Articles tagged with: Oliva Tobacco Company

Hecho a Mano

Posted in History on Thursday, January 20, 2011. Written by Emanuel Leto

Cigar Production in Tampa and Ybor City 1886-1939

In 1884, a Spanish jelly importer and civil engineer would visit Tampa looking for a suitable domestic climate to grow guava trees and establish a cannery. "Don" Gavino Guiterrez, an acquaintance of Martinez Ybor and New York factory owner, Ignacio Haya, suggested the two tobacco magnates consider relocating to Tampa. Citing a deep-water port, a humid climate similar to Cuba's, and the extension of Henry Plant's railroad connecting Key West and Tampa to cities in the north, he convinced the two industrialists to relocate. With the Morrison Act guaranteeing low import duties, a humid climate, and its close proximity to Cuba, Tampa assured the cigar manufacturers quick and easy access to a quality product.