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Civil War

Zephyrhills CRA has full plate to start new year

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The Zephyrhills Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is ushering in the new year with a slew of projects and initiatives in the historic downtown district.

“There’s a lot going on that you’ll see in January that staff has been working on,” Zephyrhills CRA director Gail Hamilton said, during an update of the 2021 plans at a meeting with the CRA board of directors last month.

The Zephyrhills CRA is soliciting tenants for the Historic Jeffries and Carriage houses on Fifth Avenue. (Courtesy of Main Street Zephyrhills Inc.)

The CRA district encompasses the center spine of the city, generally between Hercules Park to C Avenue, and from Zephyr Park to 17th Street. Within those boundaries are the following historic neighborhood districts: Hercules, Historic Jeffries, Historic Abbott, Moore’s Estate, Zephyr Lake, Oakside and Plaza.

Hamilton told board members that the agency has met with a consultant on forthcoming improvements to Hercules Park, a 9-acre city-owned parkland site at the corner of County Road 54 and Gall Boulevard, next to Zephyrhills High and Woodland Elementary schools.

Discussions have centered around transforming the languished site into a passive park for residents — highlighted with trails and a picnic area, as well as regular maintenance.

Possible improvements include underbrush clearing and designing a more welcoming park entrance, along with installing a park fountain, benches, tree underlighting, and colorful sailcloth.

Another idea involves cultivating an art element into the park that pays homage to the history of the property.

A greater degree of detail will be developed once the consultant’s ideas are presented to the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Jan. 21, and then on to the CRA board and Zephyrhills City Council.

Hercules Park improvements are on tap in 2021, with an idea of making it a more welcoming, well-maintained passive park property. (File)

Funding for the park is available in this year’s city budget cycle.

Another CRA priority in the new year is outlining and ramping up a strategy for the Zephyrhills Code Enforcement Task.

Hamilton mentioned Pasco County has started to enforce code cases again “and so we want to at least talk about neighborhoods cleanups.”

Code issues are popping up in the downtown area, and in other areas, she said.

“We want to get back on track with our cleanups and the task force, and so we will start meeting in January,” Hamilton said.

She also reported progress on the renovation of the Carriage House property, which is nearly complete. The two-story wooden structure is connected to the Historic Jeffries House, at 38537 Fifth Ave.

The property has undergone a $155,000 makeover by Zephyrhills-based Kerns Family Construction Company Inc. Now, it is just awaiting some electrical hookups, Hamilton said.

In addition to uplifting surrounding property values and maintaining a historic structure, the city hopes to lease the space out to a business or residential tenant for around $1,500 to $2,000 per month.

The renovated structure has received serious interest from possible tenants — as has its counterpart in the Jeffries House, Hamilton said. Three coffee companies have inquired about setting up some kind of business operation at the Jeffries House, Hamilton said. She also noted a couple of other projects are interested in using both the Carriage House and Jeffries House.

The Jeffries House was built in 1910 for Capt. Harold Jeffries, the founder of Zephyrhills who was responsible for bringing many Union Civil War veterans into the area. The house is a part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Another major undertaking for the agency is facilitating a development opportunity on a city-owned lot at the corner of Sixth Avenue/Eighth Street — situated across the street from Zephyrhills City Hall.

The vacant lot originally was expected to become two-story retail space, but city staff now is working on a plan to transform the corner into a residential property, Hamilton said.

She explained the rationale for the shift: “Right now, trying to get financing for retail is impossible. If it were housing, it would be a whole lot easier, so we’ve come up with an idea that I think you’ll like. We’ve tested (the idea) with some other groups.”

Cost estimates and more specifics are expected to be presented the next CRA Board meeting on Jan. 25.

Other notable updates from the CRA director’s report:

  • Initial design and cost estimates for gateway signage at Gall Boulevard/Fifth Avenue is expected to be ready in January, then presented to the CRA Board for further review.
  • A request for proposal (RFP) is being prepared for a mural design at the Lake Necessity retention pond. The site has already experienced some beautification with an ornamental fence. The plan is to hire an artist to paint the concrete sides of the fence, perhaps incorporating a natural scene with water images.
  • Zephyrhills Main Street has begun redesigning Transplant Park, a 0.2-acre passive park at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 12th Street. The location is just a few blocks east of the historic downtown district. The pie-shaped park, nestled between shaded trees, features landscaping and park benches.
  • Zephyrhills Public Works is completing the installation of irrigated potted plants along Fifth Avenue, specifically around street corners and medians landscapes.
  • Residential ownership incentive grants were approved to new homeowners for the properties at 5416 Eighth St. and 38245 12th Ave. (The grant provides $5,000 to new homeowners within the district, given they apply before purchasing/closing and file for homestead exemption for five years.)
  • A new business, Vintage Chix, recently opened in the downtown district, at 38501 Fifth Ave. The storefront sells vintage, repurposed furniture, including farmhouse, country French, shabby chic and rustic décor. The space also offers instructional craft and painting classes in a café atmosphere.

