By 1873, Turkey Creek, named for the wild turkeys in the area, had a post office and a one-room schoolhouse.
By MICHELLE JONES
Published October 10, 2003
Wild turkeys roosted in the brush arbor that settlers built in 1875 along a small branch of the Alafia River. Baptists, under the leadership of the Rev. Thomas H. Jaudon, used the arbor to worship until the turkeys ran them off. The congregation built a log cabin to hold their services and called the area Turkey Creek.
The area prospered and supported two general stores, two churches, a sawmill and a public school. Today, Turkey Creek Road is south and north of State Road 60 in eastern Hillsborough County, just a few miles west of Plant City.
A post office was established in 1873 to serve Turkey Creek; it closed in 1943.
In 1873, a one-room school house was built of logs, and in 1888 the School Board purchased a half acre and built a new school called Turkey Creek School. In 1908, the same year it graduated its first senior class, the school moved again - this time to a two-story frame building at the corner of Turkey Creek Road and Connell Road. Turkey Creek High School was open until 1972. It still stands next to Turkey Creek Middle School. Although not in use, the old building is being preserved by alumni.
Typical of most schools in the area Turkey Creek School served as a strawberry school, closed during the strawberry season so that children could labor in the fields. Strawberry schools continued to operate between March and December until 1956.
