Alafia, Florida | |
|---|---|
  Alafia  Alafia | |
| Coordinates: 27°53′11″N82°7′38″W / 27.88639°N 82.12722°W Coordinates: 27°53′11″N82°7′38″W / 27.88639°N 82.12722°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Hillsborough |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Alafia is an unincorporated community in southeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, between Plant City and Lithia near the intersection of Keysville Road (county road 676) and Florida State Road 39.
Alafia is one of Hillsborough County's oldest communities, dating to circa 1842 when Prussian immigrants, including Antoine Wordehoff, settled in the area, soon to be joined by a number of families under the auspices of the Armed Occupation Act. An armed garrison for monitoring the Seminoles was established in 1849, and settlers soon followed. By 1970 the community comprised 442 people. [1]
The community of Alafia is served by Hillsborough County Schools.
Hillsborough County is 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.
FishHawk is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Tampa, Florida, and includes a portion of the community of Lithia. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 14,087, up from 1,991 at the 2000 census. The place name is derived from Little Fishhawk Creek, a tributary of the Alafia River that joins the Alafia just west of Lithia Springs.
Riverview is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is located south of Brandon. The population was 107,396 in the 2020 census, up from 71,050 in the 2010 census.
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. Lithia is home to the 2,963-acre (1,199 ha) Alafia River Corridor and 5,515-acre (2,232 ha) Chito Branch Reserve.
East Tampa is an unincorporated community in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is partially within the census-designated place (CDP) of Gibsonton. The ZIP code for East Tampa is 33619.
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.
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.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District, is one of five regional agencies directed by Florida state law to protect and preserve water resources. Established in 1961 the agency operates and maintains several large properties and flood protection projects, sometimes with other agencies. The District's responsibilities have expanded to include managing water supply and protecting water quality and the natural systems — rivers, lakes, wetlands and associated uplands.The District's stated mission is to protect water resources, minimize flood risks and ensure the public’s water needs are met.
Tampa Bay Water (TBW) is a regional wholesale drinking water utility that serves customers in the Tampa Bay, Florida region. The agency is a special district of the state created by inter-local agreement among six member governments. A nine-member board of directors composed of two elected commissioners from each member county and one elected representative from each member city oversees the policy decisions of the agency. The member governments that make up the board of directors are: The cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg, Florida, and Tampa, and Hillsborough County, Pasco County, and Pinellas County. These member governments provide water to over 2.5 million citizens.
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.
Schultz Preserve is a 120-acre nature preserve south of Gibsonton, Florida in Hillsborough County, Florida. It is managed by Hillsborough County and includes estuarine and freshwater wetlands, artificial reefs, and coastal lands in the northern part of Port Redwing. It was purchased by Southwest Florida Water Management District in 1995 and restored. Oyster bars and seagrasses have returned. It is named for Tampa Bay's first Audubon Society game warden. and is maintained by Hillsborough County. The area offers picnicking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, snorkeling, bird watching and nature study opportunities. The preserve is part of the Alafia River watershed. It is being considered for a ferry terminal.
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 FishHawk 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 FishHawk Blvd. and is identified by a north and a south section. The north section of the preserve includes a 2.2 mile 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-mile 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.
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.
Peru, Florida was a town in Hillsborough County, Florida, that was later absorbed into Riverview. It was initially settled in 1843 on the South bank of the Alafia River at what is now US Highway 301 by Benjamin Moody and others who came to claim land under the "Armed Occupation Act of Florida" which was passed in 1842 and granted 160 acres of land to any head of family or any single man who would bear arms and live on the land in a house for five years. The name was pronounced "Pe-Roo", as Peru was a native name meaning "straight part of the river". The town existed for almost 100 years before being absorbed into Riverview in the 1940s.
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