HISTORY OF PASCO COUNTY

Dade City

See also a separate article on Fort Dade. This page was last revised on Jan. 25, 2012.

Dec. 20, 1842. James Gibbons is issued a permit for 160 acres in S 27, T 24, R21, in what would become Dade City. [Information from a deed dated Dec. 1, 1849, conveying the property to Gibbons’ heirs.]

About 1855. A bridge is constructed across the Withlacoochee River. According to a historical marker, it was constructed by the slaves of James Lanier.

1878. The Enterprise Church is built. [It was moved to the Pioneer Florida Museum in 1977. A sign on the church lists the charter members as: Bishop D. S. Legget, P. E. W. [illegible] Jordan, Robert Sumner, Jane Sumner, David H. Thrasher, J. Cary Sumner, Mary [illegible] Sumner, Willie Thrasher, James Shearer, Jane Shearer, F. A. Barnes, Mary Clement, Elizabeth Tucker, W. H. Parker [illegible].]

Oct. 30, 1882. A post office is established at Hatton.

Dec. 1, 1884. Henry W. Coleman and William N. Ferguson open a store, the second general store in Dade City.

Dec. 18, 1884. The Hatton post office is renamed Dade City.

About 1885. Dade City is incorporated. [A newspaper advertisement on Dec. 5, 1885, called Dade City an incorporated town and identified E. A. Hall as Mayor. A second incorporation occurred in 1889.]

June 6, 1885. A newspaper mentions the Dade City Observer. [The newspaper is called the Florida Observer in an 1885 newspaper directory, which says it is a weekly newspaper.]

1886. The Dade City hotel is built.

1887. The first railroad line reaches Dade City, according to a historic marker.

1887. A second newspaper in Dade City, the Pasco County Democrat is established by Capt. John B. Johnston. [On Mar. 26, 1920, the Dade City Banner reported: “Jno. B. Johnston, of Tampa, whose name will appear prominent in the history of Dade City journalism, if such is ever written, was a caller on the Banner last Saturday. Mr. Johnston was the pioneer printer in Pasco county we believe; anyhow he established the Democrat here in 1887 and continued its publication for twenty years. Later he started Progress in Dade City, but it belied its name and expired in two years.” An 1899 directory showed the Democrat was owned by J. A. Johnston and had a circulation of 400. In 1909 the Democrat was absorbed by the Dade City Star.]

July 18, 1887. The Pasco Board of County Commissioners meets for the first time. Dade City is named the temporary county seat.

Aug. 1, 1887. The County Commission votes to accept the proposal of Coleman Ferguson and Co. for a two-story structure on Meridian St. in Dade City for use as a temporary court house free of rent. The company promised it would be finished by Sept. 5.

Dec. 21, 1887. An Iowa newspaper reports, “A special from Dade City, Florida, says Dick Hines and Charley Metz, colored, were lynched there Tuesday for assaulting Mrs. Oberry and her daughter, living near Owensboro. When arrested the negroes confessed their crime and begged for mercy, but were speedily lynched. No particulars can be learned more than they were tortured before being strung up, and the ropes were so arranged that they slowly died of strangulation. Their bodies were left hanging and it is reported they were afterward riddled with shot.”

June 7, 1888. A newspaper reports, “Berry Miller of Dade City, Fla., killed an alligator fourteen feet long, weighing 600 pounds on Thursday. Within him was found an alligator six feet long. The vertebra is as large as that of a 4-year-old steer. The monster was very savage, and fought most viciously until killed.”

Aug. 21, 1888. The Semiweekly Age of Coshocton reports, “A. J. Gill of Dade City, Fla., is the owner of an orange tree fifty-three years old, which is two and a half feet in diameter and thirty-five feet high. This tree has yielded 10,000 oranges in a single season, and it is believed, if no mishap intervenes, the product will reach 12,000 the present year. It is one of a group of eighteen, each but little inferior in size.”

1889. A Methodist church is erected on College Street by James E. Lee.

Jan. 13, 1889. The First Presbyterian Church of Dade City is organized. [A church was erected on College Street in the early 1890s.]

Jan. 15, 1889. An election is held to select the city officials of the newly-incorporated Dade City. [According to the Pasco County Democrat, 47 voters, more than two-thirds of the proposed citizens, cast their ballots. City officers elected were: Mayor, John B. Johnston; Clerk, J. C. Calhoun; Councilmen, A. A. Boone, D. T. Clement, J. E. Lee, F. P. McElroy, and J. T. McMichael. This incorporation was approved by the state legislature on June 5, 1889. According to a 1916 newspaper article, Dade City was incorporated as a town in 1889 and as a city in 1909.]

Apr. 11, 1889. An election to name the county seat is held. Dade City won with 432 votes. Gladstone received 205 votes. Pasadena received 96; Urbana, 20; Fort Dade, 4; Clear Lake, 2; Jefferson, 2; and Owensboro, 1.

Aug. 8, 1889. School board minutes refer to a “graded and high school” in Dade City. [For information on this school, see the history of education page.]

Aug. 15, 1889. The Bank of Pasco County announces in the Pasco County Democrat that it will open for business as soon as its banking house is completed, but that meanwhile, anyone wishing to borrow money can write to A. A. Parker, Tavares, the president of the bank. [A charter was granted on Sept. 5, 1889. The bank, the first in Pasco County, opened in a two-story red-brick building completed in 1891 at Meridian Avenue and Seventh Street. It was the first brick building in Dade City. On Oct. 30, 1925, a newspaper reported that the Bank of Pasco County moved into its new home, which was remodeled from the old building.]

1891. The county’s first court house is constructed in Dade City. [County government had earlier been conducted in a temporary location.]

