HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, the home of MacDill Air Force Base, is located midway down the west coast of Florida and covers 1,048 square miles of land and 215 square miles of water. The county has three incorporated cities; Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace. Most of the county is unincorporated and is therefore under the jurisdiction of the county government. Hillsborough County has a diverse population of approximately 1.2 million people (of which approximately 350,000 live in Tampa, the county seat). It is the largest county in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area and the fourth largest in the state.

HISTORY
The Spanish first mapped and explored the area in the early 16th century, but it was the British who conferred the name Hillsborough, in honor of their colonial secretary of 1772, Wills Hill. The United States purchased Florida in 1821 from Spain for $5 million making it a U.S. territory in 1822. On Jan. 25, 1834, the U.S. Legislative Council for the Territory of Florida officially recognized Hillsborough as the territory's 19th county. Florida became the 27th state on March 3, 1845. In 1846 county commissioners met to discuss taxes, transportation, a new court house and development.

On Jan. 10, 1861 Florida seceded from the United States and along with six other states formed the Confederate States of America in February 1861. The American Civil War ensued in April 1861 and the area was blockaded by Union forces to cut off the flow of external money and supplies to the Confederates. The most famous battles in the region were the Battle of Tampa in 1862 and the Battle of Fort Brooke in 1863. With the Confederate defeat in 1865 federal troops occupied Fort Brooke and the city of Tampa until 1869.

With very little industry and transportation access the region suffered in the years after the Civil War. The discovery of phosphate, a mineral used to make agricultural fertilizer, in the Bone Valley brought industry and the railroad to Hillsborough County. The railroad allowed phosphate and cigars, a new industry introduced to the area, to be transported north. The railroad and the subsequent arrival of the airplane and automobile also allowed new products and another new industry, tourism, to be brought into the county.

Hillsborough County is taking steps itself to recognize and protect the historical resources in unincorporated parts of the county. The Historic Resources Review Board was established in 1992 with the purpose of identifying buildings and sites as historic landmarks. The Board makes recommendations to the County Commissioners who hold a public hearing to determine if a site should be designated a landmark based on its architectural and historical significance. For a map which details the location of the historical landmarks around the county please visit http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/pgm/communityplanning/historicpreservation.