At one time, and for many years until the 1950's, Crystal Street was the main thoroughfare into Crystal River for travelers coming from Lecanto and Inverness. In 1907, because of its role as the gateway into Crystal River, a group of ladies from the . . . — — Map (db m121120) HM
A Man-made Lake Felburn Park was once a mine. Workers mined dolomite rock, which was added to soil on farms. As they dug, miners hit a reservoir of groundwater, and the spring water started to fill the pit. They pumped out the water as it . . . — — Map (db m167344) HM
The first railroad depot in Citrus County was located on this site soon after the completion of the county's first rail line from Dunnellon in 1887. Constructed by the Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad, the spur line would be continued to . . . — — Map (db m121118) HM
Edwin and Mary King moved to Crystal River in 1863. They built a home nearby on the bay which came to bear their name. In 1879, a canal on the north side of the property was dug so that smaller boats could unload supplies from larger ships at the . . . — — Map (db m237202) HM
The Price of Progress Picture massive barges, tugboats and trawlers clogging the bay. This was to be the west end of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, where the water enters the Gulf of Mexico. The canal would have impacted Florida's fresh and . . . — — Map (db m167343) HM
A Rocky Past Today, the old railroad bed beneath the Dunnellon Trail carries walkers and bicyclists. In the late 1800s, it moved train cars laden with phosphate rock. Prospectors discovered the valuable mineral here in 1889, sparking an . . . — — Map (db m167502) HM
[north-facing kiosk panel] Introduction Records of colonial explorers reveal a well-developed Native American trail linking the Tampa Bay area to the village of Alachua, 150 miles to the north. A Timucuan village existed along this . . . — — Map (db m168617) HM
(Side 1)
The area containing present day Floral City has been inhabited by
humans for thousands of years. When Hernando De Soto came through
the area in 1539, he found the Indian village of Tocaste. From the late
1700s until the Second . . . — — Map (db m104967) HM
Three-sided concrete posts were placed every mile along the railroad as points of reference for the trainmen. This post tells us that it is 800 miles via rail to Richmond, Virginia, the railroad company’s headquarters.
Funding for . . . — — Map (db m125492) HM
You are standing on the site of one of the worst train disasters in Florida history. The tragedy occurred October 18, 1956, on a dark and foggy morning in Pineola. At 5:12 a.m., people from five miles around were awakened when two freight trains . . . — — Map (db m101820) HM
This house is the oldest surviving residential structure
in Citrus County. It was purchased in 2012 by the
Duval Preservation Trust, a non-profit institution
organized for the purpose of restoration and
preservation of this historic gem.
Tax . . . — — Map (db m104980) HM
In 1863 John Paul Formy-Duval and his wife Elizabeth Ann Trantham bought land from Allen Munden and began building their home. During the process of construction, the Duvals discovered that they had been building their house a few hundred yards . . . — — Map (db m119137) HM
It’s July 24, 1539…
Hernando de Soto’s army has set up camp at a nearby Indian village, Tocaste -
I moved ahead with a small scouting party. Just north of the village, we discovered a broad road, which I believe may be the entrance . . . — — Map (db m126576) HM
Whistle markers were placed along the track ¼ mile before every road crossing, in both directions. They alerted the engineer to blow his train whistle. The horizontal bars on this concrete whistle marker — two wide, one narrow, one wide — tell the . . . — — Map (db m156006) HM
(side 1)
Church of the Nazarene Hernando
Hernando, named for Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, was founded in 1881 by the Croft and Van Ness families. Beside the Tsala Apopka lakes their citrus groves thrived. Development followed . . . — — Map (db m112147) HM
The Hernando Elementary School is a one-story masonry building erected between 1941 and 1942 through county and state cooperation with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This red brick school is situated on land that was acquired through a . . . — — Map (db m236678) HM
David Levy Yulee (1810-1886), who built Florida’s first cross-state railroad, was the State’s first U.S. Senator. He came to Florida as an immigrant and rose to become an outstanding businessman and statesman. He served in Florida’s territorial . . . — — Map (db m237298) HM
The juice flowed from the settling vats into the “grande,” the largest of five kettles built into the furnace below. The “grande” was also the coolest, being farthest from the “batterie” kettle under which the furnace was fired. The chimney draft . . . — — Map (db m237432) HM
The steam powered machinery which removed the juice from the cane was located here.
