In the 1870s, Dr. Howell Tyson Lykes gave up the practice of medicine to take over his family's 500-acre farm in rural Hernando County, where he engaged in citrus growing and cattle ranching, including the export of cattle to Cuba. Dr. Lykes moved his family to Tampa in 1895 to focus on the cattle trade and launch his seven sons into the business world.
In the early 1900s, Frederick and Howell Lykes, two of the seven sons of Dr. Howell Tyson Lykes, began shipping cattle to Cuba in a 109-foot wooden schooner, the Doctor Lykes. The Spanish American War had wiped out Cuba’s cattle herds and the brothers opened an office in Havana and began importing cattle. In 1903 a third brother, James McKay Lykes, opened an office in Galveston and began shipping Texas cattle.
At first, the Lykes shipping operation was strictly an adjunct to the family cattle business. However, in 1906 the brothers made the jump from shipping family steers to shipping anybody’s freight.
In 1910, the seven sons of Dr. Howell Tyson Lykes and Almeria Belle McKay came together to form Lykes Bros. Inc.
United by deep family loyalty, the brothers grew the company across industries and state lines — leaving a lasting mark on Florida’s history.
Another business that shaped the Lykes Legacy was the Lykes Meat Group which was founded in 1913 and had four packaging plants in Florida and Georgia.
Lykes Meat Group produced luncheon meats, hot dogs, and sausages under the Lykes and Sunnyland brands. The company was sold to Smithfield’s Foods Inc. in 1996.
Founded in 1925 by Lykes Bros. Inc., Lykes Insurance was an insurance brokerage focused on commercial risk insurance, surety bonds, employee benefits and private risk management.
Lykes’ Insurance provided risk management services to clients from their downtown Tampa, Ft. Myers and Orlando locations for 94 years. The company sold to Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners in March of 2019.
Lykes Bros. Steamship Co. was heavily involved in WWI and WWII war efforts. During WWII, the company carried 60 million tons of cargo and operated up to 125 cargo ships for the government.
After the war, the company returned to commercial activity and by the 1950’s had 54 vessels, the largest US fleet under private ownership. The company and its assets were sold in 1997.
Lykes Pasco Packing became a leader in frozen concentrated orange juice and was once the largest fruit processing plant in Florida.
The Lykes family also left their mark on Florida’s energy industry. Through Peoples Gas, once the state’s largest natural gas utility, they powered communities across Florida. In 1997, Lykes Energy (owner of Peoples Gas) was sold to TECO Energy.
