Clear Havanas: A History of Florida’s Cigar Industry

Program Details

With Cuba’s cigar economy booming in the 19th century, factory owners sought financial opportunities beyond its borders. Several of Florida’s cities—Key West, Tampa and Miami—were the ideal locations to establish cigar making factories. By using Cuban laborers to roll Cuban grown tobacco, these Florida factories pioneered the idea of making authentic Cuban cigars in America. Cuban immigrants arrived by the thousands to seek employment in Florida’s burgeoning cigar industry, establishing cultural and ethnical neighborhoods that helped define a growing state.