Cigar history on display during V.M. Ybor Home Tour

(TBO) ... Its style is typical of the homes built in V.M. Ybor as the cigar industry and its immigrant work force transformed Ybor City into the cigar capitol of the world.
Patriarch Arturo Fuente had moved from Cuba and opened a cigar factory in Key West in the late 1880s. In 1912 he moved his operations to Ybor City where he joined other factory owners such as Ignacio Haya, J.C. Newman and Vicente Martinez Ybor.
On Sunday, the Neely's historical home will be part of the 3rd Annual V.M. Ybor Home Tour along with seven other residences and the city's last remaining operational cigar factory. Continued

Photo: "This building's architectural and historical significance is derived from its contribution to the Ybor City National Historic Landmark District. Ybor City is a section of Tampa founded and built by Vicente M. Ybor and Ignacio Haya as a cigar manufacturing center and town. This house represents cigar factory worker housing within the larger context of the cigar manufacturing company town. This company town was planned by Gavino Gutierrez to include cigar factories, workers housing, public spaces, and commercial buildings. This Frame Vernacular residence is representative of the larger collection of worker housing in Ybor City." (Library of Congress)