TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — Take a walk along the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs, and you'll see sponges harvested right from local divers. We stopped in a Tarpon Springs business that takes these ...

The wave of Greek divers and their families cultivated a vibrant Hellenic community in Tarpon Springs. The City’s Sponge ...

In 1905, Greek sponge divers were brought to the area, and the rest is history. The Greeks and the sponge industry built Tarpon Springs, and a century later, both have remained central to the town.

Divers get more because they risk their lives. There are octipi, sharks. But diving for sponges is lucrative. During 1927 the valuation of the sponge catch at Tarpon Springs was $886,216.