Historical Monument Trail to Line Tampa Riverwalk

Folks will soon be able to take a stroll through the city’s history.

The Historical Monument Trail is a new design that will wind along and will feature statues, busts and monuments representing noteworthy people and significant events that have shaped the history of the city.

Mayor Bob Buckhorn unveiled the names of the first six honorees who will line the Riverwalk in downtown on Tuesday, March 6.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that the first selection was not an individual, but a group: the earliest mound-building Indians to settle in the area. The other trailblazers to be immortalized are Henry B. Plant, who gave the railroad and the Tampa Bay Hotel to the city; Vicente Martinez-Ybor, who led the cigar industry and founded Ybor City; Clara Frye, a nurse who operated a hospital for African-Americans at her home; James McKay Sr., Tampa Mayor who founded a shipping company that connected Tampa to Cuba; and Eleanor McWilliams Chamberlain, a women's rights activist who started Florida's first organization to seek the vote for women in 1983.

"What resonates with me is that these were individuals who not only cared about themselves and their families, but about their community and helping someone else," said Buckhorn, according to the Times.

Ultimately, more than 30 honored historical figures and numerous historical informational monuments will spread across the length of the Riverwalk, the City said in a press release.

The Times reports that the first six honorees will be memorialized with a bronze bust that will be installed on the Riverwalk within the next nine months.

Which local historical individuals do you think should be nominated for the Historical Monument Trail? Tell us in the comments below.