History of Zephyrhills rich and plentiful
By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
When Howard Barth Jeffries bought 35,000 acres of land, he would not have been able to envision what the area would be like 100 years later.
Today that land is the city of Zephyrhills, which turned 100-years-old March 10.
“I’ve seen a lot of change over my time on the east side of Pasco County,” said Margie Partain, member of the Zephyrhills Historical Association board of directors. “It has gone from a little place with almost nothing but farms to a city with lots of people and businesses.”
Partain moved to Wesley Chapel in 1977 and then to Zephyrhills seven years ago.
Several community leaders have been preparing for the celebration for a long time.
“The Zephyrhills High School Centennial Committee has been planning for the anniversary for two years now,” said Zephyrhills historian Madonna Wise. “The other committee I’m on, the Main Street Zephyrhills (Inc.) centennial committee, has been working on the celebration for about six months. It takes a long time to plan for something that has been coming for 100 years.”
Wise has lived in Zephyrhills for 36 years and has worked in five of the six public schools from the elementary to the high school level.
“This city is just rich in history that you can never know it all,” Wise said. “I was so interested in the history that I wrote two books on it.”
Her first book is “Tapestry-Zephyrhills: An Anthology of its History Through Education,” and the second is “Zephyrhills: Images of America,” which was just released. Wise will be signing copies of the books at Jeffries house, 38537 Fifth Ave., at Founder’s Day March 13 and 14.
Before it became Zephyrhills, the area was called Abbott, named after a local doctor named J.M. Abbott. The word station was added to the town’s name after two train depots were opened.
Jeffries, who was a retired Union Army captain, first came to central Florida looking for a place to farm.
“A lot of soldiers moved to Florida and started farms because Union Army pensions were small,” Partain said. “They could get two harvests each year, which many people couldn’t pass up.”
Jeffries bought the land in 1909 from James Lee Greer, who owned Greer Sawmill. Jeffries first planted the property in 1910.
“The reason people say the town was founded in 1910 is because that’s when Capt. Jeffries divided up the land and started selling it to people,” Partain said. “That allowed other people to move to the area. You can’t very well have a town if no one can buy land and move in.”
Zephyrhills was officially incorporated as a city in 1914 when the Zephyrhills Colony Company was formed.
How the city got its name is not clear, but two main stories are generally accepted among the historical association. The first is that there was a strong breeze on top of LeHeup Hill, which is where Jeffries signed the contract for the land. The word Zephyr actually means breezes, so the name Zephyrhills stuck. The other speculation is the first person to survey the city had either a first or last name of Hill.
The city is not the only thing turning 100-years-old in 2010. The original Zephyrhills High School was founded in September 1910. It was first located on Gall Boulevard where the Clock Restaurant is today. It stayed there until 1926 when it moved to the present location of Raymond B. Stewart Middle School and finally to 12th Street.
“It was at Stewart Middle until 1975 when it moved to where it is today,” Wise said. “I taught at both locations and I’m so happy that we’re going to be dedicating Stewart Middle with a historic marker on March 13 at Founder’s Day. We’ll have a lot of politicians there for the dedication and it will be a great event for everyone to come and see.”
The dedication is at 2 p.m. after the Founder’s Day parade, which ends at Stewart Middle.
“I’m just happy that all the work the committee has done is starting to come together,” said Tim Urban, president of the school’s centennial committee. “Having the dedication at Founder’s Day is a great way to kick off our celebration of the school. We will have a big celebration on Oct. 22, which is homecoming next school year.”
Urban is an assistant principal at the school and will be a city council member in April.
“I just want to continue the rich history of learning here in Zephyrhills,” Urban said. “We want to keep shaping great young people who can go out into the community and make a difference. That was our goal for the first 100 years and that will continue to be our goal in the future.”
