The Gulf waters off Florida’s west coast north of Tampa Bay are one of the few places in the world with natural sponges suitable for commercial use. Tarpon Springs’ sponge industry began about 1890 when John K. Cheyney launched his first sponge-fishing boat. Sponges were first retrieved by hooking until John Cocoris, a recent immigrant from Greece where sponge diving was common, introduced diving for sponges in 1905. Within a few years, many Greeks had come to the area to work in the sponging industry. The Tarpon Springs Sponge Exchange was incorporated in 1908 as a shareholding organization for the storage and sale of sponges. The industry reached its greatest prosperity in the 1930's, but in 1939 disease struck the local sponge beds and greatly reduced the supply of healthy sponges for several years. Despite the industry’s decline, the Tarpon Springs Sponge Exchange continued as a focal point for the Greek community.