River of the Golden Ibis

From its idyllic source in the Green Swamp, the Hillsborough River winds past columns of cypress and matted shrubs and opens into Tampa Bay, part of Florida’s urbanized, publicized western Suncoast. The river is not a long one, but the size of its legend in contemporary America is far—reaching.

Many factors have made the area special: its natural history; its successive waves of immigrants; its wars, booms, and depressions. The cigar industry, banana exporting, cattle raising, fishing, and r...