Oct. 20, 1891. A Texas newspaper reports, “The farmer’s alliance meets at Dade City today. Nearly 3000 delegates will attend to discuss the sub-treasury bill and a resolution to support only alliance men at the state election, which means a third party in Florida. The convention will endorse the Ocala platform.”

Oct. 24, 1891. The Bismarck Daily Tribune has: “DADE CITY, Oct. 28.—The State Farmers' Alliance, after discussion lasting five hours, endorsed the platform adopted at Ocala last year. Senator Pasco, who was not barred from the meeting because of being a lawyer, went on record against the sub-treasury plan.”

Nov. 14, 1891. College Street Baptist Church, later First Baptist Church, is organized by ten leading families of Oak Grove Baptist Church, according to an article in East Pasco’s Heritage.

1892. A brick jail is constructed at Dade City. [The marker at the Pasco County Jail lists these county commissioners: B. C. Campbell, T. F. Williams, L. S. Bradham, W. H. Haager, J. W. Clark.]

July 20, 1893. The Tampa Weekly Tribune mentions a newspaper, The World, in Dade City. [On Oct. 20, 1893, the Tribune reports John Post and family, merchants, Dade City World newspaper, return to Tampa to live.]

1894. The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette has: “A letter received from Dr. George C. Muirhead (?) at Dade City, Florida, states that he has been offered an office for the practice of his profession and will remain there. A host of warm friends here are sorry he does not intend to return, but are rejoiced at the news that he is enjoying excellent health.”

Aug. 20, 1894. The Trenton Times reports: “Dade City, Fla., Aug. 20—Milton Higgs came home from Floral City, where he works, to see his wife. As he reached home his wife drove up in a cart with another man. Higgs led the woman into the house and blew out her brains. The murderer escaped.”

May 3, 1895. The Galveston County Daily News reports, “Dade City, Fla.—Leslie Wilson, the 15-year-old son of R. M. Wilson, was caught in the belt at Bass’ saw mill, two miles north of Dade City on the 27th. Both of his legs were broken and he was otherwise badly injured. His condition is critical.”

Apr. 27, 1896. A heavy rain, wind, and hail storm passes through Dade City. The Tampa Morning Tribune reports, “The Brown brothers report their great water melon crop totally ruined. H. C. Griffin’s melon crop, corn and other crops were ruined or damaged. The residence of A. T. Hamilton, two miles east of here, was lifted from its foundation. Hamilton’s daughter was injured, but not seriously. The heavy rain breaks the drought of six weeks. Hail-stones filled a ditch six inches deep. H. H. Brown reports hail three inches deep on a level on his melon farm. ... Later reports show that the crops of Major C. Lewis, two miles northeast of town, are completely destroyed. He lost about forty turkeys killed by hailstones.”

Aug. 10, 1896. A fire in Dade City destroys Coleman & Ferguson’s general store, T. J. Howard’s drug store, J. J. Wilson’s poolroom, Powell’s barber shop, and A. A. Boone’s grocery store. The loss was estimated at $27,000.

Sept. 10, 1896. The Tampa Weekly Tribune mentions Rev. D. A. Cole, Methodist minister in Dade City.

1897. Embry Tobacco Co. is established.

Mar. 7, 1898. Minutes of the Dade City City Council meeting have: “Mr. T. F. Cheek and others appeared before the board asking that the Council take some step to rid the town of the illicit sale of whiskey. After discussion C. W. Furman offered the following resolution which was adopted: 'The Mayor and Marshal are commanded to abate all disorder in this city by enforcing the law in its fullest meaning and effect and arrest all parties who are in any way connected with any house of disorder and arrest the proprietors for keeping such hours.'”

May 2, 1898. James A. Delcher is elected Chairman of the Dade City City Council, replacing J. D. Sumner, who resigned.

Apr. 14, 1899. The Tampa Tribune, in an article of Dade City news, reports, “The business of the cigar factory is exceeding all expectations of its originators. An order for 100,000 of their smokers came in yesterday. A stock company organized and will take charge of the business at once. The company will erect immediately an ample building, and will employ fifty cigar makers.”

June 8, 1899. The San Antonio Herald reports:

Dade City was visited yesterday by a conflagration, which terminated in the destruction of a handsome church and several dwelling houses, besides damaging a number of adjoining buildings. At 1:30 p.m. sparks from a defective flue set the fire to the top of Mr. Walter Seay’s residence, and although there was plenty of help, nothing could be done to save the building. Meanwhile Dr. Baker’s house was exposed to all the heat and sparks, but an excited crowd saved it, forgetting, however, all about the Baptist church on the west of Baker’s. It was not long before the roof of the church caught and no efforts could save the structure, owing to the scarcity of water. The next building in danger was the one of the Hon. John Raymond. It was on fire several times, but after heroic exertions it was saved. For a time the High School appeared to be doomed also, but the teachers who were present for examination with some other help stationed themselves on the building, each with a supply of water, and the Superintendent and the chairman of the Board were on hand, ready to act, in case of emergency. This building escaped through a change of wind. The next building doomed was Mr. Keith’s villa, a handsome home, which was soon consumed by the flames, the heat of the burning church being too great for any attempt to extinguish the flames. The sparks from the burning buildings set at different times fire to the Presbyterian church and parsonage and the adjoining woods. Other houses in immediate danger were those of Messrs. Brown, Mobley, Ray and Henley. At 4 o'clock the fire was under control and further immediate danger past. A low estimate puts the loss at $11,000 with but little in insurance.

June 29, 1899. The San Antonio Herald reports, “Dr. Lowry, a physician of Plant City, has moved to Dade City with his family and will practise his profession.”

