Egmont Key and its lighthouse are shown in this image from the State of Florida Archives.
The teardrop shape of Egmont Key is visible in this photo from the State of Florida Archives.
Circle Drive, at the heart of downtown Sebring, is shown in this photo from the State of Florida Archives.
It's an island that's shrinking right underneath your feet, and if you want to live there you have to become part of a very selective group. Plus, a town in the bay area that'll really take you for a spin.
Why do they call it Egmont Key?
It does have sort of an egg-y shape, but, no, this island at the mouth of Tampa Bay got its name a different way.
It's now a nature preserve with nearly no signs of human life, but Europeans have lived here longer than just about anywhere else in Tampa Bay.
The lighthouse was built in the 1840's, and years later, U.S. Army troops had a whole town here.
"Egmont Key itself is physically shrinking. You can see the remnants of a Spanish-American War era fort that is not only partially on land, but also partially underwater," said Rodney Kite Powell, curator of history at the Tampa Bay History Center.
Kite-Powell says harbor pilots still live part-time in houses out on this island as they wait to guide huge ships into the Port of Tampa.
Egmont Key is both a state park and a national wildlife refuge, and you can only get there by boat. A ferry from Ft. DeSoto Park is the most convenient way to visit.
So what, or who, is an Egmont?
A British mapmaker cooked up the name in the 1760's as he surveyed Tampa Bay. He was under the orders of some rich folks with fancy titles back in England.
"At the time, of course, as a surveyor, you want to name things after famous people... who are paying your way, or are influential somehow," Kite-Powell explained.
That's how Hillsborough River and Bay got their names -- to honor the Earl of Hillsborough, a powerful figure at the time.
And "Hillsborough's brother-in-law, the Earl of Egmont, got the distinction of having Egmont Key named for him," Kite-Powell said.
Why do they call it Sebring?
This Highlands County city is definitely the place to go round and round!
The speedway here has hosted the 12 Hours of Sebring -- yes, a 12-hour race -- since 1952.
And Sebring's called the The City on the Circle, because the main streets spread like spokes from distinctive Circle Drive downtown.
The layout was the vision of town founder George Sebring.
He bought this land for his dream city in 1911 after seeing it on a fishing trip.
Why do they call it that? Now you know.
We'll be featuring new places and stories each Wednesday on 10 News at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m..
Check out previous editions of "Why do they call it that?" plus links to photos and maps from Tampa Bay's past at our "Why do they call it that?" website: wtsp.com/callitthat.
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Grayson Kamm, 10 News