Our area was occupied by only Indians until Ponce de Leon’s arrival in 1513. Many Spanish explorers followed, including Panfilo de Narvaez in 1528, Hernando de Soto in 1539, and Pedro Menedez in 1565, all in search of gold and acquisition of North American territory. Central Florida was then largely ignored for the next 200 years, while Spain concentrated its efforts on settling eastern Florida.

In 1763, Great Britain obtained Florida in a trade with Spain for Havana. Twenty years later, Spain captured Pensacola and re-acquired Florida by right of conquest in the Treaty of Paris. The United States purchased lorida from Spain in 1821 for a sum of five million dollars. Andrew Jackson was  ppointed territorial governor of Florida. In 1845, Florida became the 27th state.

Bernard Romans, a cartographer (map maker), named the Hillsborough Bay for Lord Hillsborough, British Secretary of State for the colonies, in 1772. By 1834, the Territorial Legislature designated about five million acres (which now forms five counties) to create Hillsborough County.

In 1835, Major Francis Dade and his troops marched into what is now Dade City. It was here that the Seminole Indians demonstrated their resistance to leaving the area with the massacre of Major Dade’s command. A year later, Fort Dade was built on the south bank of the Withlacoochee River.

Subsequent to the construction of railroads through the area in 1887, Pasco County was established by the Florida Legislature. It was named to honor Samuel Pasco, a Confederate veteran and chairman of the 1885 Florida Constitutional Convention. Pasco also became a United States Senator. 

Henry B. Plant’s railroad was expanding in 1883 and new industries were fostered. Plant City was named after the railroad magnate, Henry Plant, who had a great impact on the area. After the introduction of his railroad, he started a steamship line from Tampa to Key West to Havana, Cuba. He had obtained a U.S. Mail contract for this route and also developed a splendid passenger trade. In the 1890’s, Plant opened the Tampa Bay Hotel. The ornate structure contributed to making Tampa a popular winter resort area. Its Moorish architecture with its l3 silver minarets is a renowned landmark serving as the administrative headquarters for the present-day University Of Tampa.

Vincente Martinex Ybor brought his cigar manufacturing facility to the area-Ybor City-from Key West in 1886, and numerous cigar plants soon were opened. By 1927, Tampa was known as the ‘Cigar City’ with 159 cigar factories in the city employing 13,000 persons. Production of cigars that year totaled 479,000,000. That industry still exists today, and the Latin influence has greatly shaped the cultural heritage of the Tampa Bay Area.

Another prosperous industry is Florida citrus. Around 1845, members of the Tucker family planted the first orange grove in Pasco County. Thought there had been many wild groves, this was the first with deliberately planted rows. Lykes-Pasco (formerly Pasco Packing Company) became a pioneer developer of citrus concentrate and the world’s largest citrus packing plant. With the introduction of the railroad, the area became a hub for citrus distribution. The industry survived and thrived after many harsh freezes.

Florida is one of the nation’s leading tourist centers today, as it was at the turn of the century. In the early l900’s, Sulphur Springs swimming pool was a popular recreation site. Thousands of bathers would frequent the superb swimming hole, which was said to be one of the finest bathing resorts in the country. The temperature of the water was 72 degrees throughout the year. The Spring had a flow of approximately 60,000 gallons per minute. In 1904, Josiah Richardson purchased the area and developed the Sulphur Springs Arcade. In 1927, he built a water tower that today stands as a landmark on Florida Avenue.

Our area has been home to many military bases throughout its history, from Fort Dade to the MacDill Field U.S. Army Air Base, which was built in 1939 and officially activated in 1941. The base was named in honor of Col. Leslie MacDill who was killed in an air crash near Washington, D.C. During WWII. Today the base is an Air Mobility Command Installation. The host unit is the 6th Air Refueling Wing.

As the population grew, the area and industry flourished to make Hillsborough and surrounding counties a commerce center and popular vacation destination. It features a diversified mix of economic and recreational opportunities.