Aug. 10, 1899. The San Antonio Herald reports, “The Dade City cigar factory is said to be in a flourishing condition. Over 8000 cigars were shipped last week and sufficient orders are on hand to warrant an increase.”

March 8, 1900. The San Antonio Herald reports that Dr. Howard of Dade City has died.

Jan. 27, 1901. Early the morning, a riot breaks out at a negro dance at Rice & Phelps' turpentine camp near Dade City. Dan Childers, a white man, is killed and J. B. McNeill is fatally wounded. Two black women and one black man were shot and seriously wounded. [On Feb. 5, 1901, a mob lynched two black men, Will Wright and Sam Williams, in the county jail at Dade City. They had been implicated in the killing of Childers and the wounding of McNeill. Sheriff Griffin refused to give up the keys and the mob, said to be 30 to 50 men, broke down the outer door. Unable to break down the steel doors of the cells, they opened fire through the steel bars, shooting both prisoners to death. The Coroner’s jury found that they came to their death at the hands of “parties unknown.” On Feb. 14, 1901, the Tampa Tribune apparently gave the names as Will Wright and Sam Johnson.]

Mar. 11, 1901. American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record reports: “Dr. C. S. Lowry, of Dade City, Fla., has sold his drug business to J. Clarence Griffin. Dr. Lowry will locate in Lakeland, where he will practice his profession. He has also purchased a drug store in Lakeland.”

Aug. 18, 1901. the Tampa Tribune reports, “Fire, early yesterday morning, did $1,000 damage to the building at Eight avenue and Fifteenth street, owned by Coleman & Ferguson, of Dade City, and occupied by A. Noriega, grocer.”

Jan. 8, 1902. Jno. B. Johnston is selected as Mayor of Dade City.

1903. The Mount Zion A. M. E. Church is constructed in Dade City. [The trustees of the church at the time of the purchase of the property were Rufus Johnson, George Young, and Butler T. Green. The minister at this time may have been Rev. Amos Thompson. The building was demolished in 2007.]

1904. The Dade City Star is established. [On Dec. 8, 1904, a newspaper reported, “The Dade City Star is one of the latest ventures on the journalistic sea.” According to a 1972 newspaper article, “Basil Orville (“Villie”) Bowden became owner and editor of the Dade City Star which he established in 1904....” On Oct. 15, 1909, B. O. Bowden is shown as editor and owner.]

Jan. 4, 1904. J. K. Ward is elected Mayor of Dade City.

Mar. 17, 1904. At about 2 a.m., safe blowers attempt to rob the Bank of Pasco, dynamiting the large iron doors leading to the bank vault. The charges of dynamite were so heavy that the large brick building was cracked from roof to base and every one of the plate glass windows was blown out.

Nov. 2, 1904. The Tampa Morning Tribune reports, “The people of Dade City are delighted to know that they will soon have a telephone system connecting with San Antonio, Blanton, Greer and Jessamine Gardens. The business men and a good many of the residents are having phones put in. ... Dade City is soon to have another newspaper. ... A short time ago the town council purchased a gas plant and lighted the streets. They have given such satisfaction that the business men are putting them in their stores. Thelkeld & Mills have also put them in the hotel.”

Feb. 6, 1905. D. O. Thrasher is selected as Mayor of Dade City.

Feb. 9, 1905. Dade City Council meets to consider granting a franchise for an electric light and water works plant to Isaac D. Sperry, Drew B. Mills, and Emille Muller for a period of 25 years.

Feb. 14, 1905. The Tampa Morning Tribune reports, “Electric light and water works plants will soon be in operation here, the franchise for them having been granted to a company incorporated by J. D. Sperry, D. B. Mills, and Emile Muller. Mr. Sperry is a capitalist hailing from St. Louis who intends settling with his family in this city. D. B. Mills is the well-known and popular proprietor of the Dade City Hotel and Emile Muller proprietor of the ice works, which has been a success since its start. ... The Dade City Hotel, now under the management of Messrs. Mills and Utley, having made many improvements in its interior and exterior appointments, is being well patronized both by the tourist and commercial fraternity, who are fortunate as to become its guests. Mrs. L. P. Utley, who recently bought a half interest, has recently come from Salem, Ky., where she and her husband, J. A. Utley, kept a hotel successfully for many years.”

May 3, 1905. The Gainesville Daily Sun reports, “W. B. Keith, near Dade City, has harvested the finest crop of ten acres of oats ever raised in Pasco County.”

Feb. 8, 1906. A newspaper reprints an article from the Pasco County Democrat which has:

Mr. and Mrs. Utley have purchased the interest of D. B. Mills in the Dade City hotel and they are now sole proprietors of this splendid hostelry. The proprietors are determined to raise the hotel to the highest standard and they will spare neither pains nor expense in their efforts to cater to the comfort and pleasure of their guests. By reason of environment and the fine field offered to sportsmen this is really an ideal tourist hotel. The fishing and hunting are indeed satisfactory and both the hunter and angler can find all the sport he desires. The hotel is admirably situated on an eminence within a stone’s throw of the S. A. L. depot. Its sanitary condition is of the highest order and health is assured. Mr. Utley is an admirable host, genial, warmhearted and accommodating, his highest pleasure is found in contributing to the pleasure of his guests. Mrs. Utley is a lady of charming manner and tireless energy, who labors in season and out of season to make the hotel a model of homelike comfort and render each and every guest comfortable and happy. The future of the hotel is bright with promise.

Mar. 1, 1906. The Arcadia Champion reports, “Boon Embry, of Dade City, who owns one of the largest tobacco farms in the state, has just closed a ten-year contract for his crop at 40 cents a pound. He has nearly thirty acres under sheds.”

