Balm (Florida)

Balm is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,457 at the 2010 census.HistoryA post office was established here in 1902 and called "Doric"; it was renamed the next month to "Balm". The community was so named on account of their "balmy" air. Prior to 1902, the Seaboard Air Line Railway established Balm as a flag stop. The railroad built a one-room station and water tank. This made Balm a focal point, and a small community including a blacksmith, sawmills, a teacher, and a general store sprang up by 1911. In 1937, electricity arrived, soon followed by a community telephone, set up in a barn for all to use. By 1945 the area had a population of over a thousand.GeographyBalm is located in southern Hillsborough County, bordered by Riverview to the north, Apollo Beach to the west, Sun City Center to the southwest, and Wimauma to the south. U.S. Route 301 forms the western border of the Balm CDP, and leads north to the eastern outskirts of Tampa and southwest to Bradenton.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Balm CDP has a total area of 26.3sqkm, of which 26.0sqkm are land and 0.3sqkm, or 1.03%, are water.