Gibsonton, sometimes nicknamed Gibtown, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States.

[4] Gibsonton was famous as a sideshow wintering town,[5] where various people in the carnival and circus businesses would spend the off season, placing it near the winter home for the Ringling Brothers Circus at Tampa, Sarasota and Venice in various times.

[8] It is bordered to the north and the east by Riverview, to the south by Apollo Beach, and to the west by Hillsborough Bay.

The original club building opened in 1966 and expanded to be the largest showmen's association in the United States.

[12] Gibtown's International Independent Showmen's Museum houses on two floors a wide assortment of antique equipment, historic printed materials and detailed exhibits that tell the carnival story – most of it donated by practicing carnies.

Visitors are also able to walk through carnie trailers, which open to transform from a dull-looking compartment into brightly lit and ornate facades.

[14] The library at the University of South Florida (USF) has digitized many of the photos at the International Independent Showmen's Museum.

The homepage of the collection describes the photographs as portraying the life and times of the American carnival from the late 1800s to today.

The collection features many photographs that relate to means of transportation as relevant to the carnival, such as semi-trailers and trains.

Much of the digitization process was made possible by members of the International Independent Showmen's Association as well as a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Sun City Center.