable brothers of William being Ralph W. and Hezekiah Stovall, who was the "H. Stovall" on the 1860 Census. Cena was widowed before the 1850 census.

The new Midwinter State Fair incorporation was followed by a blitz of articles concerning the new midwinter fair in Tampa, with multiple articles appearing almost daily for over a month.  Not surprising since Stovall owned the Tribune.  All designed to increase the sale of stock and gain approval for the State Fair to be held in Tampa.  Just a handful here...

Read the whole article

Read the whole article

Read the whole article

THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS!

STOVALL  GOES TO WAR WITH JACKSONVILLE TIMES-UNION
Stovall in effect calls the Jax newspaper "fake news" concerning their claim that the secretary of Tampa's Board of Trade made such a statement.  Everybody knows Tampa is the best place for the State Fair.

The Tribune says that the Jacksonville newspaper is pleased with statements they claimed were said by Tampa's Board of Trade's secretary Calhoun.  "...to the effect that" Tampa didn't aspire to host the State Fair and that Jacksonville was the proper place for it.

STATE FAIR MEETING HELD AT OLD (OLD) CITY HALL (The one built in 1891 and demolished in 1914)
Representatives "from various counties" (not stated) met on Mar. 15 to hear what the State Fair association had to say about its plans, and offer support for the event to be held in Tampa. The Board of Trade's plan was adopted with a few changes.  All propositions were agreed to unanimously, though there were some counter-propositions.  The charter was read by sections, and it was stated why Tampa had chosen to have a state fair instead of the South Florida Fair.  It was revealed that Jacksonville had also declared for a State Fair and if located there, the various counties would rather display at a State Fair instead of Tampa's local fair.  Few counties would participate in Tampa. Thomas Brown stated that immediately after the close of Tampa's South Florida Fair last year, Jacksonville began plans to hold a State Fair. A First Presbyterian church pastor presented an amendment to the second section, that no gambling, sale of liquor, wine, beer or other intoxicants should be permitted on the grounds.  He had witness gambling out in the open at the South Fla. Fair and called it shameful and disgraceful to the city and to the Fair. 

Red lines mark where parts have been deleted for brevity, including T.C. Taliaferro's response to pastor J. G. Anderson regarding booze at the fair.

SEE THE WHOLE ARTICLE.

The cost of one share, $10 in 1905, is equivalent in purchasing power to about $359 today.
Fifty shares of State Fair stock in 1905 would be like $17,950 today.

On June 22, 1905, the Tampa Bay Hotel was sold to the City of Tampa for $125,000. 

Read a condensed version of this article.

Read the whole article (When it opens, click it again to see full size.

This probably brought a sigh of relief for most Tampans.  But many must of wondered how the city was going to pay for repairs and improvements, and if it would continue to be used as a hotel.

Thomas Jefferson Laud-Brown can best be described as a successful and ardent , promoter, hotel manager, host, and lobbyist.   Born in New York City in 1853, he first came to Florida 1893 and settled in Green Cove Springs where he became a large, successful and well-known tobacco grower. 
1895-08-11 NY TIMES - Thomas J. Laud-Brown of NYC, staying at Hotel Childwold at Lake Massawpie, NY.
1897-02-12 Pensacola News - Feb. 9. Meeting of officers Florida State Tobacco Growers Assoc. at Green Cove Springs - Treasurer T. J. Laud-Brown.

He soon was elected as Mayor in 1897 and continued promoting Florida as a top quality tobacco producer and had many articles about it published in Florida Newspapers, including the Florida Agrigculturalist.  He then moved to Quincy and continued his tobacco farming and experimentation.  Brown made frequent trips back to New York and moved there around 1900, still maintaining his tobacco planations.  There is strong evidence that he owned and/or managed hotels in New York, including the in 1902 with the firm that had just bought the Tampa Bay Hotel.  He was a successful promoter of the South Florida Fair in Tampa from 1902 until 1905 when he incorporated the Florida State Fair Association.  He then put all his efforts into promoting the State Fair and lobbied successfully to have the State Legislature provide funds for it. In 1907 he announced his candidacy for the Florida senate but stepped down before the election in Nov. 1909. In 1909 he lobbied the U.S Congress and convinced them to officially name Tampa as the closes port in the east to the Panama Canal which was in the planning stages.  He then pushed for a grand Panama Canal celebration which took place in Tampa in 1910.    In 1911 he left Tampa to reside in Key West to promote the overseas railroad to Key West and the Panama Canal.  Then he moved to Washington D.C. to promote them and other Florida interests with congressmen.

Brown's visit to Tampa in 1902 to view property for T.J. Scott & sons.  https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/159471439.pdf

Late in May 1907, John Beard announced that he had definitely decided to challenge Senator Mallory. An attorney and state senator. Beard confided to a correspondent of the Tampa Times that he would run a one-platform campaign. "I shall," stated Beard, "make a direct issue of my proposed constitutional amendment repealing the fifteenth amendment, the purpose of my amendment being to disfranchise the negroes." By June, the press of the state had added Thomas J. Laud Brown of Tampa, state Senator Frank Adams of Jasper, and William J. Bryan of Jacksonville to the list of possible contenders.  Late in the month. Brown, former manager of the Tampa Bay Hotel and president of the state fair, officially joined the race. A commentator described Brown as belonging to "neither of the political factions" and as "a tireless worker" but "not a speaker." In an interview. Brown described a program of encouraging immigration to Florida, building "deep water" ports in the state, and "Progressiveness for Florida in every line of endeavor."

In analyzing the approaching race, a Tampa newspaper predicted that Trammell would base his campaign on the curbing of corporations and the enactment of a franchise tax. Beard would run solely on the issue of Negro disfranchisement, and Bryan would enter the lists as the "Broward candidate." The paper did not mention Brown, evidently believing his candidacy to have proven abortive.

 PARK TRAMMELL OF FLORIDA: A POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY By STEPHEN KERBER

FIRST MENTION OF YE MYSTIC KREWE OF GASPARILLA IN 1905

Ye Mystic Krewe began making plans in August for the state fair.  They claimed it would be on a larger and grander scale then ever before, with more elaborate costumes.