Route #96 Brandon – Valrico – Hopewell – Fort Lonesome – Wimauma

This route #96 covers 60 miles through Hillsborough County, crossing a diverse landscape that ranges from the dense suburban outskirts of Tampa to the quiet rural interior. The journey links early settlements founded after Florida became part of the United States, many of them originally tied to agriculture, timber, or railroads, and today preserved as small communities or near–ghost towns.

The ride begins in Brandon, a former farming area that expanded rapidly along State Road 60 and evolved into a major suburban center. Nearby Limona was one of the earliest winter retreat communities for settlers from the northern states, promoted in the late nineteenth century as a seasonal destination. From there, the route continues to Valrico—its name meaning “Rich Valley”—which shifted in only a few decades from farmland to a densely populated residential area.

The path moves on toward Turkey Creek, where the memory of the old “Strawberry Schools” still reflects how local life once revolved around seasonal harvests. Further ahead lie Sidney, Hopewell, and Bealsville, the latter founded by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War. Beyond these communities, the scenery changes dramatically as vast open pits reveal the long impact of phosphate mining, a defining industry of central Florida since the late nineteenth century.

At the Alafia River, the route enters a region shaped by centuries of history. Its reddish waters, colored by tannins and minerals, already appeared on sixteenth-century Spanish maps from the expeditions of Hernando de Soto and Pánfilo de Narváez. The riverbanks were once home to the Tocobaga people and later became corridors for early settlers. Nearby Aldermans Ford recalls a former crossing point and a traditional gathering place for local political campaigns.

The ride continues through Fort Lonesome, a place whose name is linked to stories of isolation, and into Balm, where railroads and agriculture once sustained the local economy. In Wimauma, founded in 1902 and named from the initials of its promoter’s daughters, the agricultural character remains strong, now supported largely by Central American migrant workers.

From Wimauma, the return follows U.S. 301 north through Sun City Center, a retirement community established in the 1960s, and Riverview, which grew along the Alafia River after early phosphate operations. The loop closes back in Brandon, completing a route that reflects more than a century of social, economic, and environmental change in the heart of Florida.

This route can be found in Discovering Florida – Volume 4.