About Citrus County, Florida

Citrus County was first occupied about 2,500 years ago by mound-building Native Americans that built the complex that now forms the Crystal River Archeological Site. The site was occupied for about 3,000 years. Why the complex was abandoned is currently unknown.

Citrus County was created in 1887. The Citrus County area was formerly part of a Hernando County. It was named for the county's citrus trees. Citrus production declined dramatically after the "Big Freeze" of 1894-1895. Today, citrus is grown on one large grove, Bellamy Grove. Additionally, some people do have trees on their personal property.

The original county seat was Mansfield, or Mannsfeld. The county seat was moved to Inverness. Currently, only a street and a pond remain of the original town.
 
Sign on the Withlacoochee State Trail marking the site of the "Great Train Wreck of 1956" in Pineola.Phosphate mining also played a major part in the history of the County until the end of WWII in which phosphate mining was largely moved overseas. The first newspaper of Citrus County was called the Phosphate Times.  Pineola, Florida was the site of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's "Great Train Wreck of 1956."

In the 1960s Citrus County began to develop and housing developments such as Beverly Hills started to dominate the county.  Citrus County is known as “The Little Giant” and this is inscribed on the official county seal. Citrus County is in the geographic center of Florida.

Citrus County has one local television station that broadcasts County Commission meetings live on the first and third Tuesday of each month. In addition, Citrus County is serviced by Bay News 9, a news outlet provided by Bright House Networks.

There is one local newspaper, the Citrus County Chronicle.

Cities & Towns

Beverly Hills
is a census-designated place (CDP) in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,317 at the 2000 census

Citrus Springs
Citrus Springs was developed by the Mackle family, a prominent real estate development family, to be used as a subdivision consisting of over 34,000 homesties. An interesting note is that Elkcam Blvd, a prominent street in Citrus Springs, is actually Mackle backwards. The area currently has 2 elementary schools (Citrus Springs Elementary School and Central Ridge Elementary School, opened fall 2008) and 1 middle school (Citrus Springs Middle School). There are plans for an 80-acre high school campus complete with public park, but construction is not planned in the near future.

Phosphate mining also played a major part in the history of the Citrus County until the end of WWII in which phosphate mining was largely moved overseas. The first newspaper of Citrus County was called the Phosphate Times. Many abandoned mines stretch along the Withlacoochee River basin, with a concentration of those within Citrus Springs. Some of those areas can be seen at one of Citrus Springs two golf courses, El Diablo. Many of those mines were part of the Dunnellon Phosphate company, headed by Capt John L. Inglis, a veteran of the Civil War. Areas near northeastern Citrus Springs, being included as part of a proposed unfinished portion of the Cross Florida Barge Canal to aid the transportation of the mineral.

Citrus Springs features a 41 mile bike riding trail converted from the railroad lines built in the early 1900s.

Crystal River
is a city in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,485 at the 2000 census. (4,044 in 1990). According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 3,600. The city was incorporated in 1903 and is the self professed "Home of the Manatee". Crystal River is located on the Crystal River and is home to a nuclear power plant, the Crystal River 3 Nuclear Generating Station. Crystal River Preserve State Park is located nearby, and Crystal River Archaeological State Park is located in the city's northwest side. There was once a railroad that had another end there going northwest to the Withlacoochee trail formally the Withlacoochee trail. Crystal River is at the heart of the Nature Coast of Florida. The City is situated around Kings Bay, which is spring-fed so keeps a constant temperature year round. Kings Bay is home to nearly 400 manatee during the winter and is one of the few places where people can interact with them in their natural conditions. In 2005 there was a movement to dissolve the city. As of 2007 the city police department was replaced by the Citrus County Sheriff's Office.

Homosassa
In 1851, David Levy Yulee established a 5,000-acre sugar plantation on the Homosassa River, close to the current town of Homosassa. The plantation was worked by approximately 1,000 slaves, but Yulee was an absentee owner, spending most of his time in Fernandina. Among the crops raised were sugar cane, cotton and citrus. The Yulee Groves were one of the first in Florida to grow sweet oranges budded from sour orange stock. The mill, which was steam-driven, operated from 1851 to 1864 and produced sugar, syrup and molasses, the last of which was part of the rum-making process. After the American Civil War ended in 1865, Yulee was imprisoned, the slaves were freed and the site was abandoned. The remains of the plantation are preserved at the Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins State Historic Site.

Inverness
Inverness, Florida was established in 1889. Its original name was Tompkinsville. According to the late historian Mary McRae of Homosassa, Inverness got its name from a lonely Scotsman, far away from his home, who gazed upon the blue waters of the Native American-named Lake Tsala Apopka and thought, “but it looks like Inverness, between the headlands and the lochs’(115) in Scotland. And the beautiful place deserves the name of Inverness.” Inver is a Gaelic word meaning “mouth of the river”, and through the city flows the River Ness, originating from Loch Ness. Since the city lies at the foot of one of the chain of lakes in the Citrus County, Inverness seemed an appropriate name.  Inverness is the county seat of Citrus County.

Source: Wikipedia.org

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