The year of 1950 was a year of change for the Urban August Knapp (grandfather) family. This would be the year his dream began. He sold the families’ two feed stores in Akron, Ohio and gave the farm to his oldest son Jerry. Urban had heard of the development going on in Tampa, FL and decided to chase his dream of being a Building Contractor. He picked up his two youngest sons and his wife and moved to Tampa.

Upon arrival in Tampa, Urban quickly purchased a parcel of land on the Hillsborough River in the robust area known as Sulphur Springs and built a home for his family with the aid of his two sons, Roy Arthur (father), and Norman Francis (uncle). Urban then formed a Construction Company as an individual and employed his two sons. The next few years would be trying ones as the economy was slow and the Korean War borrowed his youngest son Roy for four years.

When Roy returned form the war, he fell back into place with his Father and Brother where he had left off. In 1961, Urban formed the corporation to be named appropriately, KNAPP & SONS, Inc. The three owned a third each and continued to prosper in the now better economy. Light commercial, custom homes and land development would be their business for the next eight years.

The year of 1969, Urban passed away suddenly and the two brothers Ray and Norman continued to operate the family business a General Construction firm building Commercial and Residential projects as they would have put it, “whatever it took to put food on the table.” The business continued to prosper through their retirement in the early 1980’s. |The company known as KNAPP & SONS, Inc. at this point was used primarily to hold the numerous properties that the two had accumulated over the years.

Upon the death of my father in 1996, the assets of the corporation over the next few years would be sold and the proceeds distributed to my Mother and my Uncle Norman. In 1998, I was given the opportunity to take over the corporate name and I did.

From my childhood, I have many fond memories of the company and the way the family was always there for each other in the essence of mutual interest. I have many memories of hot, backbreaking summers while wearing the company T-shirt. I have come to a point in my life where I now have a wife and three children – one daughter and two sons. The similarity is hard to overlook.

MARK KNAPP