A Landscape Worth Fighting For: The History of Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park

A Future Park’s Early History

The shores of Upper Tampa Bay Park were once home to thriving Indigenous communities who relied on the bay's rich estuaries for food, transportation, and trade. Archaeological evidence shows that people have lived along the shores of Tampa Bay for at least 2,000 years, although Native peoples occupied Florida for thousands of years before that. The mangrove forests, tidal creeks, shellfish beds, and abundant fisheries provided everything needed to support permanent settlements.

By the time Spanish explorers arrived in the early sixteenth century, the region around present-day Tampa, Oldsmar, and Safety Harbor was inhabited by the Tocobaga people. The Tocobaga were part of what archaeologists call the Safety Harbor culture, named after the archaeological site in present-day Safety Harbor where many important discoveries have been made. Their villages stretched along the coast of northern Tampa Bay, and their influence extended throughout much of west-central Florida.

Artifacts found in shell middens in the park are on display in the nature center.
For more information, see "2,000 Years Later..."

The Tocobaga built impressive shell mounds from generations of discarded oyster, clam, and whelk shells. Far more than refuse piles, these mounds are believed to have served as foundations for homes, ceremonial structures, and community gathering places. Some grew several stories high and became lasting landmarks overlooking the bay. Similar shell middens and mounds can still be found throughout the region, and found relics from these mounds can be seen at the Upper Tampa Bay Park nature center, offering a tangible connection to the people who lived here centuries before European settlement.

Fishing camp at Double Branch Bay, November 3, 1919. Burgert Brothers.
Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

After contact, and before Tampa Bay was known for cigars and shipping, the land of Upper Tampa Bay Park and Double Branch Bay preserve was used for the naval stores industry as well as fish camps. While northern Florida and the Florida Panhandle were the state's largest producers of turpentine and rosin, the pine forests surrounding Tampa Bay supported numerous turpentine camps and small distilleries during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

Workers extracted pine resin by cutting V-shaped scars, known as "cat faces," into living pine trees. Metal gutters directed the sticky resin into clay or metal cups attached to the trunks. Every few weeks the collected resin was hauled by wagon to nearby stills, where it was distilled into turpentine and rosin.

By the mid-twentieth century, most of the region's turpentine camps had disappeared, but visitors occasionally find old cat face scars on mature pines that were once worked for turpentine. Archaeologists have also uncovered remnants of turpentine camps, including brick still foundations, clay “herty” cups, metal gutters, and rusted collection equipment.

Turpentine industry timber cruiser tapping pine tree sap, Note: the catface markings.
1910-1915. Guy V. Sparlin. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library

A Peninsula with Many Futures

Long before it became one of Hillsborough County's most treasured natural areas, Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park and nearby Double Branch Bay Preserve (formerly known locally as “the Bower Tract”) were at the center of decades of ambitious development proposals, political debate, and grassroots conservation efforts. The story of the park is one of a place that narrowly escaped becoming everything from a university campus to a planned “city” before finally being preserved as a window into Florida's natural heritage.

The land now known as Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park occupies part of the historic Bower Tract, a coastal peninsula on the northern edge of Old Tampa Bay. Its waterfront location made it highly desirable to developers throughout the twentieth century.

The location of Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park and Double Branch Bay Nature Preserve, formerly "The Bower Tract." Google Earth. Click to enlarge.

One of the earliest and most surprising proposals came in 1956, when the Bower Tract was considered as the future home of the newly established University of South Florida. Pinellas County leaders promoted the scenic waterfront location, while Hillsborough County advocated for an abandoned airfield in northeast Tampa.

Nature, however, had other plans. On the very day the university's site selection committee visited the Bower Tract, a storm pushed bay waters across the property and flooded nearby Hillsborough Avenue. The dramatic display highlighted the site's vulnerability to flooding, and the higher, drier location ultimately won the competition. The University of South Florida was built on its present campus instead, sparing the Bower Tract from large-scale development.

The university proposal was only the beginning. Developers later envisioned transforming the Courtney Campbell Parkway into a massive levee, converting the upper reaches of Tampa Bay into a 17-square-mile freshwater reservoir known as Bay Lake. Promoted in the 1960’s as massive development and population growth was polluting the bay to extreme levels, the project promised drinking water for a growing region but would have dramatically altered one of Tampa Bay's most productive estuaries. After years of political debate, delays, and growing opposition from conservationists, the proposal was finally abandoned in 1969.

The original Courtney Campbell Causeway, and northeast shore of Old Tampa Bay. If turned into a levee, the water to the right in the image would become the 17 square mile "Bay Lake."
April 3, 1959, Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System

Other development plans were equally ambitious, including proposals for a “modern city” complete with high-rise condominiums, shopping centers, and extensive waterfront development. Tampa locals, however, were displeased with these ideas and could see the writing on the wall for the health of Tampa Bay and the Gulf. 

The Vision of a Regional Park

While developers imagined dramatic changes to the landscape, another vision slowly gained momentum. In the mid-century, environmentalism and conservation efforts were beginning to gain popularity as post-war population growth, highways, and new technologies were changing the way we lived – sometimes in detrimental ways to the environment. Famously Marjory Stoneman Douglas’ 1947 book The Everglades: River of Grass transformed public perception of the Everglades from an obstacle to development into one of the world's unique ecosystems. Her work inspired generations of Floridians to become advocates for wetland conservation. 

