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Letter to the editor

What's in a name?

From bicycle racer to car dealer

Ferman House, Ferman Music Center: From an early age, wheels were his thing. He even built an automobile before he ever sold one.

By MICHAEL CANNING
Published July 16, 2004

William Frederick Ferman and Victor James' gasoline-powered contraption built mostly from bicycle parts was the first ever seen in Tampa.

After they built a second one, Ferman thought he might go into the automobile manufacturing business. But a few years later, in 1902, he opted to sell them and opened Tampa's first car dealership.

Ferman was born in Minneapolis in 1874. Seeking a warmer climate, Ferman's family moved to Tampa when he was a child. Throughout his youth he was an avid bicycle racer. In 1895 Ferman opened his first business, Tampa Cycle and Sporting Goods Co., from which he and James built their first cars.

When Ferman decided to open a car dealership on downtown's Jackson Street, it was one of the first in the country. At first he sold Oldsmobiles, but his business continually grew and later included Cadillac, Dodge and Chevrolet vehicles.

In 1923, Ferman built an imposing Italian Renaissance Revival home at 1815 Bayshore Blvd., today known as the Ferman House.

Ferman maintained a high civic profile. He was an original member of the Tampa Board of Trade and a founding member of the Little White Church, which later became the First Methodist Church. He also was a longtime director of the First National Bank and a member of the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club.

Ferman died in 1949 at age 75. He left behind a wife, two sons and grandson, Jim Ferman Jr., who now runs the Ferman Motor Car Co. With headquarters at 1307 W Kennedy Blvd., the company has more than 20 dealerships throughout Florida.

The Ferman family has supported the University of Tampa for decades. In the late 1980s, Jim Ferman Sr. and his wife, Martha, funded the creation of the campus' Ferman Music Center.

- Source: Tampa Bay History Center, University of Tampa, Tampa Preservation Inc.

[Last modified July 15, 2004, 14:02:16]