Published January 20, 2021

Fence law changed Florida’s cattle industry

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Florida passed a fence law in 1949 — the same year Steve Melton was born.

“This is amazing to me that within my lifetime we have gone from open range cattle to what you see today,” Melton said, during a recent meeting of the Pasco County Historical Society in Dade City.

This cow, in northeastern Pasco County, stands in a pasture behind a barbed wire fence. Florida was the last state to pass a fence law, to keep cattle penned into properties. (File)

“When you drive in the morning and see the green pastures, and the housing developments, you have to remember it was open range not that long ago,” recalled Melton, whose family has farming and ranching operations on the northeastern edge of Pasco County.

How ranchers transformed the state’s agriculture open ranges and woods to improved pastures was the topic of Melton’s talk before an audience of roughly 50 people.

Those gathered had waited six months to hear from the cattle rancher and cowboy poet because of concerns about gatherings during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The state’s fence law — Chapter 588 of the Florida Statutes — makes it possible for approximately 19,000 livestock farms to coexist with the state’s rapid population and commercial growth.

Complaints about traffic accidents with stray cattle had finally convinced more and more ranchers to permanently fence in their herds.

But, the state’s history with cattle began about 500 years before that.

Melton offered a historical glimpse of the role cattle has played in Florida, since explorer Ponce de Leon brought them to the New World, in 1521.

During the Civil War, Florida became the main supplier of beef to the Confederate army.

But, the cattle industry didn’t enter its golden age until the period of Reconstruction, when a thriving trade opened with Cuba.

Turpentine enterprises were abundant in Pasco County during the early 1900s. After the turpentine was removed, turpentine companies would abandon the properties or sell the land for $2 an acre or less, making it possible for ranchers and others to acquire large land holdings. (Courtesy of Jeff Cannon)

Ranchers bred and raised “cracker cattle” to graze on wire grass, and native plants in pinewoods and wet weather ponds.

That began to change in the 1800s.

“Not many know this, but turpentine was the state’s largest industry at that time,” Melton said.

Turpentine was manufactured from pine sap taken from old-growth trees. It was used for the so-called naval store industry for all products derived from pine resin, such as soap, paint, varnish, shoe polish, lubricants, linoleum, and roofing materials.

The distillation process left the trees mostly barren.

Then, Melton said, the turpentine companies would either walk away or sell their land for less than $2 an acre.

Low land prices create opportunity
“Cattlemen and others with some money started to buy huge tracts of land,” Melton said.

Landowners expanded their holdings, including the Barthle Brothers Ranch and the Krusen Land and Timber Company in East Pasco, the Wiregrass Ranch in Central Pasco, and the Starkey Ranch in West Pasco County.

“The main thing that changed our agriculture at this point was watermelons,” Melton explains.

Watermelon growers headed to the big ranchers and made deals to clear the land.

Since they needed fresh ground when planting, this meant that each year the trees would be pushed and cleared to plant a new crop of watermelon.

Hundreds of boxcars loaded with watermelons were shipped out from the railroad sidings in Trilby by local growers over 60 years ago. The Trilby depot can still be seen on the grounds of the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village north of Dade City. (Courtesy of Scott Black)

“They had a unique way of clearing the land,” Melton told his audience.

“They would take a couple of D8 Caterpillar bulldozers and tie a ship anchor chain between them, and drag this back and forth across the field to clear scrub and light timber,” Melton said.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, watermelon growers found an early market up north for shipping product for the Memorial Day family picnics.

The ranchers benefited because their land was cleared, for free, by the watermelon growers.

After the watermelon harvests, alyceclover was planted first as a seed crop.

When planting Baha as an improved pasture grass, and with genetics greatly improving the size and quality of beef, ranchers could average one calf per 13 acres instead of one calve per 15 acres.

“The beef industry in Florida completely changed,” Melton observed.

“Most all ranchers run a cow-calf operation. Meaning they keep the momma cow and sell the calves for beef.”

Steve Melton is an agricultural businessman, rancher, farmer, poet, and owner of one of the largest privately held farm machinery museums in Florida. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

Increased calf production necessitated economies in savings with giant feed lots operating in Texas, Kansas, Arizona and New Mexico.

