Lithia, Florida

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Lithia, Florida
Unincorporated community
Lithia Springs, Florida canoe launch January 4, 2015.jpg
Lithia Springs canoe ride
USA Florida location map.svg
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Lithia
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Lithia
Coordinates: 27°51′01″N82°10′29″W / 27.85028°N 82.17472°W / 27.85028; -82.17472
Country United States
State Florida
County Hillsborough
Elevation
105 ft (32 m)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
33547, 33596
Area code 813
GNIS feature ID285575

Lithia is an unincorporated community in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Tampa. The ZIP codes are 33547, 33596, and the area code is 813. It is part of the census-designated place (CDP) of Fish Hawk. [1] Lithia is home to the 2,963-acre (1,199 ha) Alafia River Corridor and 5,515-acre (2,232 ha) Chito Branch Reserve.

Contents

Description

The swimming area at Lithia Springs Park The swimming area at Lithia Springs Park, Florida January 4, 2015.jpg
The swimming area at Lithia Springs Park
Lithia Post Office Lithia, Florida Post Office May 7, 2016.png
Lithia Post Office

Lithia is a small unincorporated community and home to Lithia Springs Regional Park, Alderman's Ford Regional Park, and the C.W. Bill Young Reservoir. The elevation ranges from less than 8 feet (2.4 m) above sea level at Lithia Springs to 105 feet (32 m) south of the post office.

The community has a rich history in agriculture, saw mills, and phosphate mining. In the late 1990s, Newland Communities purchased 3,000 acres (12 km2) to develop Fishhawk Ranch. Fishhawk Trails was developed by another company, and more public works and retail stores are currently in development. [2]

History

Prior to the advent of white settlers in 1846, Lithia had been variously inhabited by Native American tribes, such as the Tocobaga, Muskogan (Creek), Tomokan, Caloosa, some of whom were mentioned by the Spanish in the 1600s, [3] and later the Seminole. Settlers from Georgia arrived in 1847. In 1848, James Alderman created a ford on the Alafia River at the site of present-day Alderman's Ford Park. By the time of the Civil War, Alderman's cattle ranching operation ran to around 30,000 head of cattle. [4] Around 1900, lithium was discovered in the waters of a spring (now known as Lithia Spring Major), which resulted in the naming of the community to "Lithia". [5]

On February 21, 2017, United Parcel Service tested a vehicle-launched drone delivery in Lithia. [6]

Lithia is the closest community to the coordinates listed as the launch site by Jules Verne in his 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon .[ citation needed ]

Geography

Lithia is located at (27.85, -82.19); [7] or about 18 miles (29 km) ESE of Tampa. [8] [9]

Education

Public schools:

Private schools:

Economy

Lithia is headquarters for The Mosaic Company's international phosphate division. [10] While most of the community consists of commuters to jobs at MacDill Air Force Base and elsewhere, there is still a large agricultural component with strawberry growers, citrus, tropical fish, [11] blueberries and other crops. Lithia has also become a shooting destination, with one public and several private shooting ranges, as well as a sporting clays range. [12]

Notable people

See also

Flag of Florida.svg Floridaportal

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsborough County, Florida</span> County in Florida, United States

Hillsborough County is a county located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. In the 2020 census, the population was 1,459,762, making it the fourth-most populous county in Florida and the most populous county outside the Miami metropolitan area. A 2021 estimate has the population of Hillsborough County at 1,512,070 people with a yearly growth rate of 1.34%, which itself is greater than the populations of 12 states according to their 2019 population estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Tampa. Hillsborough County is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fish Hawk, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

Fish Hawk is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Tampa, and includes a portion of the community of Lithia. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 24,625. The place name is derived from Little Fishhawk Creek, a tributary of the Alafia River that joins the Alafia just west of Lithia Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant City, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverview, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valrico, Florida</span> Census-designated place in Florida, United States

Valrico is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. As of 2020 the population was 37,895.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alafia River</span> River in Florida, United States

The Alafia River is 25 miles (40 km) long, with a watershed of 335 square miles (870 km2) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, flowing into Tampa Bay. The watershed contains ten named lakes and ponds, and 29 named rivers, streams and canals. During the rainy season, excess water is pumped to the new C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, which opened in 2005. The river is formed by two prongs. The north prong starts south of Mulberry and runs for 23.9 miles until it meets the south prong in Lithia. The south prong begins south of Bradley Junction and continues for 28.7 miles. The combined river then flows 24.7 miles west into Tampa Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alafia River State Park</span> State park in Florida, United States

Alafia River State Park is a Florida State Park, located near Picnic in Hillsborough County in central Florida, 17 miles southeast of Tampa on County Road 39. Even before it became a park, the area, and particularly Hurrah Lake, was the center of leisure activities since the early 1880s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newsome High School (Florida)</span> Public high school in Lithia, Florida

Joe E. Newsome High School is a public high school that was established in 2003 on Fishhawk Boulevard in Lithia, Florida, United States. It is named in honor of Joe E. Newsome, a Plant City pharmacist and businessman who served as a board member of the School District of Hillsborough County, Florida, for 24 years.

Edward Medard Park and Preserve, originally known as Pleasant Grove Reservoir Park, is located south of Plant City, Florida, on Turkey Creek Road in Hillsborough County, Florida. The 1,284-acre (5.20 km2) park just north of Durant, Florida was the site of phosphate mining in the 1960s by the American Cyanamid Company, before the land was donated. A dike and 770-acre (3.1 km2) reservoir were created in 1970 to provide flood protection along the Alafia River. The lake has a very extensive and irregular shoreline, and great variation is found in the lake bottom as well. The park is maintained by the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department, and has camping, picknicking, and other facilities. Three long piers offer the ability to launch fairly large vessels, although the lake has a no-wake restriction. Additional opportunities for various sports and aquatic activities are available at the popular spot which attracts approximately 250,000 visitors a year.

