Area Code 813

History

The state of Florida was a single numbering plan area with area code 305. In 1953, with the development of Direct Distance Dialing, the western part of the peninsula from the Tampa Bay area south, which was serviced mostly by General Telephone (GTE), was designated as a separate numbering plan area with area code 813. The new number plan area stretched along the Gulf Coast from Pasco County to Collier County and included the cities of St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Fort Myers, and Lakeland.