“The calves are fed to be 2-year-old, 100-pound steers or heifers, and then sold to a packer,” Melton explains.

Only four or five packing houses in the United States are still cost-effective with the feed lots out west.

“Cattle ranching, which had once been a family enterprise utilizing the open-range, became a capital-intensive agribusiness by the 1980s,” Melton concluded.

Florida was the last state to pass a fence law.

Dade City’s William M. Larkin, a long-time cattle rancher and prominent lawyer, drafted the fence law that was adopted by the Florida Legislature.

Larkin wound up fencing about 15,000 acres of his ranch with woven wire, purchased from Sears, Roebuck and Company.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at .

Published November 18, 2020

Union Park community celebrates Juneteenth

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NeVaeh Akers-Atkins offered a simple explanation for why she was at a local Juneteenth event last week.

“It’s very important to me,” the 11-year-old said. “It shows people that we should be treated the same.”

She was with families and friends at the first annual Juneteenth Family Day Celebration in Wesley Chapel’s Union Park community.

The event was held to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States, which occurred on June 19, 1865.

Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.

The inaugural celebration at Union Park came together in two weeks of whirlwind planning by residents and members of Carmel Friendship Church.

Faraasha Bell, 13, left, and NeVaeh Akers-Atkins,11, delight the crowd with an impressionistic dance during a Juneteenth celebration at Union Park in Wesley Chapel. (Fred Bellet)

Songs, dance, music, food, prayer, prizes and fellowship filled a day of activities from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., on June 19, at the Union Park clubhouse on Bering Road.

“We’re having one big celebration,” said organizer Melissa Akers-Atkins. “It’s one of many to come.”

The program included 16-year-old Miranda Archibald, who read the poem, “We Rose,” by Kristina Kay.

And, Aniya Stratford, of Carmel Friendship Church, sang, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” which often is referred to as the Black national anthem.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, freeing slaves living in the Confederate states.

Pastor Quincy Stratford of the Carmel Friendship Church offers a prayer at the first annual Juneteenth Family Day Celebration in Wesley Chapel’s Union Park. His wife, Jennifer, and 30 members of the church, are there to celebrate the end of slavery.

But, the news in those days traveled slowly, or in some instances, wasn’t acknowledged by slave owners.

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers came ashore at Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. The date was 2 ½ years after Lincoln’s proclamation.

A few months later, on Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery everywhere. The following year, Juneteenth celebrations, often hosted by African-American churches, took root.

Many states now recognize the holiday. A campaign is underway now for Congress to declare Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

“It makes me happy that it’s finally being recognized locally as a holiday,” said Jamila Wright, owner of Writz Jewelry. “With everything that’s going on, it’s very important that people in general learn more about our history. I think it should be a federal holiday.”

Wright was among several black-owned businesses at the Union Park event.

Food truck owners for Wing Box, Craving Donuts and Sun’s Just Egg Rolls rolled into the clubhouse parking lot.

Vendors and sponsors included Writz Jewelry, QDP Photography, Mary Kay, Red Robin, Sign Dreamers of Wesley Chapel, and Julie’s African Hair Braiding.

Carmel Friendship Church and Union Park Charter Academy had informative displays.

Jordan Glogowski’s mask is emblazoned with a symbol for love and a T-shirt with a similar message.

Kat Stylez (her author’s name) set up a table with artwork and her first book of poetry, “Girl, Who Hurt You?”

Raising awareness of the importance of Juneteenth was one of the organizers’ goals. But, they also want to foster unity, a sense of safety, and civic participation through voting.

“We are blessed,” said organizer Tabatha Johnson. “It is important to showcase this celebration. This is the day for African-Americans. But, the celebration is not to dismiss any other culture or race.”

The recent deaths of black men by police officers, including George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, the Black Lives Matter movement and street protests brought greater attention to the Juneteenth celebrations this year.

For Faraasha Bell, 13, Juneteenth “means that we get to learn how other people got treated and how other people experience it.”

She had Brooks’ death in mind when she said, “I see it on the news and how terrifying it is.”

Markee Duncan, 36, gave testimony as a 6-foot-5 black man who is “two shades darker than 8:30 p.m.”

Kaylen Boss, 22, left, looks over a copy of her twin sister, Kat Stylez’s book, ‘Girl, Who Hurt You?’ Stylez, a vendor at the event, was selling her book and artwork.

Growing up in South Carolina, he said blacks were told not to look white people in the eye and to move across the street to avoid unnecessary contact.

“In history class all I learned about is men who didn’t look like me,” Duncan said.

