Page 36: Concluding thoughts on learning what is important in Riverview, Florida

Norma Goolsby Frazier, for whose family "Goolsby Plaza" on Boyette Rd is named, and the leading author on the history of the Riverview area, wrote in her book, A Light in the Wilderness:

"The early community of Peru on the south bank of the Alafia River, to which Benjamin F. Moody came in 1842, and Riverview, founded in 1885 on the north bank of the river, coexisted until about 1957, at which time the early settlement of Peru, one of the oldest in Hillsborough County, remained only in the minds of its early settling families.  Since that time, the land lying south of the Alafia as well as that to its north, have been collectively referred to as Riverview."

"This enticing wilderness offered the promise of sustainment for those early settlers in its abundant food supply; [and] shelter could be provided from its rich store of timber woods. Strangers far from the home they had known since birth, would be revitalized with the warmth, security and hope which radiated from the natural beauty it possessed."

My wife Terri and I know that for many people reading this web site, Riverview is that new home.  Your family too will be revitalized by Riverview's natural beauty.  As you learn more about Riverview, we know you will find that in the 160 years since the first U.S. Army veterans like Benjamin F. Moody settled here, Riverview's residents should now be added to the list of Riverview's best resources.  You make Riverview that wonderful place along the Alafia.

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