I


bet if you were to ask where Hillsborough County, Florida, is located, most people couldn’t point to it on a map. However, if


I asked about the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg, both within Hillsborough County, there would be instant recognition. Although it may lack in name recognition, Florida’s fourth- largest county by population is rich in history and progressively serves its 1.4 million citizens and seasonal visitors on many fronts.


The 1,266-square-mile county was established in 1834 and was named for Wills Hill, the Earl of Hillsborough, who served as British Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1768 to 1772.


I found an interesting historical tie to aviation in my research: did you know that Hillsborough County was home to the world’s first scheduled airline service? Tom Benoist signed the world’s first airline contract on Dec. 17, 1913, and began operations on New Year’s Day 1914. The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line began flying passengers and cargo on the 23-mile leg from St. Petersburg to Tampa using flying boats. In 1914 the trip from St. Petersburg to Tampa could be two hours by boat, 20 hours by car, or 4-12 hours by train. But it was only 23 minutes by flying boat.


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