He said he has been pulled over by police while driving in largely white neighborhoods. “The melanin of my skin didn’t allow me the same rights as those in the Constitution.”

Akers-Atkins said organizers hope to host a Juneteenth celebration annually at Union Park. But, they also want to host other cultural events through the year.

Johnson said: “We do have faith that we will continue to grow, to know we are here and can help each other. It’s important to have empathy. I love seeing so much diversity in our community.”

Published June 24, 2020

History comes alive at Civil War reenactment

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Civil War buffs, area students and spectators had a chance to get a sense of what life was like during the U.S. Civil War era, at a three-day event at the Florida Pioneer Museum and Village in Dade City.

Inside their camp, the reenactors portraying the Confederate soldiers of the 37th Alabama Infantry pose for a picture, before heading into the battle reenactment. The men say that they are all close friends, and many of them have Union uniforms, so they can switch sides if there is a shortage of actors. (Christine Holtzman)

The event, held Feb. 28 through March 1, provided an opportunity for school field trips and for museum visitors to immerse themselves in living history displays.

Public school, private school and home-school students visited on Feb. 28, taking self-guided tours through camps and stations created to give a sense of what life was like in the 1860s.

The museum also offered guided tours of many of the museum buildings, including the 1860s-era Overstreet House.

On the weekend, several informational presentations led up to the big show, The Battle of Santa Rosa Island reenactment.

Other features of the day included a blacksmith and wood wright demonstration, live entertainment, food, and traditional crafters.

There also was a Time Period Fashion Show, on Feb. 29, on the porch of the Overstreet House. There was a Ladies Tea, too, which welcomed spectators, but required them to wear period dress to participate.

The Confederate soldiers line up to take aim with their rifles at the Union soldiers during the Battle of Santa Rosa reenactment, on Feb. 29, at the Florida Pioneer Museum and Village.

The Battle of Santa Rosa Island was conducted on both weekend days.

Audiences were encouraged to bring their lawn chairs or blankets to witness the great battle reenactment, as the Confederate and Union Soldiers battled for Santa Rosa Island, a 40-mile barrier island located in the Panhandle near Pensacola.

The historical Battle of Santa Rosa took place on Oct. 9, 1861, and was a victory for the Union. According to the website AmericanCivilWar.com, an estimated total of 154 men lost their lives that day.

The actors that participate in the Dade City Civil War reenactment usually arrive at the museum on the Thursday before the start of the event. These hobbyists pay for their own expenses out of their own wallets, and make or purchase their own costumes.

Many agree that it is a very expensive hobby.

Joe Kurtright, a musician with the live old-time musical act, ‘7lbs of Bacon,’ summed it up like this: “The reenactors do it for their history and their heritage, and for the deep love of their country.”

Published March 11, 2020

HK Edgerton, of Ashville, North Carolina, walks along the road, proudly carrying his Confederate battle flag. The Vietnam veteran and former president of the Ashville chapter of the NAACP, is a prominent African-American activist for Southern heritage, and is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Soldiers from the 5th Florida Company B await orders from their Colonel, before entering battle. From left: Nick Voss of Leesburg, Sheyenne McAlister of Webster, Kate-Nayeli Carvajal of Bushnell, Randy Watkins of Tampa, and Justin Kirby of Bushnell. Three years ago, Watkins was a spectator when, because of his authentic Civil War period look, he was recruited out of the crowd to participate in reenactments.
The Union soldiers pack their rifles and shoot at the Confederates, during the reenactment of The Battle of Santa Rosa on Feb. 29, at the Florida Pioneer Museum and Village.

A blast to the Civil War past

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Get ready to travel back in time with the Civil War reenactment, “Raid on the Salt Works.”

The three-day event will be held at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village, 15602 Pioneer Museum Road in Dade City.

Actors will re-live the events of the Civil War and the 19th century, at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village on Nov. 22, Nov. 23 and Nov. 24. (File)

A school field trip will take place on Nov. 22 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Students and their chaperones can take a self-guided tour at numerous stations, depicting the Civil War.

These stations include reenactments, time-period music, medical units and narrations.

Those attending the field trip event can either purchase food on the premises, or bring outside lunch, for that day only.

The Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 events will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Both days will consist of live musical performances and food concession stands, as well as woodworking and syrup-making sessions.

Patrons are welcome to bring lawn chairs and relax while watching actors play out battle scenes.

On Nov. 23 there will be a women’s tea gathering at 10 a.m. Ladies are encouraged to wear 19th century attire.

A fashion show will follow, highlighting the clothing of that era.

On Nov. 24 , there will be a Sunday church service at 10 a.m.