1907. The Dade City Hotel is destroyed by fire.

1907. Sunnybrook Tobacco Co. buys out the Embry Tobacco Co. [In the early 1920s Sunnybrook became the largest employer in Pasco County. The plant was heavily damaged by fire in 1924 and closed down.]

Jan. 31, 1907. The Tampa Tribune reports E. Wilson was elected Mayor of Dade City.

July 7, 1907. The Tampa Tribune, repeating an article from the Dade City Star, reports, “Dade City has never had such a rush as it is having now, and no slacking off for the summer seems probable, as every carpenter, every brick mason and all other workers are employed, and you can’t get a man for anything, even to the women and children are employed, as Boone Embry, the tobacco man, has work for 400 men, women and children to take care of his immense crop. A large number of houses are under construction and others waiting for the carpenters to get around to them. Among it all our town is forging to the front so fast we can hardly realize how it is being done.”

Sept. 28, 1907. The Tampa Morning Tribune reports, “F. S. Daigir will move in a few days into his handsome brick store. The Seay brick building is nearing completion. When completed will be occupied by Boon & Touchton, druggists.”

1908. Electric power is brought to Dade City by Dade City Ice, Light, and Power Co.

1908. The Touchton Building is erected at the corner of Seventh Street and Meridian Avenue in Dade City.

Jan. 26, 1908. The Gainesville Daily Sun reports, “Pasco County has the tobacco fever. In Dade City it is difficult to find clerks for the stores or landlords for the hotels—all rush out to grow tobacco.”

May 14, 1908. The Tampa Morning Tribune reports that ex-Sen. Kirk and George W. Dayton addressed an unruly crowd in Dade City.

Nov. 12, 1908. The Tampa Weekly Tribune mentions Dade City Orange Growers, Dade City Vegetable Co., Sunny Brook Tobacco Co., Dade City Star, B. O. Bowden, editor, and the Dade City Drug Co., Boon & Touchton, proprietors.

May 11, 1909. The Tampa Morning Tribune reports that the Mutual Construction Co. of Louisville, Ky., was awarded the contract for erecting Pasco County’s new court house at $34,860. It reported the company was allowed 250 working days to complete the contract. [According to one source, Circuit Court Clerk Archie J. Burnside accepted the completed building on July 5, 1909, and made the first payment of $6,360 on that date. However, the Atlanta Constitution of Sept. 20, 1909, carried a classified ad: “WANTED - Ten good carpenters to go to Dade City, Fla., work on courthouse, 30c per hour, 10-hour day. Call upon A H Haggard, 16 W. North avenue Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 12 m.” According to Eddie Herrmann, County Commission records reflect that acceptance was refused on Dec. 16, 1909, “on grounds, not fully completed,” and was subsequently accepted on Jan. 3, 1910.]

Oct. 15, 1909. The Dade City Star states that it “has the largest circulation of any paper ever published in Pasco County.” The newspaper reports on a four-day murder trial that resulted in a hung jury. State Attorney Herbert Phillips prosecuted the case and defense counsel included Col. E. F. Green, Capt. John B. Johnson, and Col. Robert W. Davis. School board minutes show that board members are L. J. Sellers, W. S. Larkin, and D. E. Wallace, and M. L. Gilbert is superintendent. In an advertisement, J. D. Sumner invites everybody to make his store headquarters during court or any other time when in town. S. Daiger advertises groceries, feed, fertilizer, crockery, clothing, oil stoves. O. N. Williams & Son advertise that they are the original Racket Store and have added a grocery department and a millinery and dress making department supervised by Mrs. Jennie Knapp. O. N. Williams is an agent for the Standard Fertilizer Co. Coleman and Ferguson advertise. W. L. Baker states that he is successor to R. C. Davis and advertises fresh fish each day, fresh pork, sausage, beef, and mutton. R. T. Thrasher is a dealer in general merchandise. Brown’s Livery has good teams and careful drivers. E. M. Staley is a contractor and builder.

Oct. 30, 1909. The Gainesville Daily Sun reports, “E. B. Embry of Dade City, who is manager of the Sunnybrook Tobacco Company, says that Florida wrapper tobacco is bringing two dollars a pound. The Dade City plantation is one of the largest in the State.”

Dec. 19, 1909. A newspaper reports, “E. M. Harvey, of Dade City, in the south of Florida, has sold the Dade City Hotel plot of ground to S. H. Gerowe, of Atlanta, Ga., who will give that city its crying need, a new hotel, which he intends to manage himself.”

Dec. 30, 1909. The Tampa Times reports that the temperature at Dade City dropped to 19°. [On Dec. 31, the Evening Independent reported, “Oranges have been hurt in this section, where exposed to the cold, but not in every case. Much firing has been done. Dade City has experienced some of the coldest weather in its history, but the cold wave at no time has equaled that of the big freeze of 1894.”]

Apr. 4, 1911. The Atlanta Constitution reports: “Dade City, Fla., April 3.—While personally directing the completion of a hotel he has built here, S. H. Gerowe fell 30 feet today and was instantly killed. He was standing on a window ledge on the second story, pulling a nail. The nail came out suddenly and Mr. Gerowe lost his balance. He was formerly a traveling salesman for Harry Schlesinger, of Atlanta.” (This hotel would become the Edwinola.)

Nov. 16, 1911. The Zephyrhills Colonist mentions vol. I, no. 1, of the Dade City Record. [On Nov. 26, 1911, the Miami Herald Record reported, “Dade City has a new newspaper and it is called the Pasco County Record. The first number was sent out last Friday and Editor A. G.Waldron, who is also the proprietor, declares in his introductory that he intends to ‘publish the news of all the county just as it happens and from an unbiased and unprejudiced viewpoint.’”]

