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Henry Bradley Plant (October 27, 1819 – June 23, 1899), founder of the Plant System of railroads and steamship lines, was born into a modest farming family in Branford, Connecticut. At the age of six, he lost his father and younger sister to typhus fever and was raised by his mother, step-father and grandmother.

When Henry B. Plant was born in 1819, Florida was still under Spanish control. By 1821, Florida was named a United States Territory, and in 1845 it became a state. Before his death in 1899, Plant helped to develop Florida with railways, steamships, and luxury hotels.

1819 Henry B. Plant born in Branford, CT to Betsey (Bradley) and Anderson Plant, a farmer. 1837 18 year-old Henry begins work as a captain’s boy for the New Haven Steamboat Company plying the waters between New Haven, CT and New York. He is put in charge of express parcels and is successful in organizing this business.

contribution to Tampa. In Tampa. Henry B. Plant’s South Florida Railroad arrived in 1884 and stimulated population growth and new industry. Plant developed port facilities extensively and promoted tourism, building the lavish, Moorish-style Tampa Bay Hotel in 1891.

Discover Henry B. Plant Museum in Tampa, Florida: Step back into the glory days of Florida's nascent tourism industry at this Gilded Age palace.

Henry Bradley Plant High School "Follow the crowds," may be the one-liner for which Henry B. Plant is most famous. The crowds were his throngs of admirers headed to the Tampa Bay Hotel Opening Ball on January 31, 1891. The railroad they traveled was Plant’s conglomerate system completed on January 22, 1884.

Henry B. Plant Museum is ranked #10 out of 22 things to do in Tampa. See pictures and our review of Henry B. Plant Museum.

Henry B. Plant Museum is located at 401 W. Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, Fl 33606. For general information, please call (813) 254-1891 or visit the museum website at www.plantmuseum.com. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. University of Tampa students, faculty and staff can visit for free with UT ID.