Hernando County, Florida Real Estate

The County of Hernando was established on February 27th 1843 and was named in honor of the Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto. The Native Americans quickly found the County to be a place rich in fish in the many lakes and streams and oyster beds in the Gulf of Mexico. They also found the inland forests to be full of deer. This coupled with the climate made it a perfect place to live.

Bayport was one of the primary settlements by the early 1850's. It was a main port of entry for the county. Brooksville was held by Confederate forces, in 1864. During the Civil War, Union Navy and Army forces, marched from the Union held Anclote Key to attack the Confederate force. The Union forces landed at Bayport and launched an attack on Brooksville, shelling the town heavily. There are no remains, today, of the original settlement of Bayport. The settlement was so heavily damaged during the war that it was abandoned. New houses have been built near the original site and the site now serves as a waterside park and welcomes visitors. The event is celebrated every January as the "Brooksville Raid Festival". Bayport was chosen originally for the county seat but the east section of the county was unhappy so the voters chose a site located within 5 miles of the center of the county. It became Brooksville in honor of Representative Preston Brooks.

In the 1880's a Bill was passed to divide Hernando County into three counties, thus creating the counties of Citrus to the north and Pasco to the south.

In the following decades the lumber industry flourished, the citrus boom hit central Florida, the phosphate industry stabilized and limestone mining was established. The Depression of the 1930's and World War II had a severe effect on the availability of resources and further development. As the county has slowly recovered it has become a slower paced community for those wanting to escape the more hectic life in Metropolitan Tampa Bay's larger communities.

Hernando County is located in the geographic center of Florida, approximately 45 miles north of downtown Tampa, 50 miles west of Orlando, 100 miles south of the Ocala/Gainesville areas.

Hernando County now offers an impressive park system, with more than 20 developed parks on 340 acres and 945 acres of open space. You can enjoy everything from passive casual strolling to active sports such as baseball, soccer, skateboarding, boating, and swimming.

Anderson Snow Sports Complex, Ernie Wever Youth Park, and Veterans Memorial Park are all multi-functional sports complexes that offer ball fields, picnic areas, and playgrounds. From Anderson Snow Park, you can link up to the regional bicycle network at the Suncoast Bike Trail. Delta Woods Park is a large community park, which offers tennis, handball, basketball, shuffleboard, bocce ball, playground, picnic shelters, gazebos, volley ball and horse shoes.

If a day at the beach is more your speed then stop by Alfred McKethan/Pine Island Park located on the Gulf of Mexico or Rogers Park located on the Weeki Wachee River.