The Balm-Boyette Scrub Nature Preserve is a 5,723-acre (2,316 ha) preserve located in Hillsborough County, Florida. It was purchased through joint funding from the County's Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP) and the State of Florida's Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) Program. While it consists largely of abandoned phosphate pits, it has a large area of undisturbed scrub habitat. Natural habitats within the site include sand pine scrub, xeric oak scrub, pine flatwoods, hardwood hammock, wet prairie, freshwater marsh, cypress swamp, and hardwood swamp. During the 1960s the land was pitted with phosphate mines. The natural waterflow had been altered from its original state into a series of stagnant pools. In 2016, a project was undertaken under the umbrella of Swiftmud's Surface Water Improvement and Management, or SWIM, program. The project will create a "habitat mosaic" with habitat for wading birds as well as upland creatures.

Fish Hawk Creek Nature Preserve is a 3,286-acre (1,330 ha) nature preserve in Hillsborough County, Florida. The preserve is managed by Hillsborough County's Conservation and Environmental Lands Management Department and is located along the riparian corridor of Fish Hawk Creek, a significant tributary of the Alafia River. As a result, the acquisition and protection of the Fish Hawk Creek Nature Preserve has provided an essential link in assuring the long-term protection of a significant regional habitat corridor. Restoration projects have been initiated on the property. Habitats include pine flatwoods, sandhill, Florida scrub, and creek corridors. The preserve is bisected by Fish Hawk Blvd. and is identified by a north and a south section. The north section of the preserve includes a 2.2 mi (3.5 km) hiking trail and can be accessed through Lithia Springs Regional Park in Lithia, Florida. The south portion of the preserve can be accessed through a parking area near the intersection of Boyette Rd. and Balm Rd. and includes a 2 mi (3.2 km) hiking trail.

Alafia River Corridor Nature Preserve is a 4,700 acre area of protected lands in Hillsborough County, Florida. There are two trailheads for the preserves's hiking trails, one located at the north boundary of the Pinecrest Sports Complex on Hwy. 39 approximately one mile north of Hwy. 640 and one located on Hwy. 39 just north of Jameson Rd.

Alafia is an unincorporated community in southeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, between Plant City and Lithia near the intersection of Keysville Road and Florida State Road 39.

Picnic, also known as Hurrah, is an unincorporated community in southeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, between Plant City and Lithia near the intersection of Carter Road and Florida State Road 39. It is best known as the home of Alafia River State Park.

Welcome, is an unincorporated community in southeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, located a quarter mile south of Lithia-Pinecrest Road, two miles east of Pinecrest. Most of the town lies along or just to the west of Keysville Road. It is best known as the home of Alafia River State Park.

Lillibridge is an unincorporated community in southeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, three miles east of Florida State Road 39, near Lithia.

Greater Tampa Bay Area Council serves Scouts in West-Central Florida with the council headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Youth are served in the following nine counties: Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sumter. Greater Tampa Bay Area Council was formed on May 1, 2016, by the merger of Gulf Ridge Council with West Central Florida Council.

Alderman's Ford Preserve, is a preserve and park in Hillsborough County, Florida, in the United States. The park has two public access points for automobiles, from Thompson Road and from Florida State Road 39 as well as numerous access points for horse, foot or canoe access only. Eight miles of equestrian trails are located along the southern portion of the park, which borders Alafia River State Park roughly along the border of Jameson Road. A three mile long hiking loop over the Alafia River, a baseball park, picknicking and canoe rental facilities can be accessed at the Highway 39 entrance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithia Springs Regional Park</span> Park in Lithia, Florida

Lithia Springs Regional Park, is a park in Lithia, Hillsborough County, Florida, in the United States. The park's major attraction is a natural spring from which water flows year-round at a temperature of 72 degrees. Sixty per-cent of the park is surrounded by the Alafia River, into which the water from the spring flows.

References

  1. ↑ Fish Hawk Community website. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  2. ↑ Tbo.com, Jan 11, 2012
  3. ↑ Quesada, Kate. "History of Lithia" . Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  4. ↑ "An American Saga - The Alderman Family in America". www.alderman.50megs.com. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ http://www.hillsborough.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/HILLSBOROUGH_COUNTY_Historic_Resources_Excerpts_Lithia.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  6. ↑ "UPS Is Already Testing Drone Deliveries in Florida" . Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  8. ↑ "US Gazetteer: Boundary Maps, Data, Photos, etc. for 100,485 Locations". www.hometownlocator.com. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  9. ↑ "US Gazetteer: Boundary Maps, Data, Photos, etc. for 100,485 Locations". www.hometownlocator.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Mosaic breaks ground on phosphate headquarters in Lithia". Tampa Bay Times. March 11, 2009. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  11. ↑ Wilmath, Kim (February 10, 2011). "Love is in the water at Rawlins Tropical Fish farm in Lithia". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  12. ↑ Aber, Lisa (May 29, 2014). "FishHawk Sporting Clays - Charity Event" . Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  13. ↑ Fox, Scarlett (October 22, 2012). "Newsome Coach Orlando Greene: From Caribbean to Olympian" . Retrieved March 24, 2016.
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