Tom Kobayashi Collection, circa 1907 - 1939
Collection context
Summary
- Extent:
- 1 Folder
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
Tom Kobayasi Collection, Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.
Background
- Scope and content:
The Tom Kobayashi Collection contains black and white photographs 35 mm negatives circa 1907-1939 related to the life and family of Tomatsu "Tom" Kobayashi in the Yamato Japanese farming community of Boca Raton, Florida.
- Biographical / historical:
Tomatsu "Tom" Kobayashi was a first generation Japanese American born on July 16, 1927 to Mr. and Mrs. Heido and Umeko Kabayashi of Japan. Hideo, Tom's father, was an original settler of the Yamato Colony, a Japanese farming community in Boca Raton, Florida. Heido returned to Japan to find a wife. Hideo and Umeko lived in the Colony with their children, Theodore, Tomiko, and Tomatsu. The Yamato Colony of fruit farmers was established in 1905 by a group of approximately fifteen Japanese men on forty acres of land west of the Florida East Coast Railway in the vicinity of present day Yamato Road. In 1942 the U.S. Army took over Yamato Colony land for an Army-Air Corps technical training facility. The Kobayashis moved to Fort Lauderdale and started H. Kobayashi Co. landscaping in 1937, where they operated for over 40 years. Tom graduated from Fort Lauderdale High School, Palm Beach Junior College in Lake Worth, Florida, and the University of Miami. He served in the United States Army and retired from the Army Reserves at the rank of Master Sgt. In 1964, Tom married Maizel and they had a son, Kim. Tom was also active in the Methodist church. He died on April 23, 2017.
- Processing information:
This collection received file level processing by March 2023. The finding aid was updated by Erin Purdy in August 2026. This finding aid may be updated to reflect new descriptions as well as acquisitions to the collection.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Tractors
Farmers
Japanese Americans - Places:
- Boca Raton (Fla.)
Broward County (Fla.)
Access and use
- Restrictions:
The Tom Kobayashi Collection is open for research.
- Preferred citation:
Tom Kobayasi Collection, Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library.
- Location of this collection:
-
Broward County Historical Archives, Broward County Library100 S. Andrews AvenueFort LauderdaleFL33301USA