The Nov. 22 field trip admission will be $4 for preregistration and $5 at the entrance, for each student and chaperone.

Admission for Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 events will be accepted the day of, at $10 for adults, $5 for students, and free for those age 5 and under.

Parking is free, but pets, coolers and outside food are prohibited.

The deadline for preregistration is Nov. 21.

For further information or to preregister, visit PioneerFloridaMuseum.org, or call (352) 567-0262.

Raid on the Salt Works Civil War reenactment
Where: Pioneer Florida Museum & Village, 15602 Pioneer Museum Road, Dade City
When: Nov. 22 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: Nov. 22 admission is a $4 preregistration or $5 at the entrance; Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students, and free for those age 5 and under
Details: Patrons will get to experience a glimpse of life during the Civil War through attire of the time, music and battle reenactments.
Info: For further inquiries or preregistration, visit PioneerFloridaMuseum.org, or call (352) 567-0262.

Published November 20, 2019

Savor a slice of ‘Old Florida’ beauty

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Residents who live on the eastern side of Pasco County don’t have to travel far to get an idea of what “Old Florida” was like.

They can find evidence of that loveliness all around the locale’s corners and bends.

Perhaps that’s why those with deep ties to this part of the county fight so fiercely to protect their piece of paradise, and why the area attracts newcomers who want to put their stakes down to partake in the beauty, too.

With its lush landscapes, rolling hills, fertile farmland, historic places and outdoor spaces — the area offers much to enjoy and admire.

The incredible view of the setting sun over Lake Pasadena, as seen from the Dade City home of Derek Thomas. Thomas lives on Fort King Road, near the top of Leheup Hill, which is one of the area’s highest elevations at 240 feet above sea level. This ‘mountain’ is part of a series of rolling hills in the area. (Christine Holtzman)

 

Nature’s beauty can be found at the Withlacoochee River Park, in Dade City. The Withlacoochee River cuts through the 406 acres of forested land, brimming with an abundance of wildlife. Park amenities include fishing piers, boardwalks, canoe/kayak access, picnic and camping areas, shelters/pavilions, trails, playgrounds, and an observation tower.
Tucked away in an area across State Road 52 from Saint Leo University, (next to the golf course), there are two historic grottos.
The Gethsemane Grotto, was built by local men from San Antonio in 1933, to depict Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The construction contains natural stones, such as Florida coral, limestone and flint.

 

 

 

The Lady of Lourdes Grotto was built in 1916, and is the final resting place of the Saint Leo Abbey’s first Abbot, Charles Mohr, OSB.
The historic Capt. H.B. Jeffries House, 38537 5th Avenue in Zephyrhills, was built in 1911, for city founder and Civil War veteran Capt. Harold B. Jeffries. Today, the building is used by the non-profit Main Street Zephyrhills, Inc., a group dedicated to the preservation, revitalization and the economic vitality of the downtown business district.
Many farms dot the East Pasco landscape, an area that is rich in agriculture. These silos on a farm at the corner of St. Joe Road and Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, peak above the lush pasture.

 

 

 

 

 

Clay Sink remains; others fade away

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Small communities with names such as “Mexico,” “Drexel,” “Ehren,” and  “Chipco” appeared on Pasco County maps more than 100 years ago.

They were located along the Orange Belt Railway, the first — and last — railroad to cross Central Pasco with a potential for future development.

Still moss-draped as it was when the Slaughters buried their infant daughter in 1873, the Clay Sink Cemetery is located on a hill and is the final resting place for six generations. Descendants still live in Pasco County. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

The names of those small towns now are mere footnotes in Pasco County’s history.

But, a tiny community has survived.

Surrounded by hundreds of acres of the Withlacoochee State Forest, a 2-square-mile area is still known as “Clay Sink.”

Call it a quirk of fate.

Unlike many of Florida’s rural outposts, by the 1930s, the greater Clay Sink area had a complex economy.

In addition to farming and ranching, the expansion of the Atlantic Coast Line railroad spurred a timber harvesting industry and a turpentine business.

“It was lonely living oftentimes, but we had the radio to listen to programs like the ‘Grand Ole Opry’ and ‘Fibber McGee and Molly,’” recalled Jean Brinson Ward, who was 7 years old when her father monitored the area in the 1940s from the fire tower for the U.S. Forestry Service.

A wood-frame building, erected in 1904 on this site, served as the Clay Sink Missionary Baptist Church until the present building was constructed of heart pine in 1956. It remains one of the few churches still located on state forestland. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

The settlement has been known by different names.

In a land transaction on May 20, 1862, Jesse Sumner sold 120 acres to Harrison H. Slaughter and Martha Ann McKinney Slaughter.

