Hillsborough River (Florida)

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Paddling on the Hillsborough River

An Alligator snoozing in the sun

Paddling the Hillsborough River

Seminole War reenactors at Hillsborough River State Park

The Hillsborough River is a river located in the state of Florida in the USA. It arises in the Green Swamp near the juncture of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties, and flows 54 miles (87 km) through Pasco and Hillsborough Counties to an outlet in the city of Tampa on Tampa Bay. The name Hillsborough River first appeared on a British map in 1769. At the time, the Earl of Hillsborough was the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, and thus controlled the pensions of the surveyors working in the American colonies, which included East Florida.

1 The River
2 Hillsborough River State Park
3 The reservoir
4 External links
5 References

[edit] The River

History

Geological data suggests that the Hillsborough River has been flowing for about 27,000 years. Humans first made their way to this area 12,000 - 15,000 years ago.

In the late 1700s the watershed of the Hillsborough River was a land covered by a rich, old growth forest. Majestic bald cypress, longleaf pine, and sand live oak were hundreds of years old (and in the case of cypress, thousands of years old). In the mid to late 1800s the watershed this old growth forest began to be logged. As a result of this lumbering activity, most of the trees within the Hillsborough River basin are now less than one hundred years in age. The harvesting of the old growth trees altered the ecosystems they dominated. Trees such as water ash and water locust were able to quickly grow in the sun-lit spaces created when bigger trees were removed. The riverine swamp forest we see today has a much different ecology than the ecosystem that had existed along the Hillsborough for the previous ten to fifteen thousand years.

River Timeline

(1528) Pánfilo de Narváez, a Spanish explorer, lands near Tampa Bay. He and the four hundred men with him find the Tocobaga culture established in the area.

(1539) Hernando de Soto, another Spaniard, comes to Tampa Bay and lands at what was probably the Hillsborough River. By the early 1700’s the Tocobaga people, through disease and slavery, are nearly exterminated.

(1757) A survey of the Hillsborough River is done by Don Francisco Maria Celi, pilot of the Spanish Royal Fleet. He ventures up to the Temple Terrace area in search of longleaf pine to use as masts for his ships. He names the pine forest of the area "El Pinal de la Cruz de Santa Teresa" or "The Pines of the Cross of Saint Teresa".

(1772) A map drawn and sent to English Earl of Hillsborough, Governor of West Florida, shows the river named as the Hillsborough. During the mid and late 1700’s, Native Americans from the north, mostly Creek (American Indians), begin to migrate to Florida. These immigrants become known as Seminoles.

(1821) Florida becomes a United States territory.

(1824) Construction of Fort Brooke begins at the mouth of the Hillsborough River.

(1828) The Fort King Military Road (now Florida State Road 41) is built to connect Fort King in Ocala with Fort Brooke in what was then the settlement of Tampa. A bridge is built to cross the Hillsborough.

(1830) Congress passes the Indian Removal Act. The American government begins efforts to remove the Seminole from Tampa Bay and relocate them to a reservation west of the Mississippi. Tensions between Seminole and Americans continue.

(1835) Seminoles burn the bridge at the Fort King Road’s river crossing. Conflict continues.

(1836) Fort Foster is established at the Hillsborough River crossing to protect this strategically advantageous position.

(1842) The Armed Occupation Act promises one hundred sixty acres of land to any man who can bear arms, build a house and cultivate five acres for five years.

(1846) The first ferry crossing on the Hillsborough River is established. This improves transportation and widens the growth of Tampa to both sides of the river.

(1861) Tampa Bay is blockaded by federal troops to prevent goods from leaving Tampa or from coming into Tampa.

(1863) Federal troops march upriver to a location near the present day site of Lowry Park Zoo. There they discover a blockade-running steamer and sloop loaded with cotton. The ships are burned. The skirmish that follows is the only American Civil War action on the Hillsborough River.

(1891) The Tampa Bay Hotel, now the Henry B. Plant Museum, opens with a grand ball.

(1895) An electrical dam is built on the river.

(1898) The dam is dynamited by cattle barons angry at the loss of grazing land.

