Riverview High School

School & Riverview History

Riverview High School was created in order to relieve overcrowding at Bloomingdale High School in 1998.  It originally was going to be named Pizzo High School in honor of an Ybor City Historian, Tony Pizzo.  However, with much community outcry, the school board named it Riverview.

The first principal was J. Vince Thompson who transferred from East Bay High and brought quite a few East Bay HS faculty with him.  The Shark mascot can be attributed to Thompson.  Since Riverview was a combination of East Bay HS, Bloomingdale HS, and Brandon HS, the school crest includes colors from all three schools.

After Mr. Thompson's retirement Robert Heilmann, who was Associate Principal, assumed the helm of school principal and has been principal to date.

http://www1.sdhc.k12.fl.us/~riverviewhigh.school/

Riverview Area:

The area on the south side of the Alafia River has been called Peru (Pea-Roo)since the early 1800's.  Peru is an indian word for "Straight Part of the Riverview".  Peru/Riverview was located near a three mile stretch of the Alafia River.  The name Peru was used long before the north side of the river was called Riverview.  Some incorrectly feel that the name came from the Peruvian Mining Company, who dredged the river for valuable phosphate, but the name predates the mining company by decades.

 

 

The school sits on the citrus grove area of the old Mays farm that was situated on the outskirts of Peru.  Past the property was total wilderness. 

Before any roads were built the only transportation to Tampa was by boat that regularly steamed up the Alafia River.  The townsite of Peru was basically at the junction of Balm-Riverview Rd (original Boyette Rd) and Highway 301. The original ferry, once run by John Leslie (as well as others) , was located just east of the current concrete bridge spanning the Alafia and the old steel bridge was located just west of the existing bridge. John Leslie was an Seminole Indian War & Civil War officer who founded the First Methodist Church of Riverview and was one of their first preachers.

The demise of the Peru name came from the post office.  The post office would move from the north end of the bridge, then called Riverview, to the south end of the bridge in Peru whenever the postmaster would change.  With the confusion the post office authorities just called the entire area Riverview. 

The Peru name disappeared except in the minds and hearts of the original residents.The first school house was located in the Peru Baptist Church in 1893.

Among the names of the first settlers in the region were the Moodys, Boyettes, Bourgees, Thompsons, Whitts, Yeomans, Mansfields, Hackneys, Mays, Goolsbys, and Scotts.
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/fl/peru.html