Martha had three children from a first marriage in 1859, and at least 10 children with Harrison, who had escaped a Yankee POW camp at the start of the Civil War and fled to the Everglades.

The settlement that soon developed initially was called Slaughter, after this pioneering family.

But later, it was called Clay Sink, after the local clay sinkhole.

Life wasn’t exactly easy.

Farms were worked in the intense heat of a Florida sun without the benefit of modern air conditioning or diesel tractors.

Families grew their own pork, chicken, beef, and planted gardens for vegetables.

And, they saw plenty of wildlife.

During an oral history with the Citrus County Historical Society on August 26, 2006, Frances Pritchell, a lifelong resident of Clay Sink, described what happened to her husband when he came home from a late shift at Pasco Packing in Dade City: “It was dark, and when he turned out the lights at the front gate and opened the gate, something ran into him and like to have knocked him down. He thought it was a dog. He came out around the house, but the dog was in the yard. Well, when he got along there about the chimney, it squalled out. It was a panther, and he had to go on around it to come in the house. About that time, it hollered again. A panther. And then about that time the dogs taken after it, and that was it. But, there are panthers here.”

Built as a one-room schoolhouse in 1912, this structure has served as the fellowship hall for the Clay Sink Missionary Baptist Church since school consolidation in 1943. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

During Prohibition, the Dade City Banner reported this news item on Sept. 22, 1925:

“Saturday a raid in the Slaughter neighborhood resulted in the capture of two stills, both small ones.”

No arrests were made in one instance, the newspaper reported. But in the other, “Bob Johnson, colored, not only lost his lard can outfit and a gallon of shine, but was also lodged in Jail.”

A year later, the Dade City Banner reported on the burial of Roy Slaughter at Clay Sink Cemetery. He was a veteran of World War I and also…”a member of Pershing’s punitive expedition into Mexico during the border troubles caused by the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920).”

During World War II, a bombing range less than a mile east of Clay Sink was operated by the U.S. Army for testing Mustard Gas, an oily liquid used as a shell filling, according to Jean Brinson Ward, vice chairman of the Dade City Historic Preservation Advisory Board.

Now the home of the Florida Bass Conservation Center—the state’s major freshwater fish production hatchery—the bombing range was used to test the effects on goats and rabbits.

Details from a 1956 Pasco County map show Slaughter as a settlement in the extreme northwest corner of Pasco County. Richloam is locatedDetails from a 1956 Pasco County map show Slaughter as a settlement in the extreme northwest corner of Pasco County. Richloam is located across the county line in Hernando County. (Courtesy of Fivay.org)

“We could feel the earth shake when the bombs were dropped, and our house was in Richloam, which was about 9 (miles) or 10 miles from the range,” Ward said.

In an article published by The Tampa Tribune on Dec. 26, 2007, Pasco County Attorney Robert Sumner said people wanted to live in Clay Sink “where they were free to do what they wanted to do without being fenced in, where they could develop their own church.”

Back then, Sumner added, “the people who came to Florida came for the same reasons people originally came to the United States.”

Sumner’s own family history dates back to the 1820s, before Pasco County was created.

In October 1936, the federal government started buying forestland around Clay Sink, first from the Schroeder Land and Timber Company for $3 an acre, and then from area families such as the ancestors of 84-year-old Henry Boyett.

“They didn’t want our cattle eating the young pine trees they had planted,” Boyett recalled during an interview at the fellowship hall. “We tried to convince them there was too much turpentine in those saplings for cattle to digest.”

By 1939, the purchase of private-owned farms was completed to begin restoring the forests and wetlands under the U.S government’s Withlacoochee Resettlement Act.

To this day, Clay Sink remains a small cluster of farmsteads and homes due to the Great Depression and the loss of grazing lands.

For Boyett, though, it’s a desirable place.

He describes it as “peace and quiet, and it can never be developed.

“It’s the most fantastic thing I can tell you,” Boyette said.

In the stillness of this place, rainfall could be heard falling on the tin roof of the fellowship hall.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at .

Published July 24, 2019

Civil War history comes to life at Pioneer Florida Museum & Village

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Civil War buffs had a chance to see history come to life at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village over the weekend.

Confederate Soldiers fire during a Civil War battle re-enactment at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City. (Fred Bellet)

Re-enactors also had a chance to take part in battles and skirmishes on the museum grounds.

The sounds of soldiers shouting commands and the smoke from firing guns filled the air.

Little ones shielded their ears to avoid the loud sounds of the guns.

Besides seeing the soldiers in action, visitors could tour confederate and union camps, see re-enactors in character and get a glimpse of Civil War life.

