Temple Crest is a neighborhood and district located northeast of Tampa, Florida. The population was 8,621 at the 2000 census.
Description
Temple Crest boundaries include 30th Street to the west, Temple Terrace to the east, Busch Blvd. to the north, and the Hillsborough River to the south. Nearby attractions include Busch Gardens, a theme-park located immediately north of the neighborhood, and the University of South Florida, whose campus is located less than two miles (3 km) to the north.
History
Temple Crest was part of a property called the Riverhills Ranch. Assembled through 1916 by Bertha Potter Palmer (Chicago and Sarasota) included Temple Crest, Temple Terrace, purchased by Mrs. Potter of Chicago in 1914. After her death her sons eventually sold the land to various developers, including D.C. Gillette who developed the world's largest orange grove, a plantation of of Temple Orange trees. From the Palmer estate was formed Temple Terraces, Inc. (included Temple Crest) and Temple Terrace Estates, Inc.(present day Temple Terrace.)
At the time of its development, Temple Crest was viewed, at the time, as a luxury development, on par with Temple Terrace. On September 12, 1924, further sales of the land called Temple Terraces Inc. was sold to Florida Realty and Mortgage Company for $14,000 and the subdivision was re‑named Temple Crest. The subdivision remained in unincorporated Hillsborough County until it was annexed into Tampa in 1961.
The Hillsborough River
The southern boundary of Temple Crest is the Hillsborough River. (1897) At a cost of $150,000 an electrical dam is built on the river by Consumers Electric Light and Street Railway Company. The dam was located halfway between present-day 40th Street and 56th Street on the Hillsborough River (today's Temple Crest neighborhood.)
(1898) On December 13, 1898 the dam is dynamited by cattle barons angry at the loss of grazing land. They tried three times. The first on January 8, 1897,shortly after construction was completed. When the water is low, remnants of the dynamited dam can be seen.
(1898–99) TECO buys the Consumers Electric Light and Street Railway Company and builds a new electric generating dam downstream at the current sight north of Sulphur Springs.
(1899) Tampa's first water plant is built by the private Tampa Waterworks Company. It pumped well water to supply the City of Tampa until March 6, 1923, when the people voted to purchase the Waterworks plant.
(1910) Hillsborough Bay is channelized to the mouth of the Hillsborough River with the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. In the early 1900s the Hillsborough River watershed is heavily logged for its valuable cypress, pine and oak.6)
(1916) Bertha Potter Palmer (of Chicago and Sarasota) completes purchases of bordering the Hillsborough River in present-day Temple Terrace, Temple Crest, Terrace Park and the University of South Florida area. She calls her property the Riverhills Ranch, a hunting preserve where she builds a lodge and guest houses among other structures. She dies in 1918.
(1923) The city of Tampa builds a water treatment plant to utilize the water supply from the water above the dam.
(1933) In a torrential 24-hour rain, floods wash away the Tampa Electric dam. TECO does not rebuild the dam and turns to other locations for electrical generating plants.
(1944) The city of Tampa completes construction on the current dam, to be used for the purpose of containing drinking water for the city, at the site of the old TECO dam. The old Tampa Waterworks Company is abandoned.
The River Today
The Hillsborough river is home to many endangered species and several large bird rookeries exist. When local students reach sixth grade in Hillsborough County, they take a visit to the river for one to three days to learn about the ecosystem, watershed, and native Florida animals at a place called 'Natures Classroom'. The Hillsborough River dam (originally built in 1895 and since rebuilt) at Rowlett Park allows for the supply water for the City of Tampa.