Scientists, anglers, birdwatchers, and conservation organizations fought proposals that threatened the sensitive habitats of Florida. Volunteer organizations such as local chapters of the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, garden clubs, and newly formed environmental groups mobilized citizens through letter-writing campaigns, public meetings, educational programs, and lawsuits. Their efforts helped shift public opinion into recognizing wild Florida forests and wetlands not as “future development sites,” but as essential ecosystems that filter water, reduce flooding, and support wildlife. 

Paid advertisement from Phil Woods Jr encouraging locals to attend a hearing to voice their concerns about dredging in the Bower Tract. An example of efforts by locals to have a large voice in the conservation of Tampa Bay. 
The Tampa Tribune, April 17, 1970

In 1964, the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council proposed preserving part of the Bower Tract, a peninsular piece in the western end partially owned by the Tampa Port Authority, as a regional park. Hillsborough County commissioners supported the idea but lacked the financial resources to acquire the property.

The opportunity came through an agreement with the Tampa Port Authority, which had acquired approximately 400 acres of the Bower Tract in exchange for submerged lands associated with harbor improvements. The Port Authority hoped to sell the land to Hillsborough County, but for years the county struggled to assemble the necessary funding. 

The proposal resurfaced repeatedly throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970’s when a breakthrough came in 1972; the Tampa Port Authority formally agreed to sell the property to Hillsborough County for $450,000. Although funding for development still needed to be secured, the purchase marked an important step toward turning decades of planning into reality.

Building a Park in the Wilderness

Following the passage of Hillsborough County's 1976 parks bond program to help fund the Upper Tampa Bay Park site along with Alderman’s Ford and the yet-unnamed Lettuce Lake, work finally began. Students in the Chamberlain High School Youth Conservation Corps became an unexpected part of the park's story, spending weeks constructing more than 1,300 feet of boardwalk through what students involved described as a “remote wilderness” with no electricity or restroom facilities.

Chamberlain High School's Youth Conservation Corps built boardwalks at Upper Tampa Bay, Eureka Springs, Nature's Classroom, and other environmental sites in the 1980's.
East Hillsborough Tribune, July 11, 1981.

Creating a park on the low-lying coastal landscape proved anything but simple, and development was continually challenged by the very landscape planners hoped to preserve. Poor soil conditions complicated construction. Mosquitoes swarmed work crews. Fires swept across nearly half the property. Floodwater damaged newly completed buildings. An active bald eagle nest required careful protection, and environmental regulations demanded that every aspect of construction receive extensive review.

The park was open to classes for field trips and nature study while still under construction, which was hampered by flood, fire, and more. 
The Tampa Tribune, August 5, 1982

Rather than forcing the land to fit traditional park amenities, planners working under Joel Jackson's direction changed course. Original concepts that included a swimming pool, campground, concession stands, and boat ramp were abandoned in favor of a design that celebrated the site's natural features. It was an innovative philosophy for its time: work with the landscape instead of changing it.

Opening a Window into Tampa Bay

Upper Tampa Bay Park and it’s environmental studies center unofficially opened in 1982 to Hillsborough Community College students and field trips from public schools throughout Hillsborough. The following year when construction was fully completed, it officially welcomed the public with a grand opening celebration in June.

Rob Heath, Governor Bob Graham, Sally Thompson, and Joel Jackson at the dedication event.
Photo courtesy Sally Thompson's collection. 

Today, Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park stands as a testament to decades of thoughtful planning, public advocacy, and environmental stewardship. The 600-acre park offers visitors something increasingly rare - a chance to experience coastal Florida as it had existed for centuries. While things have been updated, the heart of Upper Tampa Bay Park hasn’t changed much since 1982. Nature trails and elevated boardwalks wind through pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, palmettos, marshes, mangroves, and expansive salt barrens. Fiddler crabs scurry across tidal flats while ospreys, eagles, raccoons, bobcats, and countless other species find refuge within the protected landscape.

At the heart of the park stands an environmental studies center designed to educate visitors about the importance of Tampa Bay's coastal ecosystems, the history of Florida, and view live local species protected by the park. Schools and families have long adopted the park as an outdoor classroom, where students could study marine biology, ecology, and wildlife.

    Despite renovations through the years, the Nature Center still excites visitors.

Amenities have changed; kayaks and canoes are available to rent, an upgraded playground has replaced the volleyball court, and new shelters and benches are on the way in the coming year. Small improvements here and there, but much of the acreage remains unbothered by park guests. 

A Park Worth Preserving

More than forty years after welcoming its first visitors, the park continues to fulfill the hope expressed by Joel Jackson during its development: that future generations would look back with gratitude at the decision to preserve this remarkable corner of Tampa Bay, allowing its mangroves, marshes, wildlife, and history to endure.

A "cat faced" tree stump stands at Double Branch Bay Preserve, standing as a testament to the long history of the site.

What about the Bower Tract? The purchase and development of Upper Tampa Bay Park lit a fire under those who would protect the rest of the land. You can visit the Double Branch Bay preserve today, a couple parking spots and a walk-through gate are available just off the bustling Hillsborough Avenue, leading you to a coastal retreat seldom visited. Keep your eyes peeled for a future Trailblazer article about the rest of the Bower Tract’s story. 

Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park
8001 Double Branch Rd
Open 8am - 6pm
$2 per vehicle