They also could see traditional period demonstrations and a ladies fashion show feature clothing from that period. There was live music, too.

Six-year-old Gregory Jacobsen holds his ears during the booming sounds coming from the 12-pound Mountain Howitzers. This was the young boy’s first experience of seeing a Civil War re-enactment. He was there with his dad, Benjamin Jacobsen, of Tampa.
Portraying a Confederate courier, Chuck Sheridan, of Sanford, delivers a message to Gen. Harding.
The trio, 7 lbs of Bacon, entertained the crowd by playing music of the 1800s.
The Union soldiers defeated the Confederate soldiers on one day of the two-day event, and the Confederate soldier defeated the Union soldiers on the other day.
From the audience area, Samantha Johnston, of Seffner, portrays a Southern Belle. She was applauding the efforts of the 5th Florida Company B, at the end of the Civil War re-enactment event.

The Civil War visits Dade City

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To all history buffs and those curious about learning more on the Civil War, the Pioneer Florida Museum will be recapturing this American era from Nov.16 through Nov. 18.

Entitled the “Living History and Civil War Reenactments,” the event begins with a school field trip on Nov. 16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Accompanied by a tour guide, students will be able to roam through the museum visiting stations displaying artifacts such as cannons, musical instruments and rifles. They’ll also get a chance to learn about medical hospitals and camps for union soldiers and for confederate soldiers.

Members of the 14th Brooklyn New York State Militia gather in their part of the Union encampment. They are Peter Kalloch, of Hudson; Tom Stanton, of Pinellas Park; Pete Kannenberg, of Seminole; Rick Smith, of Summerfield; and, Bob Gilliland, of Osprey. (File)

Vendors will open on Nov. 17 at 9 a.m., and will offer food, vintage clothing, antiques and other items.

A battlefield reenactment will be followed by a ladies tea party, which begins at 10 a.m. Guests are welcome to attend, but are required to dress in 19th century attire.

Attendees are also asked to wear special attire for The Period Fashion Show at 11:30 a.m.

The following day, like the previous one, will feature concession stands, live performances, battle reenactments and inside tours of the museum.

For the field trip on Nov. 16, there will be a $4 fee for students and chaperones who preregister, and a $5 fee if paying on the day of the event.

Admission on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 is $10 for adults; $5 for students; and, free for those age 5 and younger. The museum will accept cash payment only.

There is free parking, but guests are asked not to bring outside food or beverages. They also are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

Pets are not allowed with the exception of service dogs.

For additional information or to preregister for the field trip, contact the Pioneer Florida Museum at (352) 567-0262 or PioneerFloridaMuseum.org.

Living History and Civil War Reenactments
Where: Pioneer Florida Museum, 15602 Pioneer Museum Road in Dade City
When: School field trip on Nov. 16, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Reenactments on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $4 for students and chaperones who preregister; $10 for adults; $5 for students; free admission for those age 5 and younger
Details: The Pioneer Florida Museum will host a guided tour of Civil War artifacts, and will have reenactment battle scenes.
Info: Call the Pioneer Florida Museum at (352) 567-0262, or visit PioneerFloridaMuseum.org for preregistration.

Published November 14, 2018

 

Check out Pasco’s history at Fivay.org

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If you are curious about Pasco County’s history, perhaps the best way to become familiar with it would be to check out the website, Fivay.org.

Jeff Miller, a recently retired high school mathematics teacher, maintains the website and has invested countless hours piecing together Pasco County’s story.

Miller has gleaned information from newspaper articles, old deeds, post cards, photographs, public records and personal accounts to create a repository of information that provides visitors a chance to learn about the history of the county’s geography and its people.

Local historian Jeff Miller shared his knowledge about the origins of various Pasco County place names last week during a meeting of Pasco County Historical Society. (B.C. Manion)

Miller, who is a member of the West Pasco Historical Society, was the guest speaker last week at the Pasco County Historical Society meeting at Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City.

His talk focused on the origins of names for various places in Pasco County.

For instance, the name Fivay — for which his website is named — is a community in West Pasco that was established by five men whose last names each began with the letter A: Preston Arkwright, Martin F. Amorous, H. M. Atkinson, Gordon Abbott and Charles F. Ayer.

The town, famously, was put up for sale, Miller told the crowd of about 60 people who gathered for his talk. The 1912 advertisement offered 104 residences, bungalows, stores and hotels, electric lights and a water plant, noting it was willing to sell the property “whole or separately.”

A historic marker that helped share Fivay’s story sadly has been stolen, Miller said.