1912. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Station is erected in Dade City.

1912. A Guide to Florida for Tourists, Sportsmen, and Settlers lists three hotels in Dade City: Woods' Tavern, I. A. Woods, capacity 25; Embry House, W. E. Embry, capacity, 25; Osceola, Mrs. M. D. Cochran, capacity, 20.

Feb. 11, 1912. A newspaper ad identifies Jasper C. Carter as Mayor of Dade City and Charles F. Touchton as President of the Dade City Board of Trade.

Mar. 8, 1912. A newspaper reports that the Hotel Edwinola had its formal opening on Saturday night. The owner was Edwin J. Gasque, and A. J. Stebbins was the manager manager. It was located on the same site as the former Dade City Hotel. (In the 1950s the building became Florida East Coast University; the university was closed in the 1970s. The Edwinola reopened in 1974 as a restaurant, and as a retirement home in 1982.)

Oct. 13, 1912. The Tampa Morning Tribune reports, “Work has begun on the breaking of ground for the erection of the new Atlantic Coast Line depot at the foot of Meridian street. ... The work of erecting this building is in charge of Mr. G. H. Boring, local contractor.”

1913. The first of two legal executions occurs in Pasco County as Tom Bush is hanged by Sheriff Sturkie for murdering his wife.

1913. The Dade City Banner is established. [On Aug. 27, 1913, the St. Petersburg Daily Times reprinted the following from the Gainesville Sun: “Dade City is a rather small town to support two newspapers, but she is going to try it. Larger towns than Dade City have failed in this attempt but the Banner has the Sun’s best wishes for her success.” In 1914 William M. Hetherington purchased the Dade City Banner from John Tippen. On Jan. 1, 1920, Hetherington sold the newspaper to Carl H. Rerick (he had leased it since 1918). Hetherington then moved to Lakeland and had charge of job printing in the Telegram office. In 1922 he purchased the New Port Richey Press. In August 1924 the Banner was taken over by Wayne Thomas of Tampa and I. M. McAlpin. The latter was listed as editor. Effective with the Sept. 12, 1924, issue, Carl B. Taylor became the editor. The Dade City Banner later became the Pasco News and the Pasco County News, which ceased publication on Nov. 30, 2006, although the company continued to publish the Pasco Shopper, a free advertising flyer.]

May 4, 1913. The new St. Rita Church is blessed by Benedictine Fr. Augustine Feller, O. S. B., the pastor. [It was dedicated on Jan. 4, 1914. More information about this church is here.]

Oct. 12, 1913. The Tampa Morning Tribune reports, “We have three hotels, i.e., Hotel Osceola (transients and boarders); Edwinola, transients and boarders. Woods Tavern is small so can only take transients. Mrs. Ward keeps The Ward House, Mrs. Embry The Embry House, three as good boarding houses are anyone can find and the Oyster Bar Restaurant. So you see we are preapred to care for all who come.”

Mar. 13, 1914. Frederick A. Cook speaks in Dade City, claiming that he discovered the North Pole.

Sept. 25, 1914. The Dade City Banner reports that J. T. Futch is about to build a packing house south of the depot, that A. J. Reed has leased the old mill site between Church and Meridian streets, which he will convert into a wood yard and mill, that concrete sidewalks are soon to be constructed on College Street, and that J. T. Teston will operate a laundry.

Oct. 9, 1914. The Dade City Banner reports that C. D. Hubert, Dade City’s progressive jeweler, is making arrangements to install a wireless outfit whereby he can get the time from the government station at Arlington, Va. There will be two 75-foot towers, 150 feet apart, between which four antenna wires will be stretched.

Nov. 13, 1914. The Dade City Banner reports:

Mrs. Raymond Hitchcock, wife of the noted actor, and her brother arrived in the city Tuesday, and are making their headquarters at the Edwinola for the present. Mrs. Hitchcock bought the old Blanton tract, consisting of 300 acres, last year from Mr. Stewart, manager of the Hippodrome, of New York, who was here last winter, and expects to spend the winter here in improving her property, setting out a large orange grove on it in the near future. The Blanton estate is about six miles from town, and Mrs. Hitchcock and brother, should they decide to stay here, will probably buy property and build a winter home in the city, managing their grove from this place.

Nov. 20, 1914. The Dade City Banner reports that Mr. C. Beech resigned as city marshal and that Mayor A. F. Price appointed W. F. “Bill” Flemming to fill the unexpired term. [Beech had been beaten up in the negro quarters earlier in the month.]

Nov. 27, 1914. An advertisement in the Dade City Banner announces that Dr. F. C. Wirt, osteopath, will be at Dade City Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at the Edwinola Hotel, and at San Antonio on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning, beginning Nov. 16.

Sept. 4, 1915. A publication reports that the Dade City National Bank has applied for a charter. Capital $25,000. Correspondents are: R. B. Sturkie, E. T. Vaughn, E. W. Stapleton, L. B. Bessinger, J. M. Harvey.

Oct. 9, 1915. The Dade City Banner and the Dade City Star are consolidated.

1916. A brick, two-story city hall is constructed on Meridian Ave. in Dade City.

June 29, 1916. The Bank of Dade City opens.

Nov. 24, 1916. The Dade City Banner has: “The undersigned agree to close their respective places of business for Thanksgiving on November 30, 1916. Coleman and Ferguson, T. L. Shofner, J. A. Peek, Cash Grocery Store, Hubert Jewelry Store, S. F. Huckabay, H. C. Griffin, O. N. Williams and Son, W. M. Redding.”

