Get off I 70 exit 275 after going thru Abilene go 26 miles south on 15 highway to the covered wagon turn left for 4 miles.

From highway 56-15 go north on 15 highway 13 miles to the covered wagon then right 4 miles.

There are only 2 "Tampas" in the entire United States; Tampa, Kansas, founded in April of 1887 and Tampa, Florida, founded in August 1887.

Wagon Wheel Ruts or swells as they are called are visable in the Lutheran Cemetery in the northeast part of town. These wagon wheel ruts were left by the pioneers' covered wagons as they travelled across the plains.

Tampa has two churches, Lutheran and Catholic.

THE FOLLOWING ARE PICTURES AND HISTORY PROVIDED BY MRS. BRUNNER'S 5TH GRADE CLASS

The Tampa Hotel was built by the Hackler family in the late 1800's. In 1914 the rates were $1.50 to $2.00 per day. It is one of the original buildings left in Tampa. It's located at the corner of Third and Roosevelt.

The Tampa Hotel was built in 1880 by the settlers. It is still standing today. It is ran by Mr. and Mrs. Nee Agnes Hackler.

The Tampa Hotel is located at the corner of 3rd and Roosevelt, and it is still the oldest commercial building standing in Tampa. The Hacklers built it in the late 1880's and they still own it. In 1894 it cost $.50 a night and if you wanted breakfast it cost $.50 more. When it was closing it cost $15 and they did not serve any food.

If you go there today you can still see the numbers on the door, and the edges of the stairs are worn down from the cowboys walking up and down the stairs with their cowboy boots. Thirty cowboys could stay there a night, and because there are 16 rooms. Also the stagecoaches ran right behind the hotel.

Woody's Barbershop was owned by Wilbur (Woody) Steinert. The barbershop was built in 1948. Inside there was a pool hall and a lounge. The lounge sold food and drinks. In 1980 it closed and later became Weibert Insurance Agency. Wilbur then became a fulltime rural mail carrier.

Cardie Oil owners are Earl, Norma and Ruth Mueller. The business started in the late 30's and incorporated in the early 70's. After the oil company ended it became a Mobile product marketing business. To my surprise, the building is still standing today! Since "Cardie" and Ruth's death, Narman and Earl tok over the business.

For many years William Backhus and E.G. Meyer operated Backhus and Meyer Well Service. In 1939 Joe Byrne bought back the business and owned it till 1945. In 1945 the Backhus family bought the business back and continued with the water and well drilling service. William owned it for 49 years, until Paul Backhus bought it from his dad William Backhus. The water and well service is still running in the area of Kansas. My grandpa Frank Stick helped Paul for several years--Anna Weber.

The first grocery store. One of the first people to start a business was mart Hackler. He moved to Tampa with his family in 1888. He started the first general store. It's closed but still standing today.

The Tampa COOP first opened as a Mill and Elevater in 1900. The Mill and Elevator burned down in 1916. P. Noone opened it back up as "The Farmers Grain and Supply CO." A grain elevator was built that held 15,000 bushels, and is still used as a feed mill. In 1919, the new name became the Tampa Cooperative Association. In 1952, the concrete elevator was built. In the years to come, the Coop purchased the coops in Lincolnville, Durham, Burdick and Heringtion.

The high school was built after a wood frame building that had classes for both the grade school and the high school burnt down. When the high school building was empty after several years, the roof started to leak. It has deteriorated to the point that all remains are the brick walls. A class was held in the basement. A slanted entry was made to get things in the basement which was used as a shop classroom.

The Tampa High School was built in 1930. It costs $60,000 and was a one story brick building. Inside the school there was a gym with a big stage where they had singing contests. They also had sewing, cooking and woodowrking classes. There was math, english, reading, spelling, and social studies, too. The school also contained music, library, and a band room. For sports they played basketball, baseball, and they had cheerleaders. In 1965 the high school students went to Centre. In the year 1969 it closed and remained empty for 35 years. In 2004 they tore it down and made a memorial where the school once stood.