Brandon, Florida facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brandon, Florida
Census-designated place
Westfield Mall in Brandon
Location in Hillsborough County and the state of Florida
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Hillsborough
Founded	1857
Area
• Total	35.00 sq mi (90.64 km2)
• Land	33.13 sq mi (85.82 km2)
• Water	1.86 sq mi (4.83 km2)
Elevation	46 ft (14 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	114,626
• Density	3,459.47/sq mi (1,335.71/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	33508-33511
Area code(s)	813
FIPS code	12-08150
GNIS feature ID	0279329

Brandon is a community in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is not an official city, but a census-designated place (CDP). This means it's a special area defined by the government for counting people. Brandon is part of the larger Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2020, about 114,626 people lived here. This was an increase from 103,483 people in 2010.

History of Brandon

How Brandon Started

John Brandon arrived in Florida in 1857 from Mississippi. He came with his first wife, Martha, and their seven sons. They also brought seven slaves with them. They first settled near Seffner. In 1858, John Brandon bought 40 acres of land in an area called New Hope. He later bought more land and named his property "Brandon."

John and his second wife, Victoria, built their home where Knights Avenue and Victoria Street are today. Four years later, the New Hope Church was built on land donated by Brandon. This church was the first in the community. It also served as Brandon's first school.

In 1890, the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad built tracks through the area. This encouraged people to build a train station on Moon Avenue. Charles S. Noble, a railroad engineer, helped plan out about 40 acres of land. This area was named Brandon to honor John Brandon. Noble Street was named after Charles Noble.

Stowers Funeral Home is a well-known building in Brandon. It was built by James, one of John Brandon's sons.

Brandon in the Early 1900s

Brandon grew steadily over the years. Dan Galvin opened the first general store at Moon Avenue and Victoria Street. In 1905, a new school was built on Parsons Avenue. Victoria Brandon often let new teachers stay at her home.

Nearby, Valrico also began to grow. Lovic, one of Victoria's sons, moved there and opened a general store. Lovic and his brother Mark started the Valrico Baptist Church in 1915. This church later moved to Brandon and became the First Baptist Church in 1930.

Brandon High School historical marker

By 1914, the community needed a bigger school. The Brandon Grade School was built on Knights Avenue. It taught students from first grade all the way to twelfth grade. In 1919, the school had 119 students, its largest class yet. John T. Bushong was the first Principal. He helped the school grow to include 12th grade. In 1923, four students graduated from the school.

The first official count of Brandon's population was in 1922. At that time, only 100 people lived there. In 1925, Hopewell Road became a paved road. Businesses started to open along it. Clarence Hampton opened the first gas station in 1927.

During the 1920s, the Kingsway Poultry Colony was located east of Brandon. Chickens were raised there to be sold in Ybor City. During the Great Depression, these farms closed. Later, in 1946, Bill and Ann Hollash started Brandon Egg. This became the largest egg producer in eastern Hillsborough County. Hollash Eggs closed in the late 1990s. The land was sold to what is now Bell Shoals Baptist Church.

Most people in Brandon worked at orange packing houses in Valrico. The town center was still at Moon Avenue and Victoria Street. This is where the train station, post office, school, and grocery store were. For fun, people often took the train to Tampa. Most roads were dirt, making driving difficult.

During World War II, Brandon did not grow much. But people had plenty of food from their farms. After the war, new businesses opened. A drug store with a soda fountain became a popular spot for teenagers. In 1950, Scogin's variety store opened. In 1953, Brandon got its first doctor, Dr. V. R. Hunter.

The 1950s marked the start of Brandon's rapid growth. Yates Elementary was built in 1954. Mann Junior High School followed in 1957. The old Brandon Grade School became the first Brandon High School. In 1956, Hopewell Road connected to Adamo Drive. This made it easier to get to Tampa. Brandon became a "bedroom community" where people lived but worked in Tampa. New neighborhoods, like Hill-Dale Heights, were built. The Brandon News started in 1958 as a small newsletter.

Fast Growth Era

A monument called Memoria in Aeterna was moved to a cemetery in Brandon after protests in 2018.

In 1959, the Brandon Chamber of Commerce was created. It helped promote businesses and growth. By the early 1960s, Brandon had 8,000 people. It was estimated that a new family moved in every day. Brandon began to spread into nearby areas like Limona, Seffner, and Valrico. Hopewell Road became four lanes wide and was named State Road 60.

Soon, Brandon's first shopping center, Brandon Center, was built. Brooker Elementary School and the Brandon Swim and Tennis Club opened. In the next few years, more schools, libraries, and housing developments were built. Many shopping centers and golf courses also appeared. All these new places showed how many new people and businesses were coming to Brandon.

By the 1970s, traffic became a problem due to the growth. There were about 430 businesses and three malls. The population reached 40,000 people.

In the mid-1970s, Hillsborough Community College started holding classes in Brandon schools. Brandon Community Hospital and the Brandon Cultural Center were also built. These showed the population was still growing.

