A Town Named Harney

One hundred years ago, when Bertha Palmer was setting up a hunting preserve called Riverhills (future site of Temple Terrace) there already was a bustling little town in this area.  That town was Harney, Florida.  In 1911 the Harney postmaster was delivering mail to about 300 residents.

“Downtown” Harney was probably located in that area where the railroad tracks once ran under Sligh Avenue and then skirted the Hillsborough River.  Are you familiar with Ashe Glass & Mirror along Harney Road?  If I’m not mistaken, that area was once central Harney.

By the 1930s Harney was almost a ghost town:  the total population was 25 people.

Another ghost town that was a contemporary of Harney was a place called “Idlewild Park” or “Peck.”  At least there was a railroad station called “Idlewild Park” located roughly in the vicinity of the present day Hilltop Dog Park on the railroad line that ran from Tampa through Harney to Thonotosassa.

Eventually a branch to that same line was built which ran from Harney Road northward through a railroad cut behind Alanbrooke Street and crossed the Hillsborough River at the end of Whiteway Drive.  It then continued westward to Henderson Field and the Busch Brewery. 

My version of our local history is somewhat speculative.  If you’re interested in exploring better researched local history you can check out the Temple Terrace Preservation Society or read the recently published book Images of America – Temple Terrace.