Interstate 75 forms the western edge of the Riverview CDP, with access from Exits 246, 250, 254, and 256. Other neighboring communities, all unincorporated, are Brandon to the north, Palm River-Clair Mel to the northwest, Progress Village and Gibsonton to the west, Apollo Beach to the southwest, Balm to the south, and FishHawk to the east. The Alafia River flows through the northern part of the CDP and forms part of its northeastern border, separating Riverview from Bloomingdale to the northeast. Riverview is located southeast of the center of Hillsborough County. The first commercial poultry farm in Florida was established by Emmet and Myrtle Tope in Riverview in 1921. The area founded by the Boyette family is now the community of Boyette, located in the eastern part of the Riverview CDP. Some of Peru's or Riverview's settlers include the Barnes, Bourgees, Boyettes, Brandons, Buzbees, Hackneys, Hancocks, Hartleys, Mansfields, Moodys, Simmons, Scotts, Symmes, Topes, Thompsons, Whitts, and the Yeomans. Peru has disappeared from all but the earliest maps. The Riverview name eventually came into usage in the early 1940s by the post office to relieve just such confusion with the mail. The post office periodically was moved from the Riverview side to the Peru side of the river and back, causing much tension. Soon after, a bridge was constructed from sections of a bridge that once spanned the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. The two communities were connected by a river ferry. The area called Riverview began to be populated on the north side of the river. The area's first school was built in 1893, inside the Peru Baptist Church. The term "Alafia" is translated as "River of Fire" due to the phosphorus on the early riverbottom glowing at night. The Peruvian Mining Company, which mined phosphate from the Alafia, took its name from the settlement. It wasn't until the 1940s that Riverview absorbed Peru, and now claims the south side of the Alafia River. Peru existed for nearly 100 years and was one of the oldest settlements in central Florida. However, in the 1830s settlers arrived on the south side of the river at an area formerly known as Peru (pronounced "Pe-Roo") because Peru was an indigenous name for "straight part of the river". Riverview was founded in 1885 on the Alafia River's north shore.
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