By Ken Marotte Citrus County has been home to some colorful characters, but perhaps none so eccentric as Mayor William S. Alyea of Crystal River. According to newspaper reporter Hampton Dunn, Alyea grew up in the rough-and-tumble Old West and had a reputation as...
It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to a champion of the Citrus County Historical Society and cherished friend, Flo Jones, who passed away Saturday, January 21, 2023. Flo was a longtime volunteer at the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum, starting out as a...
By Steve Hrycaj, Inverness Cultural Heritage Council (ICHC) Chair Thursday evening, January 19th, 2023, at The Old Courthouse Heritage Museum in downtown Inverness, the Inverness Cultural Heritage Council, a part of the Citrus County Historical Society hosted a Coffee...
By Ken Marotte Citrus County Historical Society What is today considered downtown Inverness was actually three distinct and separate historical villages: Tompkinsville, LaBelle and Inverness [see Plat map from 1887, below] While Tompkinsville and Labelle are...
by Ken Marotte Citrus County Historical Society Long before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, ordinary Americans (including citizens in Citrus County) were preparing to defend our country. THE GATHERING STORM Almost a year before Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, the...
by Ken Marotte Americans have always been an inventive lot. Give us a problem that hasn’t been solved, or a tool that could be improved and we’ll figure a way to serve people a little better. The US Patent Office’s archive is testimony to the creative talents of...
In Memoriam: Remembering Our Volunteer, Joanie Knapp Longtime museum volunteer Joanie Knapp passed away on July 14, 2022 at the age of 80. Joanie was dedicated to the museum and her community. She volunteered regularly, twice a week, at the Old Courthouse...
Convict Leasing in Citrus County by Ken Marotte We sometimes drive past some road work or clean-up projects accompanied by the “Prisoners Working” sign. Most people don’t think about the story of convict labor in Florida and Citrus County in particular. Leasing State...
W. C. Zimmerman – Citrus County’s Indiana Jones? by Kenneth Marotte A National Celebrity We remember Floral City’s W.C. Zimmerman as a Civil War soldier and long-time Clerk of Court for Citrus County. He gained lasting fame as the resolute county official...
How old is Cooter Pond? Was Cooter Pond home to a Yacht Club? Did the pond save the old Citrus County Courthouse from flooding? Did the resident fish enjoy a moonshiner’s cache? Are there boxcars from a past train derailment still hidden under the waters? Cooter...