The fresh-cut cane was mashed between large, rotating iron cylinders and the juice was collected in vats. The crushed cane, called “bagasse,” was piled and . . . — — Map (db m175844) HM
Stage Stand was a stopping place of the mail wagon run by the U.S. Army during the 1800’s. It became a cemetery by chance.
The Seminole wars lasted intermittently from 1818 until 1858. During that time American settlers moved in to hunt and . . . — — Map (db m175841) HM
The steam powered machinery which removed the juice from the cane was located here.
The fresh-cut cane was mashed between large, rotating iron cylinders and the juice was collected in vats. The crushed cane, called “bagasse,” was piled and . . . — — Map (db m175846) HM
The wide sidewalks of Homosassa Springs are a reminder of the 1920s Florida Land Boom in Citrus County. In 1924, at the height of the boom, the Florida West Coast Development Company bought several thousand acres in what is now Homosassa Springs and . . . — — Map (db m67594) HM
Reportedly, this land was purchased by W.S. Warnock, founder of the Citrus County Chronicle and George Demuro, Clerk of the Court, in 1908. The building was constructed and operated by City Savings Bank in 1910. Edward Sasser ran a dry goods store . . . — — Map (db m122701) HM
More than 1,500 soldiers died and $20 million was spent in the Second Seminole War. It was the most costly of three conflicts between the U.S. and the Seminoles in Florida. Fought from 1835–1842, the war broke out when Seminoles resisted . . . — — Map (db m101818) HM
”The Citizen's Bank” built this structure around 1912 and failed in the late 20’s. It was later occupied as: Vann's Drug Store, Bacon's Drug Store, Lanier's Drug Store, Culpepper's Drug Store, Bennett's Drug Store, Marshall's Drug . . . — — Map (db m125473) HM
It’s July 26, 1539…
An advance guard of Hernando de Soto’s army has moved through a nearby area and crossed the present-day Withlacoochee River -
It took us two days to cross the river. The rest of our army soon followed. Weighed . . . — — Map (db m126578) HM
The All-American drink was introduced to Citrus County in the early 1900's. W.T. Baxley acted as a sub-bottler to the Tampa Coca Cola Bottling Company, and began bottling it in Hernando in 1906. Empty bottles were washed in Hernando Lake, then . . . — — Map (db m117170) HM
This building, built in 1912, as the George Dickenson Grocery Store owned by Frank & George Dickenson, was constructed of red clay brick laid 12” thick and tied together with 1” iron rods to hold the 2nd story in place, with wood . . . — — Map (db m117169) HM
Prior to the Spanish arrival in the 1500s, there were hundreds of thousands of Native Americans living in Florida. Evidence of their diverse culture has been discovered in the mounds, earthworks, middens and other archaeological sites found . . . — — Map (db m132271) HM
Fort Cooper was constructed in April 1836 during the Second Seminole War. General Winfield Scott instructed the First Georgia Battalion of Volunteers under the leadership of Major Mark Anthony Cooper to build two bastions and a blockhouse on the . . . — — Map (db m93258) HM
Setting the Scene In the Spring of 1836, President Andrew Jackson ordered General Winfield Scott, commander of the U.S. Army in Florida, to punish and defeat the belligerent Seminoles. Gen. Scott devised a complicated plan in which three . . . — — Map (db m132055) HM
This church was first organized September 29, 1894 by Rev. A.L. Dutch, Deacon Arthur Bell, and the entire membership of Shialo Baptist Church from Stage Pond, Florida. Over the last 116 years, this congregation has been led by 16 different . . . — — Map (db m72781) HM
Citrus County was formed from Hernando County in 1887 and Mannfield, in the center of the new county, was chosen as the temporary county seat by the state legislature. After a political tug-of-war and several elections, Inverness was chosen as the . . . — — Map (db m3529) HM
The Masonic Temple for Citrus Lodge #118, F. and A.M., was built on Main Street and dedicated in 1910, ready for occupancy in January, 1911. A splendid three-story brick building costing $17,285, the most costly building in the county. Originally . . . — — Map (db m122748) HM