Brandon grew very quickly during the 1980s. Many new residents moved to the southern part of Brandon. On September 27, 1986, Interstate 75 opened through Brandon. This highway changed the community a lot. By 1990, Brandon's population was almost 58,000.

Geography of Brandon

Brandon is located in Florida. To the west, across U.S. Route 301, is Palm River-Clair Mel. To the east is Valrico. To the south are Riverview and Bloomingdale. To the north are East Lake-Orient Park, Mango, and Seffner.

Brandon is about 11 miles east of downtown Tampa. It is also about 14 miles southwest of Plant City. Interstate 75 runs through the western part of Brandon. You can get on I-75 from Exits 256 and 257. Interstate 4 is about 4 miles north of Brandon's center. You can access I-4 from Exits 7, 9, and 10.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Brandon covers about 35 square miles (90.6 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, with a small part being water.

Some neighborhoods within Brandon include Barrington Oaks East, Brandon Hills, Kensington Estates, La Viva, and Limona.

Climate in Brandon

Brandon has a humid subtropical climate. This means it has long, hot summers and mild, dry winters. Summers average around 85°F (29°C). Winters average around 62°F (17°C).

Brandon gets a lot of rain, about 44 inches (1100 mm) each year. Unlike Tampa, Brandon usually has a few nights below freezing each year. This is because it is further from the coast.

Population Data

Recent Population Counts

In 2020, Brandon had 114,626 people living in 43,475 households. About 27,409 of these were families.

In 2010, there were 103,483 people and 37,919 households. About 25,816 of these were families.

Languages Spoken

As of 2000, most people in Brandon (85.24%) spoke English as their first language. About 14.75% spoke other languages. The most common other language was Spanish, spoken by 11.07% of the population. German was the third most spoken language (0.57%), followed by Tagalog (0.44%).

Brandon's Economy

Westfield Shopping Center Mall (formerly Brandon Town Center)

Brandon is known as a "bedroom community" for Tampa. This means many people live in Brandon but work in Tampa. Brandon is also home to several businesses that have been around for a long time.

One famous business that started in Brandon is Beef O'Brady's. This is a family-friendly restaurant chain. It has locations all over the southeastern United States.

Arts and Culture

Brandon is home to the Florida Academy for the Performing Arts. This academy is located at Music Showcase.

County Fair

Hillsborough County Fair

The Hillsborough County Fairgrounds are on the west side of Brandon, on SR 60. Since 2011-2012, the Hillsborough County Fair has been held here permanently. Before that, the fair was held in different places. The fair usually takes place in October.

Brandon Regional Library

The Brandon Regional Library is a large, two-story library. It serves the communities of Brandon, Valrico, and Lithia. It is part of the Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System. The library opened at its current spot on March 10, 1991. The building is about 25,000 square feet. The library shares a building with Center Place Fine Arts and Civic Association. However, both groups operate separately.

Plans are being made to build a new, bigger library in Brandon. The current library is too small and doesn't have enough parking. The county government has approved money to buy a new location. The new project will be paid for with local taxes and a grant from the Florida Department of State.

Education in Brandon

Public schools in Brandon are managed by the Hillsborough County Public School system.

There is one public high school in Brandon:

• Brandon High School: This school was established in 1914. It was the second high school created in Hillsborough County.

Public middle schools include:

• Burns Middle School
• McLane Middle School
• Mann Middle School

Public elementary schools include:

• Brooker Elementary School
• Kingswood Elementary School
• Limona Elementary School
• Schmidt Elementary School
• Yates Elementary School
• Mintz Elementary School

Private schools in Brandon are:

• Bell Shoals Baptist Academy
• Brandon Academy Private School
• Central Baptist School
• Faith Baptist
• Nativity Catholic School
• Immanuel Lutheran School
• Providence Christian School

Colleges in Brandon include:

• Emmaus Baptist College
• Hillsborough Community College (Brandon campus): Over 12,000 students attended in 2015.
• Southern Technical College: This college also has a campus in Brandon.

Transportation

Brandon is mainly served by bus lines from Hillsborough Area Regional Transit. There are four local bus lines and three express lines.

Notable People from Brandon

Many interesting people have come from Brandon, Florida:

• Brooke Bennett: A swimmer who won three Olympic gold medals.
• Tony Cristiani: A football player.
• "Nasty" Ronnie Galetti: A professional wrestler and singer for the band Nasty Savage.
• Chris Gannon: A football player born in Brandon.
• Franklin Gómez: An Olympic freestyle wrestler for Puerto Rico. He was also a college wrestling champion.
• Joey Graham: A professional basketball player.
• Stevie Graham: A professional basketball player.
• Sterling Hitchcock: A professional baseball player.
• Toney Mack: A professional basketball player.
• Admiral Charles D. Michel: The 30th Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard.
• Paul Orndorff: A professional wrestler.
• Dwayne Schintzius: A professional basketball player.
• Shannon Spruill: A professional wrestler known as Daffney.
• Brent Underwood: An entrepreneur.

See also

In Spanish: Brandon (Florida) para niños