Feb. 23, 2008
Article Highlights Riverview History
Recent Article on Dan's Bar Offers Clues
to Early Location of
Peru Mining Company
We were thrilled to see an article written by Liz Bleau of the Brandon News & Tribune that provides clues to Riverview's early incarnation as "Peru." Thank you Liz Bleau and the Tampa Tribune!
For a long time now we have been searching for clues to Riverview's History Mystery: the apparently lost location of the Peru Mining Company which was located somewhere along the Alafia River. "Peru" was the original name of the area located on the south side of the Alafia River, which is now known as Riverview. Back in the days of "Peru," the original "Riverview" was the area on the north side of the Alafia River.
Please read the article below to learn about the location of Peru, and about the history of Dan's Bar, and about the future of the area formerly known as "Peru:"
Bar Nears Last Call As Development Looms
Below is a re-posting of an article I wrote about Peru which provides all the clues and information I have discovered to date regarding the early community of "Peru."
Riverview
History Mystery
Can
You Help?
The
Peruvian Mining
Company
We
are looking for clues to
this Riverview History
Mystery:
Does
anyone know where the
original Peruvian Mining
Company was
located along the Alafia
River in what is now
known as Riverview?
The
story:
The
Alafia River,
(pronounced AL-uh-fi,
and not AL-uh-FI-uh by
most speakers) gets its
name from an old Indian
term meaning "River
of Fire" because of
the flashes of light
that could be seen in
the river at night.
Those sparkling streaks
were caused by the
phosphorus in the water.
In the 1890's phosphate
was discovered in this
area and in the Alafia
River. A
phosphate mining
facility was soon built near
where US Highway 301
crosses the river
near the little
settlement in the
area. That
settlement, located on
the south side of the
Alafia River, was
originally named
“Peru” (pronounced
“PEE-ru”).
It seems the small
settlement of Peru
gave its name to the
Peruvian Mining Company
that was built nearby in
the 1890s.
“Peru”
eventually came to be
known as Riverview
(after the Riverview
settlement on the North
side of the Alafia River
also begun in the
1890s).
Recently
I was doing some
research on the name
“Peru” in an attempt
to verify that the
“Peru” settlement
gave its name to the
Peruvian Mining
Company. My
Internet
search took me to some
Native American
websites.
Interestingly
enough, I discovered at
one website called the "Glossary of Indian Names" that
“Peru” is a Miami
Indian word meaning “a
straight place in the
river.” See:
http://users.michweb.net/~orendon/americans/glosary2.html
I
looked at a map and sure
enough, the area thought
to be originally known
as “Peru” does
indeed appear to be
located on “a straight
place in the [Alafia]
river.” I then decided
to check our Atlas to
find out if there were
other “Peru’s”
located in the U.S., and
whether or not they
appeared to be on “a
straight place in the
river.”
I
did not do an exhaustive
search, just a somewhat
amateurish one, but I
found 5 “Peru’s”
in the U.S.:
Peru,
Indiana (the Miami
Indians hometown); Peru,
Illinois; Peru,
Nebraska; Peru, Massachusetts; and
Peru, New York.
All
of these Peru’s are
located on a river.
Coincidence? Well,
it certainly could be.
Or perhaps it is a clue
to the true origins of
the settlement known as
“Peru,” which is now
part of Riverview.
If
you have any information
or clues to share with
us, we would really
appreciate hearing from
you. We’ll pass along
any information we may
get to anyone interested
in this Riverview
History Mystery.
Thanks!
Terri Bakas
tbakas@aol.com
|
Riverview Artists & Writers
