The Plant City History & Photo Archives, in partnership with the Tampa Bay History Center and Preserving Brandon, created a free community program called History Talks. This program focuses on preserving local history from the Greater Plant City area, East Hillsborough County and West Central Florida.
“We found that the development of similarities in historical, social and cultural pasts of neighboring geographical areas expands the broader understanding of our overall societies,” said the Plant City History & Photo Archives’ director, Libby Hopkins. “This has led us into the development of the partnerships between our three organizations. History Talks are hosted on a quarterly basis and began in November of 2024.”
This past April, the second session of History Talks was held at Stowers Funeral Home in Brandon. This time around, the topic of discussion was the founding families of Brandon, Plant City and Tampa.
“We focused our latest session on the Linsley family of Brandon, the McKay family of Tampa and the Evers family of Plant City,” Hopkins said. “We held the talk at Stowers Funeral home because it was the former home of the Linsley family.”
Returning for the talk were local historians Michael Wigh of Preserving Brandon, Gil Gott of the Plant City History & Photo Archives and Rodney Kite-Powell of the Tampa Bay History Center.
“The Brandon Homestead is important as it is directly connected to the Brandon family who were the town founders,” said Wigh. “James Brandon, son of town namesake John Brandon, built the beautiful wood-frame Folk Victorian home in 1876 and it still stands today. The home was purchased by successful Michigan businessman Edward Linsley in 1912. He was typical of the time period and sought an escape from the industrialized north and cold winters. Taking advantage of Henry Plant’s new southern rail system, he and his family sought out the warm Florida climate as a winter home and to grow citrus.”
What makes Linsley so important is that he amassed one of the single largest real estate holdings in Brandon in the early 20th century.
“We have a copy of the original letter sent by Mr. Linsley’s cousin from Brandon dated 1894, who was sent here to scout out a potential winter home, describing land buying opportunities and available citrus groves,” Wigh said. “Mr. Linsley purchased the Brandon family homestead. Streets and shopping plazas bear his and family descendants names. Mr. Linsley and his family were prolific photographers. Their personal family photos captured images of early Brandon found nowhere else. Family members still live in the area.”
The Brandon Homestead is a landmark building of a time gone by.
“It has been in the community since 1876 and has served the community as a funeral home since 1960,” Wigh said. “Everyone in the area is familiar with the homestead but may not be know the interesting history. Preserving our past is worth saving. Passing down our shared history for others to reflect and enjoy.”
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