But, the marker isn’t entirely gone because there is a photo of it on Miller’s website.

The local historian traced Pasco County’s place names by sharing maps dating back to 1714, when Florida was still under Spanish rule.

The name Anclote, appears on that map and may have appeared on earlier maps, going back possibly to 1500s, Miller said. “Anclote is apparently the oldest place name in Florida,” he said.

He told the crowd that Fort Dade, the fort, was established in 1837, and was named after Francis Langhorne Dade, who was killed in the “Dade Massacre,” a battle with the Seminole Indians.

A look at the rail yard in Abbott, which later became Zephyrhills.

Other places named for Dade include Dade City; Miami-Dade County; Dade County, Georgia; Dade County, Missouri; and Dadeville, Alabama, according to Miller.

“We don’t know what he looked like,” he said, because no photographs were taken of him.

“On the Internet, there’s a web page about him that has a picture, but it turns out the picture is actually Zachary Taylor,” Miller said.

At one point, Fort Dade was in Mosquito County, a huge county that stretched to where Palm Beach County is now, Miller noted.

Hernando County was created in 1843, he said. The name was changed the following year to Benton County, after residents asked the Florida Legislature to rename the county to honor U.S. Sen. Thomas Hart Benton, for his role in passing the Armed Occupation Act. That legislation opened up South Florida for settlement by providing each settler 160 acres, if the settler lived on the land for five consecutive years, built a home on the land and defended the land against Seminole Indians.

But, the county’s name was reverted to Hernando County in 1849 after Benton came out against slavery.

Miller also noted that the name Tuckertown, which was named for a local family, was mentioned in a newspaper in 1870. It was later changed to Richland in 1886.

Wesley Chapel also known as Wesley on area maps
The name Wesley Chapel was known to be in use in 1877, Miller said. Records show a school at Wesley Chapel for the 1877-88 school year. The community was thought to be named for John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church.

A post office named Wesley operated from 1897 to 1902, and during that time, maps show Wesley, rather than Wesley Chapel, he said.

The longer name was probably unacceptable to officials naming post offices at the time, he said.

In East Pasco, the name Lake Jovita is said to have been named by Judge Edward F. Dunne and Capt. Hugh Dunne on Feb. 15, 1822, because it was the feast day for Saints Faustinus and Jovita, Miller said. The lake also is called Clear Lake.

In 1882, the Sumner Post Office was established. The initial request was to name the post office Clear Lake, but that was denied with the request to use a short name, Miller said. Three weeks later, the name was changed to San Antonio. The name was changed to Lake Jovita on Nov. 1, 1926, and then changed back to San Antonio on Aug. 31, 1931.

Neither St. Joseph nor St. Leo were part of the original Catholic Colonies, established by Judge Edward F. Dunne.

St. Leo was named after Saint Leo University, which was named for Pope Leo I, and St. Joseph was named by the Barthle family, who had lived near a town named St. Joseph, Minnesota.

The Hatton Post Office was established in 1882, but it was moved, and its name was changed to the Dade City Post Office on Dec. 18, 1884.

In 1885, the McLeod Post Office was established. It was sort of the original name for Trilby. The name was changed 23 days later to Macon, and then changed to Trilby in 1901.

Trilby’s name came from railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant, who wanted to name the area around Macon after the heroine in wife’s favorite book, “Trilby,” by George du Maurier.

Even though the name wasn’t formally changed until 1901, there were references to Trilby in the late 1800s, Miller said.

“They platted out street maps showing streets named for characters in the story,” he added, and newspapers around the country reported that a small town in Florida was being named Trilby.

The city of Zephyrhills, originally was known as Abbott, got its name in 1888. It was changed in 1910 by Capt. Howard B. Jeffries, who founded a retirement colony for Civil War veterans. The word zephyr means gentle breeze, and Zephyrhills is known for its hills, Miller said.

The Pasco Post Office, established in 1889, was named after the county.

Pasco County got its name in 1887 when Jefferson Alexis Hendley and Dr. Richard Bankston traveled to Tallahassee to lobby the Legislature for a new county to be called Banner County.

The name did not go over well with legislators, who said “my county is just as much a banner county as yours,” Miller said.

Bankston then proposed the name Pasco County, in honor of Samuel Pasco, the newly elected U.S. Senator. On the same day, in 1887, Pasco and Citrus counties were created, with Pasco coming from the southern third of Hernando County and Citrus coming from the northern third.

The community of Land O’ Lakes got its name in 1949 and was the result of giving the Drexel-Denham area a new name. The following year, the Ehren Post Office was moved and renamed Land O’ Lakes.

Revised on August 9, 2018