This two story wood frame Colonial Revival style residence features a beautiful verandah best suited for socializing on warm summer evenings was built in 1903, by James Keels Kelley. According to a 1936 Citrus County Chronicle article, J.K. Kelley . . . — — Map (db m126053) HM
Korea
Maj Daniel Francis Rooks •
Pvt Arthur P. Carlsen •
PFC Richard G. Sanders
Vietnam
Capt. William Hoover Craig Jr. •
1st Lt. Stanley Gerald Hartson •
Sgt. Carl Henry Joiner •
WO Richard Smith Lowes •
PFC Herbert . . . — — Map (db m77488) WM
Adapting to Life in the Cove Necessities of Life Before the Seminole were forced to move to the Cove, they were farmers and ranchers who lived in sturdy log homes and based their wealth on large herds of cattle and extensive crops. Unlike the . . . — — Map (db m132276) HM
The Siege of Fort CooperA Hastily Built Defense In March 1836, General Winfield Scott launched a campaign to surround the Seminole in the Cove with an army of approximately 5,000 men. While marching to Fort Brooke in Tampa they stopped . . . — — Map (db m132281) HM
According to the old family bible, Robert Orval and Emma (Demoss) Hicks, Tennessee farmers, married in 1888 and established a successful steam boat business, carrying fruit and vegetables down the Withlacoochee River just east of Inverness. A freeze . . . — — Map (db m126038) HM
It’s July 25, 1539…
Captain Moscoso is leading Hernando de Soto’s army north, from the village of Tocaste, to support De Soto’s scouting party…
Passing near a large lake, we were met by messengers sent by De Soto. They told us the . . . — — Map (db m126577) HM
The current Bank of Inverness building was erected on Main Street in 1916 and housed the Citrus County Bank which closed in January 1929. By June of 1929 the only remaining bank in Citrus County was the Bank of Homosassa. On November 20, 1929, the . . . — — Map (db m126084) HM
This building was built by Francis Marion Dampier, Jr. as Dampier Department Store.
The family operated the successful department store from 1945 to 1967. It is remembered that "Frank" Dampier spent many hours sitting on a wooden bench under an . . . — — Map (db m117177) HM
This building, best remembered as Allen’s 5, 10 & 25 Store, was built by Jack Kibler in the early 1920’s. Occupants included the Inverness Post Office, Vann’s Drug Store and Ernest Johnston’s Restaurant prior to Allen’s 5, 10 & 25 opening in 1932. . . . — — Map (db m125464) HM
This house was built in 1903 for George Carter, Citrus County's third sheriff. The Carter House was the first house in Inverness to have a bathroom and was one of the first 13 buildings in Inverness to be “wired up” when electricity came . . . — — Map (db m126060) HM
This building was reportedly constructed in the early 1900's as a library. It was later occupied by School Superintendent R.L. Turner until the 1912 Courthouse was constructed and his office moved there.
In 1917 the Woman's Club of Inverness was . . . — — Map (db m126081) HM
Built around 1915, this house is most remembered for the McLeod family who lived here from 1941 to 1998. Oscar Penn McLeod was born to a pioneer family near Perry, Florida. He was awarded a teaching certificate in 1918 and married Mayo Artie . . . — — Map (db m117128) HM
Seminole Migration Story of Survival The Seminole are descendants of the Muscogee group consisting primarily of Creek Indians from Georgia and Alabama. In the early 1700s, various bands of Creeks and other Muskogean peoples began to migrate . . . — — Map (db m132273) HM
Mrs. Pearl G. Maddox built the theatre in 1926-27 during the silent movie era, naming it the Valerie after her daughter. The first movie shown was “The Only Woman” in 1927; the last was “The Untouchables” in 1987. Herbert . . . — — Map (db m117178) HM
The Second Seminole War BeginsA Year of Victory for the Seminole In the early 1830s pressure to remove Florida's Indians grew intense. Seminole leaders signed treaties in 1832 and 1833 that called for the tribe to relocate within three . . . — — Map (db m132277) HM
World War I
John T. Allen •
Bryan I. Barnes •
Leroy Black •
Iley Herring •
William F. Nettles •
Willie Rawls •
Fred O. Roux
World War II
Elwood J. Allen •
Wilbur M. Bertine •
James P. Blanton •
Fronie L. Boyd • . . . — — Map (db m77490) WM
