General Info

The area that became known as River Ranch once served as a stopping point along the trail for the cracker cowboys during their cattle drives across the state. History has recorded some of the early day cattle drives as having anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 head of cattle on a single drive. Since Florida was an open range without any fenced pastures, cattle rustling was prevalent throughout the state. In 1861, the State of Florida divided Hillsborough County into Eastern and Western halves - the Eastern half was named Polk in honor of James Knox Polk, the 11th President of the United States. River Ranch lies near the Eastern border of Polk County.