Spring Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hernando County, Florida, United States. The population was 98,621 at the 2010 census, up from 69,078 at the 2000 census. The American Community Survey estimated the population in 2015 to be 103,197. Spring Hill belongs to Florida's Nature Coast region and is in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area. It is east of Hernando Beach, southwest of Brooksville, and north of Tampa.
History and overview
Florida 2016 - Pine Island - Clearwater Beach, Spring Hill - Florida 2016 - Pine Island - Clearwater Beach, Spring Hill.
Spring Hill first appeared on Hernando County maps as early as 1856 along what is today Fort Dade Avenue just north of the community of Wiscon. The modern Spring Hill was founded in 1967 as a planned community, which was developed by the Deltona Corporation and the Mackle Brothers. The developers originally wanted to call the community Spring Lake and used that as the working name through the development process. They were forced to use a different name due to the name Spring Lake already being in use locally and chose Spring Hill. The plans for the community are identical to the community of Deltona. The Mackle Brothers sold many of the properties and land in the area through intense advertising. It has since become a sprawling semi-city in its own right, though it is an unincorporated area. The main entrance to the original development is marked by the Spring Hill waterfall on Spring Hill Drive and U.S. Route 19 (Commercial Way).
Spring Hill's proximity to Tampa, 40 miles (64Â km) to the south, and the completion of the Suncoast Parkway in 2001 have made the community easily accessible to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.
Geography
Spring Hill is located in southwestern Hernando County at 28°28′44″N 82°32′52″W (28.478929, & 82.547732). It is bordered to the west by Timber Pines; to the north by Weeki Wachee, North Weeki Wachee, High Point, Brookridge, and Wiscon; and to the east by South Brooksville, Garden Grove, and Masaryktown. To the south it is bordered by Shady Hills and Heritage Pines in Pasco County.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Spring Hill has a total area of 62.2 square miles (161.2Â km2), of which 59.8 square miles (154.9Â km2) are land and 2.4 square miles (6.3Â km2), or 3.94%, are water.
Demographics
As of 2010, there were 44,435 households, with 32.1% being vacant. In 2000, there were 28,274 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.74.
In 2010, the CDP the population was spread out with 19.5% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 29.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,861, and the median income for a family was $37,608. Males had a median income of $30,076 versus $21,364 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $17,184. About 15.5% of the population was below the poverty line. 30.2% of all households had an income of less than $25,000 and 60.3% of all households had and income of less than $50,000.
Languages
As of 2000, English spoken as a first language accounted for 88.64% of all residents, while 11.35% spoke other languages as their mother tongue. The most significant were Spanish speakers who made up 5.96% of the population, while Italian came up as the third most spoken language, which made up 1.51%, and German was at fourth, with 1.13% of the population.
Education
Spring Hill has several schools, both public and private, which provide primary and secondary education to local children. There are also several options for higher education that are easily accessible from the Spring Hill area.
Primary and secondary education
Public schools in Spring Hill are part of the Hernando County School Board school system, which oversees all public schools in Hernando County. The main public schools that serve the Spring Hill area are:
High schools
Middle schools
K-8 schools
Elementary schools
In addition to the public schools in Spring Hill, there are several private schools:
- Notre Dame Catholic School (Pre-K to grade 8)
-
- Spring Hill Christian Academy (Pre-K to grade 12)
- Wider Horizons School, a Montessori school (Pre-K to grade 6) and College Preparatory school (junior and senior high school)
- West Hernando Christian School
Higher learning
Spring Hill is home to the 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) Spring Hill Campus of Pascoâ€"Hernando State College. This was the fourth campus built out of the five now in existence.
Libraries
The Hernando County Public Library system operates several libraries in and around the Spring Hill area, such as the West Hernando Branch Library and the Spring Hill Branch Library, which serves as a replacement of the Little Red Schoolhouse Branch Library. The historic Little Red Schoolhouse Branch Library has since been converted into a bookstore whose proceeds benefit the library system.
Healthcare
There are three accredited hospitals in the area, Bayfront Health Spring Hill Hospital, Oak Hill Hospital and the newest, Bayfront Health Brooksville Hospital. With a large senior citizen population, Spring Hill contains many nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities including Spring Hill Health and Rehab, Evergreen Woods Assisted Living Facility and Health South Rehab (an affiliate of Oak Hill Hospital). Bayfront Health Spring Hill and Oak Hill Hospital offer obstetrical services.
Tourism
Nearby Weeki Wachee Springs is home to the famous live mermaid show and Florida's only spring-fed water park, Buccaneer Bay.
Media
There are two print newspapers that serve the area: the Hernando Times (a publication of Tampa Bay Times), and the Hernando Sun.
Spring Hill belongs in the Tampa Bay Area media market, the 13th largest designated market area in the United States.
Notable people
- Ricou Browning, film director, actor (notably as the "Gill Man" in "Creature from the Black Lagoon"), producer, screenwriter, underwater cinematographer, stuntman
- Corey Hill, former UFC fighter and The Ultimate Fighter 5 contestant (deceased)
- Zachary James, opera singer, stage and TV actor (notably as "Lurch" in the Broadway production of The Addams Family)
- Willie Sutton, bank robber
- Huey Whittaker, wide receiver for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League (UFL)
Transportation
Mass transit
Bus service in Spring Hill is provided by THE Bus (The Hernando Express), which serves as Hernando County's main bus system, servicing both Spring Hill and Brooksville. Started in 2002, THE Bus has three main routes, two of which serve the main thoroughfares of Spring Hill, such as Spring Hill Drive and Mariner Boulevard.
Roads
There are several county roads in Spring Hill that serve as major thoroughfares for traffic traveling around and passing through Spring Hill. Below is a list of the county roads that pertain to Spring Hill:
Highways
Spring Hill is bordered to the west by US 19 (named Commercial Way), and to the north by SR 50 (named Cortez Boulevard). The Suncoast Parkway (SR 589) is a toll road that passes through Spring Hill and serves as a connection to Pasco and Hillsborough counties (and, by extension, Tampa) to the south.
Gallery
References
External links
- Hernando County Chamber of Commerce