(1900) The Sulphur Springs (Sulphur Springs, Tampa, Florida) property is developed and open to the public.

(1910) Hillsborough Bay is channelized to the mouth of the Hillsborough River with the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. In the early 1900’s the Hillsborough River watershed is heavily logged for its valuable cypress, pine and oak.

(1922) The Temple Terrace Golf and County Club, located on the river in Temple Terrace, now Florida College, opens with a Washington Ball.

(1923) A water treatment plant is built to utilize the water supply from the reservoir above the dam.

(1935) Hillsborough River State Park is opened.

(1961) The Southwest Florida Water Management District is created.

(1970) In the 1960s and 1970s the Tampa Bypass Canal is created and accidentally, the aquifer is breached.

(1979) The Hillsborough River is closed to swimming at Hillsborough River State Park and a swimming pool is built for public use.

(1986) The Hillsborough River Interlocal Planning Board & Technical Advisory Council is established.

(1986) Sulphur Springs pool (Sulphur Springs, Tampa, Florida) is closed.

(1988) The annual Hillsborough River Cleanup begins.

(1991) Canoe Escape is opened and the owners donate canoes and time to bring the Hillsborough River to the public’s attention.

(1992) The Hillsborough River Greenways Taskforce is established.

(1995) The Hillsborough River is designated as Outstanding Florida Waters.

(1995) The Hillsborough River is designated as a Florida Recreational Canoe Trail.

(1995) The Hillsborough River is named a Florida Sesquicentennial Greenway.

(2002) Tampa Bay Water places a pipeline to the Morris Bridge Sink.

(2004) "Friends of the River" is created.

(2006) The Hillsborough River Task Force, Temple Terrace, is created.

(2007) Alan Wright "Mr River" dies of cancer.

(2007) "The Lower Hillsborough River Minimum Flow Recovery Strategy" is adopted

The River Today

The Hillsborough river is home to many endangered species and several large bird rookeries exist. When local students reach sixth grade in Hillsborough County, they take a visit to the river for one to three days to learn about the ecosystem, watershed, and native Florida animals at a place called 'Natures Classroom'. The Hillsborough River dam (originally built in 1895) at Rowlett Park creates the reservoir that supplies water for the City of Tampa, this reservoir is located downstream of the bridge at 56th Street. Unfortunately, the dam at Rowlett prevents enough fresh water from flowing over the dam and going downstream which endangers the survival of plants and animals that depend on the fresh water of the river. Because of this the water below the dam has become increasingly brackish. Currently, Tampa discharges fifty million barrels of the used water it gets from the river into Tampa Bay, many are now pushing for much of this water to be re-claimed or recycled water. The river above the 56th Street bridge passes through the City of Temple Terrace and it is one of the more scenic portions of the river, the city has a river cleanup of their river portion twice a year. The watershed area is trying to wean its over-reliance on water from the river by constructing a desalination plant and using more reclaimed water.

The Hillsborough River was immortalized in 1973 by author Gloria Jahoda in her book "River of the Golden Ibis".

[edit] Hillsborough River State Park

Hillsborough River State Park includes 2,990 acres (12 km²) along the Hillsborough River in norteastern Hillsborough County, in Tampa. It supports many Floridian environments such as swamps and oak hammocks and many endangered species. The park's purpose is to preserve the "real Florida". Visitors to the park can participate in picnicking, camping, canoeing, hiking, fishing and swimming in a constructed pool. There is also a designated place to observe the river's class II rapids. It is one of the only rivers in Florida with rapids. The park opened in 1935 making it one of Florida's oldest state parks.

[edit] The reservoir

Downstream of the 56th Street bridge in Temple Terrace, is the Hillsborough River reservoir, behind Tampa’s Water Works Dam. The reservoir has been Tampa's main source of water since the 1920s. It is about 1,300 acres (5 km²) in size and can support about 1.6 billion gallons of water. During the rainy season, excess water is pumped to the new C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, which opened in 2005.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

Gunter, Booth. 1990. Hillsborough River. in Marth, Del and Marty Marth, eds. The Rivers of Florida. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press. ISBN 0-910923-70-1.