Showtown, U.S.A.

Photo by Caterina Clerici via The Guardian 

The state of Florida is filled with fascinating small towns and tawdry amusements alike.  Traveling along its sun-soaked highways, there are always signs announcing the miles between you and Gatorland, the Magic Kingdom or the Fountain of Youth.

Gibsonton, Florida is just ten miles outside of Tampa, if you drive south on U.S. Highway 41.  It really is surprising that it has never been the subject of a Tim Burton movie (given his appreciation for the landscapes of Florida and circus-style theatrics).  

In the mid-1930s, an eight and a half-foot tall man named Al Tomaini, once billed as The World's Tallest Man, eloped from the circus with his two and a half-foot tall love, Jeanie, who was billed as The Half Girl.  They honeymooned in Niagara Falls, then toured together as The World's Strangest Married Couple.  Upon retiring, they founded a fish camp and nearby cluster of trailers, which would grow into the town of Gibsonton, Florida (called Gibtown by its citizens).  Al was its first fire chief.

Soon Gibsonton blossomed as a community for sideshow performers to spend the winter months or to retire.  The Ringling Brothers' winter headquarters were in nearby Sarasota and besides, you were permitted to keep elephants and dismantled carnival rides (a status symbol) on your front lawn.  Conjoined sisters Daisy and Violet Hilton (of Side Show fame) ran a fruit stand in town.  Perscilla the Monkey Girl, Grady Stiles the Lobster Boy and Edward Anato Hayes the Anatomical Wonder were among those who called it home.   

Photo from BBC via Pinterest

Since freak shows (with a fraught history all their own) are largely a thing of the past, Gibsonton may look like any other small town to travelers along Highway 41.  However, if you stop in, you can still find relics of the town's past, including a museum and plenty of colorful stories from the bartenders at Showtown USA.