Jan. 19, 1917. The banner headline in the Dade City Banner reads: “Everything in Readiness for Pasco County’s First Fair, Opening Wednesday, January 24th.” [According to the web site of the Pasco County Fair, “On April 7, 1947, the Pasco County Fair Association Inc. was chartered with the purpose of hosting an annual fair to promote youth and other county resources. The first documented county fair was Jan. 20 through 24, 1948.”]

Dec. 28, 1917. The second and final public hanging takes place at the Dade City jail. Edgar London, a black man convicted of murdering his wife at Ehren in 1917, is executed by Sheriff I. W. Hudson.

1918. The Mount Zion AME Church on 7th Street in Dade City is constructed, the first Protestant church in Pasco County to be built of masonry [Historic Places of Pasco County].

Oct. 25, 1918. A headline in the Dade City Banner reads “Joe Parker Victim of Spanish Influenza” and a subheadline reads “No Other Death Here and the Epidemic Giving Way.”

Dec. 6, 1918. The Dade City Banner reports that Orville L. Dayton will be the next Mayor of Dade City.

Dec. 17, 1920. The Dade City Banner reports that F. D. Cosner was elected Mayor and that, because of reports of rabies among dogs in town, city council voted to require dogs to be muzzled year-round or be shot by Marshal Sparkman.

Jan. 1923. C. F. Touchton moves his drug store into the Daiger block, which he had previously purchased and remodeled. [In February he installed new glass front folding doors.]

March 1923. Roger Babson visits Dade City.

June 6, 1924. The Dade City Banner reports that Judge O. L. Dayton was elected mayor by the city council, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of F. D. Cosner.

July 4, 1924. The Dade City Banner reports, “The little settlement just south of Dade City heretofore known as the Fort King community has decided to re-name it ‘Oakhurst.’ This is a very appropriate name on account of the many magnificent oaks along the roads as well as on private property in that vicinity. The community begins just where the new paved road leads off to San Antonio and extends south a couple of miles along the Fort King road to the Pasadena settlement.”

Dec. 12, 1924. The Dade City Banner reports that Frank P. Ingram was elected Mayor of Dade City, defeating W. M. Larkin 144-120.

Dec. 19, 1924. The Dade City Banner reports that fire destroyed the three-story Sunny Brook Tobacco Co. building in what was probably the worst fire in the history of Dade City. It was the largest single industry in Dade City. The building was constructed in 1907, according to the article.

Apr. 16, 1926. The Dade City Banner reports that the Crescent Theatre opened Thursday night with the presentation of A Japanese Girl by local talent.

Apr. 30, 1926. The Dade City Banner reports that the historic Palmer House, on Eighth St. and the Seaboard Air Line railway tracks, was badly damaged by fire early on Friday. The article reported that the building is one of the oldest residences in Dade City and that it was formerly a well-known hotel opposite the old Seaboard station at Pasadena.

May 28, 1926. The Dade City Banner reports, “Workmen will start early next week clearing the property at Fourth street and East Meridian avenue, preparatory to the breaking of ground and the construction of Dade City’s new Community Hotel, according to the announcement of M. Williams, president of the corporation, which has been formed to carry out this structure.” [The hotel was never completed but the building became a city hall.]

July 13, 1926. The Dade City Banner reports: “The Bank of Dade City failed to open its doors this morning and a notice posted on the door stated that the directors had decided to close the institution, as the cash reserves were below the legal requirements. The bank was considered solvent, and it was thought that the depositors would suffer no loss. The action was taken by the directors at a monthly meeting Monday night following a run during the day participated in largely by out of town depositors, among whom rumors that the bank was not sound became circulated over Sunday.” [The bank reopened in September 1926.]

Oct. 22, 1926. The Dade City Banner reports: “Dade City now has a 12-bed hospital, the equal in equipment to any to be found in South Florida, with the moving this week of the little emergency hospital operated for the past few years by Dr. T. F. Jackson on the second floor of the Touchton building to the former residence of the Rev. H. N. Abraham on Church street. First class equipment for the care of medical and surgical patients has been installed, and a corps of trained nurses have been engaged. While the hospital is a private one, in the sense that it is owned entirely by Dr. Jackson, its facilities will be at the disposal of all practicing physicians of Pasco county, and it has the moral support of the Pasco-Hernando Medical Association.”

Dec. 17, 1926. The Dade City Banner reports that William Friedman was elected Mayor of Dade City on Tuesday.

Aug. 2, 1927. The Dade City Banner reports, “The opening of the Hugh S. Embry Memorial Free Library Saturday afternoon marks the starting of something long needed in Dade City ....”

Feb. 21, 1929. The Pasco County News masthead shows that it is published every Thursday by the Highlands Printing Co., Dade City. Harley S. Bazzell is editor and general manager.

Aug. 3, 1934. The Dade City Banner reports that Pasco County took over management of Jackson Memorial Hospital on Aug. 1.

1936. Pasco Packing Association (Lykes-Pasco) is organized.

July 6, 1936. Moore’s Academy, a black school in Dade City, is destroyed by fire of undetermined origin.

1938. Coleman and Ferguson, the oldest mercantile business in Dade City, closes its hardware, dry goods, and grocery store.

1940. City Hall is completed in Dade City.

April 16, 1944. The Florida Times Union reports: “A Unit of 250 German prisoners arrived on a special train this week from a camp in Augusta, Ga. and have been moved into the camp on the eastern edge of Dade City. Buildings to house the prisoners and the force of sixty military police have been built under the direction of Army engineers. The military personnel of the camp are permitted to live off the reservation when not on duty and many of them have been joined here by their families and have taken apartments in Dade City. The prisoners were brought here to work at the plant of the Pasco Packing association and the mill at Lacoochee, operated by Cummer Sons Cypress Co. Most of the prisoners are young and groups of them in the camp last evening were singing. An officer remarked that they would no doubt soon be singing ‘God Bless America,’ as they seem rather content to be here.”

