History of the River
Humans on the Hillsborough: From Pre-history to 1910
Humans first came to the area that is now the Hillsborough’s watershed about
12-15,000 years ago. These first Floridians, known to archaeologists as Paleo-Indians,
came to Ice Age Florida from the north and survived by hunting, fishing, and gathering
plant foods. The river was not yet formed; water was available through springs and
seasonal water holes. As the ice age receded, sea levels rose, and the climate became
hotter and wetter, the springs overflowed and ran together to form rivers. The Hillsborough
grew from the Green Swamp, its waters merging with those of Crystal Springs, before
starting its path to the sea.
Archaeologists tell us that as the climate changed, and the big game animals disappeared,
humans adapted, developing a way of life known as the Archaic period, in which they
plied the riverbanks for deer and stone to craft their tools. People did not settle
along the river, except at the mouth, where the river formed an estuary with Tampa
Bay. Here was where fish and shellfish were found in the quantities need to support
large settlements.
This way of life flourished for centuries, but its end was signaled when in 1528
Spanish explorer Pánfilo de Narváez landed near Tampa Bay with 400 men, encountered
the native Tocobaga
culture for the first time. Eleven years later, Hernando de Soto landed at the
Hillsborough River. The
Tocobaga people were enslaved, exposed to deadly diseases, and eventually
exterminated by the early 18th Century.
In the 18th century the river’s watershed was heavily forested with bald cypress,
longleaf pine, and sand live oak that had grown there for centuries – soon to become
a rich source for extraction. In 1757, Spanish Royal Fleet pilot Don Francisco Maria
Celi surveyed the Hillsborough, and sailed up to the Temple Terrace area seeking
pine to use as masts for his ships – a plaque commemorating his voyage is located
at Riverhills Park.
Plaque marking Spanish exploration
at Temple Terrace
The name Hillsborough River was first used on a 1769 British map, naming the river in honor of the Earl of Hillsborough.
Although he never visited the area, he was the British Secretary of State for the Colonies,
and the name may have been bestowed to curry favor with him.
Fort Brooke
In 1821, Florida becomes a United States territory, and three years later, construction
began on Fort Brooke, at the mouth of the Hillsborough River (now the site of the
Tampa Convention Center). The wooden fort was constructed over an ancient Tocobaga
Indian mound, reportedly marked with a large hickory tree, which was removed to
accommodate the fort. Fort Brooke was designed to serve as a major outpost in both
the Seminole Indian Wars and the Civil War. In 1864 Fort Brooke (and Tampa) were
captured by Union forces; the fort was finally decomissioned in 1883.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, and on into the first decade of the 20th,
the old growth forests of the watershed were logged, and the ancient trees disappeared.
They were replaced by trees like water ash and water locust, which grew up quickly
in the denuded areas; today, most of the river’s trees are less than 100 years
old. The river basin ecosystem is much different from the forests that dominated
for centuries – a major consequence of human interaction.
Alongside the lumber industry, much was happening around the Hillsborough during
the 19th century, as the U.S. government stepped up efforts to remove the Seminole
Indians from the area. The Seminoles were not descendants of the original Native
Floridians; they were originally Creeks who came down to Florida in the 18th century
from Alabama and Georgia. Their numbers grew significantly from the mid-18th century
to 1821, augmented by escaped slaves, who became known as Black Seminoles.
Conflicts between whites and the Seminoles escalated, leading to the first of the
three Seminole Wars, which began around 1818. In 1830 Congress passed the Indian
Removal Act, and took action to remove the Seminole from the Tampa Bay area,
forcing them to a reservation west of the Mississippi. The Seminoles resisted, but
by the time the Wars ended in 1858, most had been forcibly and brutally removed.
In 1836, Fort Foster was built at a river crossing 9 miles south of present-day
Zephyrhills. It saw a significant Seminole War battle in 1837, and continued
to be used through 1849. Today, a replica of the fort is located at Hillsborough
River State Park.
Replica of Fort Foster at Hillsborough State Park
Meanwhile, the port city of Tampa was growing. In 1846, the first ferry crossing
of the Hillsborough River was established, leading to further development of the
city on both sides of the river. Tampa saw its only action in the Civil War, when
the bay was blockaded by union troops; in 1863, union troops intercepted and burned
two ships, the Kate Dale, whose remains lie in the river near the present day site
of Lowry Park Zoo, and the Scottish Chief, which lies at the mouth of the river
across from Blake High School. Both vessels were owned by James McKay, a founder
of the maritime industry in Tampa.
The iconic minarets of the Tampa Bay Hotel
In 1888, the luxurious Tampa Bay Hotel opened with a grand ball. Built by railroad
tycoon Henry B. Plant, it cost over 2.5 million dollars, a fortune in its time.
Its rich history is outlined in our River through Postcards page – today its iconic
minarets top the University of Tampa.
In 1897, Consumers Electric Light and Street Railway Company. built a dam on the
Hillsborough to generate electricity, located between what is now 40th Street and
56th Street, in the modern Temple Crest area. Cattle owners, angry at the loss of
grazing land, dynamited the dam three times – the remnants of their handiwork are
still visible when the water is low.
The 1899 Rivers and Harbors Act soon led to work to improve navigation, and in 1910.
Tampa Bay was channelized up to the mouth of the Hillsborough River, paving the
way for the development of Tampa as a vibrant port city.
For more details, the Hillsborough Water Atlas provides a wealth of history and
information: www.hillsborough.wateratlas.usf.edu,
such as the Hillborough River Fact Sheet, at:
http://www.hillsborough.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/HillsRiverFactSheet.pdf,
and an account of the “taming” of the Hillsborough:
http://www.hillsborough.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/TamingoftheHillsboroughRiver.pdf