The Legacy of Ralph “Elmer” Van Ness By: Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society “He was a wizard with plants and the land. I think Elmer was the best farmer this county ever saw”. – Judge E.C. May The Van Ness family is recognized as pioneer settlers of...
Law & Order – Citrus County : 1890’s Edition By Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society Many people have an idealized vision of what life must have been like in the 1890’s. Were ladies with parasols gliding down the streets of Floral City, Inverness...
The Youngest Mayor in Florida BY Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society A family tragedy called a man back to his home in Inverness. Little did he know that in a year’s time his supporters would hail him as “the Youngest Mayor in Florida.” Conrad and Morris...
The Cleveland Indians in Citrus County? By Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society MLB Spring Training – Big Business Major league baseball teams have traveled to Florida for Spring training for over 100 years. The warm temperatures and better field conditions...
The Lost Movie Theatres of Inverness By Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society The Valerie Theatre has become an important part of the Inverness entertainment scene. Most people are aware that it was built in the 1920s, experienced a decline over the years that...
The Voyage of Crystal River’s Fearless Sailors By Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,A tale of a fateful tripThat started from this tropic portAboard this tiny ship Chicago Snowbirds The 1920’s were a time of...
War Comes to Rock Crusher Ridge By Ken Marotte. Citrus County Historical Society Rock Crusher Ridge may not have been valuable from a military perspective during the time of Robert E Lee’s 1849 evaluation, but the situation had changed dramatically almost a hundred...
The Legend of Robert E Lee in Citrus County By Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society Stories from Old Maps There are a number of old maps in the archives of the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum. It’s always interesting to see the names of villages and towns...
Citrus County’s Inventors (Part three in a series) By Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society In Parts 1 and 2, we explored patents filed by a number of Citrus County residents. These amazing inventors hailed from Hernando, Inverness, Homosassa, Crystal River,...
By Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society In Part 1, we explored patents for a collapsible fruit crate from Hernando, a rodent-proof food storage unit from Inverness, a mailbag that can be picked up from moving train from Homosassa and improved wagon wheel...
