Plant City History & Photo Archives is known for preserving local history for the Plant City community and its surrounding areas. Most of its archival collection comes from local businesses or local residents who want to share their families’ photos because they have ties to helping build the Plant City community.
Recently, a couple stopped by The Photo Archives to donate some old photos they found while cleaning out a family member’s home. What was in the envelope the couple brought in was a huge piece of national history.
“A couple stopped by The Photo Archives, holding what looked like a tattered envelope, asking if we would be interested in accepting historic photos,” said The Photo Archives’ office manager, Tammy Surratt. “The gentleman explained that they were cleaning out a family member’s home when they found a box in poor condition, with most of the items unsalvageable.”
Inside the large envelope were five old photos and two fragile pieces of paper.
“After a close examination, we discovered that the photographs were original prints of the RMS Titanic, with ‘Underwood & Underwood, N.Y.’ stamped on the back, and the two papers were teletype documents related to two of the photos in the collection.”
The RMS Titanic, a luxury steamship, sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic after sideswiping an iceberg during its maiden voyage. Of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board, more than 1,500 lost their lives in the disaster.
“The donated photos include a photo of the iceberg that hit the Titanic,” said Surratt, “The photo was taken by Bernice Palmer, a passenger on the Carpathia, which was the ship that rescued some of the passengers from the Titanic.”
The Titanic Exhibit at The Photo Archives is jointly sponsored by the Osprey Observer Newspaper and FastFrame of Riverview.
“Most everyone who’s had the opportunity to look at the originals or view the exhibit is rather impressed with our newest addition to The Photo Archives,” Surratt said. “The Photo Archives primarily focuses on local history. Still, if you take the time to visit our research library, you will discover books on subjects that reach many corners of world history. The RMS Titanic exhibit fit in rather well.”
The Titanic Exhibit at Plant City History & Photo Archives is free to view and is open for viewing from Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The Photo Archives is located at 106 S. Evers St. in the historic downtown corridor of Plant City.
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