Half of our land is dedicated as publicly held property including State Forests, national wild life refuges and 28,000 acres Crystal River Preserve State Park. 152,000 acres out of the 683 square miles have been set aside to preserve wildlife.

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Some Fun and Fascinating Facts About Citrus County:

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Citrus County was named for the county's citrus groves.

Early Spanish Explorers planted the first orange trees in Florida in the 1500s.  During the Civil War the Yulee Sugar Mill, located on the Homosassa River, supplied sugar to the Confederacy. Remnants of the Yulee Sugar Mill still stand today and you can see the stonework on the 40' chimney, the foundation, well, iron gears and a cane press.  After the Civil War the development of the railroad allowed citrus growers to ship their products across the country.  Citrus production declined dramatically after the "Big Freeze" of 1894 - 1895.  That freeze ended the citrus industry and phosphate was discovered in the area in the late 1800s. 

 

The phosphate mining (used in munitions) played a major part of the history of Citrus County until the end of WWII when phosphate mining was moved overseas. 

 

The Citrus industry rallied once again and by 1950 more than 100 million boxes of citrus were picked, that number reached 200 million in 1970.

 

Another early industry in the1800s was the turpentine business here in Citrus County. Turpentine was used in many household products such as: paint, hairspray and cosmetics.  By 1970, the Florida turpentine industry had all but disappeared.

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Crystal River State Archaeological Site:

The earliest settlements in Citrus County started around 200 B.C. and lasted until 1400 A.D. Indians of the Deptford culture (pre-Columbian Native American group) occupied this area.  Native American burial mounds can still be seen at the Crystal River State Archaeological Site.  The 61 acre complex is a six mound complex with burial mounds, two temple/platform mounds (believed to have been used for ceremonial purposes) and a plaza area.  These areas were used by the Native Americans for over 1,600 years.

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Homosassa:

Homosassa has been a sports lover's paradise since the turn of the century and a destination for wealthy and prominent Americans such as Grover Cleveland, Thomas Edison, John Jacob Astor and Winslow Homer.

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Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park:

Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park serves as a refuge for injured and orphaned manatees, exotic animals and native species.  Some of these animals were trained and used in television shows and movies.  One of the most popular was a bear named Buck.  He was the stand-in for Gentle Ben, a 1960s television show.  A non-native animal at the park, Lucifer (Lu), is a much beloved hippopotamus.  When the state purchased the park and wanted only native Florida animals, the citizens petitioned the governor and Lu was named an honorary Florida native. On top of that he was a movie and television star in the 1960s. Lu turned 62 years old on January 28, 2022. He is still the oldest living hippopotamus in North America.

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Old Citrus County Courthouse:

This courthouse was constructed in 1912.  Elvis Presley made an appearance in a movie filmed at the courthouse named 'Follow That Dream'. The majority of the movie was filmed in Citrus County and surrounding parts of central Florida in 1961. The final crucial scenes of the movie were filmed entirely in our courthouse.

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People are still following their dream to Florida.