Carrollwood Area Business Directory

Matt Jetton (pronounced "jet-tawn") achieved local and national fame in the late 1950's as the developer of Original Carrollwood. His company, Sunstate Builders, purchased 325+ acres of citrus nursery land, just seven miles north of the City of Tampa with a vision of creating housing to relieve crowding in South Tampa. Residents of South Tampa did not care for the rural surroundings of Carrollwood ("the land of lovely water"); but it was discovered by the academia at the newly built University of South Florida located less than ten miles due east. Many prestigious professors and administrators moved to Carrollwood including John and Mary Allen, USF's first president.

Matt Jetton (pronounced "jet-tawn") achieved local and national fame in the late 1950's as the developer of Original Carrollwood. His company, Sunstate Builders, purchased 325+ acres of citrus nursery land, just seven miles north of the City of Tampa with a vision of creating housing to relieve crowding in South Tampa. Residents of South Tampa did not care for the rural surroundings of Carrollwood ("the land of lovely water"); but it was discovered by the academia at the newly built University of South Florida located less than ten miles due east. Many prestigious professors and administrators moved to Carrollwood including John and Mary Allen, USF's first president.

By 1959, Carrollwood had become one of the foremost award-winning "subdivisions" in the area and boasted of amenities unheard of at the time, including air conditioned housing, a planned school, neighborhood parks, lake access for all residents and on-call handy man and repair services. The winding roads, many cul-de-sacs and lake views added even more charm to our young community.1960's pricing for homes ranged from $16K-$100K with lots from $2,750 to $16,000.

Developing suburban communities runs in the Jetton family, even though Matt Jetton has almost no memory of his grandfather, Matthew Jetton . Four decades earlier, Jetton's grandfather helped expand the Tampa metropolitan area as one of the developers of western Hyde Park, today known as Historic Hyde Park. One of that neighborhood's original streets is named for the Jetton family.

The senior Matthew Jetton came to Tampa from Murfreesboro, Tenn., in the 1880s. His middle name was Murfree, after his hometown, and he was often called "M.M.." He first settled in Tampa Heights and worked in the hardware and lumber businesses. Later he became a contractor and co-founded the Jetton-Hudnall Lumber Co. He also formed the Jetton-Dekle Lumber Co. with Lee Dekle, another Historic Hyde Park developer whose name appears on a local street.

Matthew Jetton had a lumber mill near Kennedy Boulevard and Rome Avenue, his grandson said. He was a member of the Elks Lodge and a founding member of the Tampa Board of Trade, the forerunner to the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. Matthew Jetton died in 1931 at age 71.

Matt Jetton is now retired and resides in Carrollwood Village (developed by Jetton in the 1970's after Carrollwood was off and running) He was born and raised in Tampa, during the mid 1980's served on the Board of County Commissioners and is a member of the Hall of Fame of the Florida Home Builders Association. Some of his family resides in Original Carrollwood including his namesake grandson Matt Jetton III.