1945. College Street in Dade City is renamed Church Street, according to Historic Places of Pasco County. [However, a 2007 article in the St. Petersburg Times says it was renamed Church Avenue in 1944.]

Aug. 24, 1945. The Dade City Banner reports, “A disastrous fire of undetermined origin broke out about 10 o'clock Wednesday night in the parts room on the second floor of the two-story brick garage building of the Pasco Packing Association causing damage which will run into thousands of dollars.”

Dec. 21, 1948. The Pasco Theatre opens in Dade City.

Mar. 9, 1950. The Joy-Lan Drive-In Theatre opens.

Dec. 1954. WDCF radio station begins broadcasting.

Oct. 11, 1956. The New Port Richey Press reports that Postmaster General Arthur E. Summerfield will dedicate the new Dade City post office on Oct. 19.

Apr. 2, 1959. A tornado causes property damage of one million dollars in Dade City. It destroyed several structures on Lock Street and damaged Lykes Pasco.

Jan. 13, 1981. The temperature in Dade City drops to 16 degrees, with a rural area nearby reporting 8 degrees.

Recollections of Helen Eck Sparkman (1977)

We lived in Waterloo, N.Y. in a colonial type house known locally as “Paradise,” and so titled in the 1896 deed of purchase. It was from “Paradise” that we came to Florida.

Papa, grandpa and one of our friends had each bought one unit of Zephyrhills property, consisting of five acres of country land and a city lot for $50. So we were to come to Zephyrhills, out of the cold north, and be farmers.

Accordingly our grandmother sold Paradise, with its fabulous six-hole brick privy with simulated cupola for $1,500. People had often stopped to ask her if she rented her smokehouse. Then we loaded our belongings in a freight car and came.

We brought everything, even my ice skates and the carpet beaters. Then, in addition, we bought and brought a fine Jersey cow and two pigs. So my father, who I supposed had never been near a cow, had to ride in the freight car and feed and milk her, while the rest of us came by passenger train.

We left Geneva, N.Y., at 6 p.m. on the night of Friday, Nov. 4, 1910, and arrived in Dade City at 4 p.m. on the following Sunday afternoon, Nov. 6. It was one of these rainy days, gray, with water dripping from the moss on the trees and in a sandy street between the depot and Griffin’s Drug Store (now Nolen’s) a scrawny, dirty cow was munching on a paper bag.

Since the original sale of the Zephyrhills property had occurred only in March of 1910, there were no living quarters available there. So we rented the house on the southeast corner of 12th and Church streets, recently known as the I.W. Smith house. It then belonged to the M.D. Cochrane family, who had just moved to the Osceola Hotel at the corner of Fifth and Meridian streets. They ran the hotel there for a great many years. There were the family shown in one of the early pictures shown in Pasco News. The children were Inez, Lula (a beloved third-grade teacher), Ethel, Will and Fred, the baseball player.

Early Monday morning my mother took me to school - of course it was unthinkable that anyone should miss a day.

The teacher introduced me to the class as being from New York and everyone just sat there looking at the newcomer. Finally one girl got up from a back seat, came up to me and took me by the arm and invited me to go back and sit with her. I've always been grateful.

Then, when our first noon hour was over (nearly everyone went home for lunch, there were no buses in those days), while I was in an assigned seat, one of the girls rushed in, almost flung a paper on my desk in front of me and said, “Here, read this!” I looked down at a glaring headline, which read: “Was Jefferson Davis a traitor?” What a reception for a timid Yankee! I didn't know then and I never found out.

This was in the original wooden building where I spent my last three years of high school under the tutelage of Professor Corr and several of the teachers shown with him in the early picture. We graduated in 1913 in the new school, now known as the Annex, which had only the upstairs auditorium finished and where the Jefferson Davis supporter graduated as valedictorian with her shoes on the wrong feet.

In January of 1911 grandmother paid $750 for the house at 202 North 11th St. opposite the Episcopal Church. It was at that time known as a “Dogtrot House.” The north half had three rooms in a row and a single room on the south side had a fireplace; an open space about 8 to 10 feet wide - the dog trot separated them.

In April 1911, my parents, sister and I moved to the house where Sally’s Dance Studio is located, for which we paid $12.50 per month rent. It was not the size it now is, Richardson’s Funeral Home made the additions. When, a year later, the rent was raised to $15 per month, this was just too much to pay. So my folks went to the Bank of Pasco County, borrowed $900, and with it built our house. Lumber came from Greer’s saw mill, located where Barber Block now is, and the windows, doors and inside stairway were ordered from Sears, Roebuck since Pasco Lumber had not arrived yet.

The first place my father worked was on the Edwinola Hotel, which was being built at that time. The former hotel had been a wooden building that had burned in 1907, as people were wont to say jokingly “with great loss of life” (not human). Mr. Gerowe, whose wife was a sister of Mr. Gasque, had begun the present hotel, when he fell from second story window and was killed. So Mr. Gasque bought the property from his sister and completed it combining the names Edwin and Lola to name it Edwinola.

Minutes of May 10, 1909, in Commissioner’s Record Book 1, state that the contract for the new courthouse had been let to Mutual Construction Company of Louisville, Ky. at a cost of $34,860 and Mr. A.J. Burnside accepted the courthouse on July 5, 1901, and made the first payment of $6,360.

On Oct. 7, 1912, bids were let to Mr. L. M. Eck (my father) for sidewalks around the courthouse, the cost to be 13 1/4 cents a square foot; and for several years he built many of the sidewalks in Dade City and later in San Antonio.

Later he had other Dade City appointments. First he was in charge of the new Community Hall where the Armory now stands. In those years Dade City was the southern meeting place of what was known as the Tin Can Tourists Club. I don't know if this was because they came here in “Tin Lizzies” or that they brought much of their food from their homes in the north in tin cans. One of Dade City’s early merchants told me of how one day one of these tourists came to his store with a pint jar, bought a quart of milk, took out a pint and asked him to keep the balance until the following day.

Then for a number of years Dad was in charge of the waterworks and later was appointed chief of police. There was not a great deal of crime in those days. Some time ago I was going through the first book of the minutes of the city fathers' meetings, in an effort to determine what the salary for the chief was at that time. I didn't find out what it was because people had been paid individually; by that time the city had authorized certain consecutively numbered vouchers that gave no names. No government in the sunshine then.

But what I did find reminded me of a situation that everyone insists I must tell you. You know how much of a furor we have had over the matter of the government ordering certain regulations regarding sewers. What I found in the city’s minutes was a bill for replacement buckets for $158.

This was a reminder that in 1912 the city conceived the idea that, instead of the usual open type of outdoor privy using unslaked lime, they would require that we install big buckets under each opening. It would be required that the seats which had been stationary be hinged so that these buckets could be installed and removed at certain times.

To notify people of the plan, the city had printed fliers in real bright colors, red, blue, pink, green - all noticeable, to explain the plan and advise that your buckets would cost a full dollar apiece.

What I remember was how terribly embarrassed I was the noon I walked into Dr. Yocam’s science class to have Fred Cochrane hand me that blaring pink paper as he said, “Here, read this, it won't cost you anything to read it, it'll cost you a dollar to join!”

Downtown Dade City (1976)

By THELMA TOUCHTON

During the summer of 1926 I was en route from my home in Gainesville to St. Petersburg with a high school group. We stopped at a drug store in Dade City for “cokes,” then dispensed by curb service to the car. A few of us walked across the street to a large store and were amazed to find in it clothing, dry goods, notions, household supplies, hardware, groceries, and a meat market. None of us had never seen such an old-time general store (years before supermarkets); we found it both interesting and amusing.

In 1933 on a return visit, I learned that the drug store, Touchton Drug Company, had been owned in 1926 by my future father-in-law, and that the "cokes" were probably dispensed and served by my future husband. The store that had everything was Coleman and Ferguson. This department store, established by H. W. Coleman and W. N. Ferguson, had been on that location, though in different buildings, since 1890. Coleman and Ferguson also built the first courthouse used by Pasco County, facing north on Meridian Avenue in the middle of the block between 7th and 8th Streets. Court was held there until about 1903 when the nucleus of the present courthouse was completed.

I became a resident of Dade City in 1937, which makes me almost a newcomer. However, I have heard reminiscences from many whose families have been a part of the community since the late 1800’s. My husband was the only child of Ruth Embry Touchton (Miss Folly), whose family came from Kentucky in 1898, and Charles Floyd Touchton, who came from Georgia in 1904. He worked for a year as a pharmacist in a drug store on the east side of 8th Street, owned by Dr. Thomas Seay and R. T. Thrasher. He returned in 1906 to a permanent position in the same store, then under Dr. Seay and Alec A. Boone as partners. Shortly thereafter he bought Dr. Seay’s interest, and moved the business around the corner to the middle of the block, the site of the first courthouse. Subsequently he purchased Mr. Boone’s interest, and the first Touchton Drug Company was started.

On the northeast corner of this block (just west of the present courthouse), was a wooden building housing the Garner and Daiger Variety Store. Here Mr. Daiger later built the present brick structure which Dr. Touchton bought in 1922. A Touchton Drug Store remained there until 1957. However, in 1927 the business was sold to Dr. W. C. Touchton of Avon Park (founder of the Touchton Drug chain). Fred L. Touchton became manager, and Dr. and Mrs. Charles Touchton moved to Gainesville. They returned to Dade City in 1933, and he again assumed ownership from Fred Touchton, who had purchased the business several years before. Dr. Touchton and his son conducted the business until his death in 1957, Other owners conducted a drug business in this location until 1969.

Until 1920 Dade City had only a few scattered single electric lights in the downtown area at night. Dr. Touchton was made chairman of a street lighting committee. Plans were made to have a "white way" on Meridian Avenue from the Seaboard tracks east to the Atlantic Coast Line depot. Not all property owners were in sympathy with this plan because of the expense. In order to have a continuous lighted area, Dr. Touchton paid for two blocks of lighting. With the great oaks arching over the streets and the new night lighting, Dade City became known as one of the prettiest towns in central Florida. Later residents have commented that they were first attracted to the city because of the pleasing views from the train on their initial visits to Florida.

Since 1898 there has been some drug store in the block bounded by 7th and 8th Streets and Meridian and Pasco Avenues. On the northwest corner in 1893 F. P. McElroy had his drug store, followed in this location by Henry Clay Griffin, Erwin Seay, DeCarr Covington (business managed by Fred Touchton), Walgreen Drugs, Edwin J. Helen, and the present owner, Don Chandler. Earlier in this century Harry Neal had erected a building on the southeast comer where he had a drug store and a popular ice cream parlor, the Shop Perfect. This business was later purchased by Monroe Covington.

Popular eating places over the years were Staley’s Restaurant on the east side of 8th Street opposite the Seaboard depot; Lanier House where the mother of Mrs. Leta Lanier Thornton catered to select boarders; and a tearoom under Mrs. M. E. Houdlette, open only at noon and specializing in oyster dishes—a favorite meeting spot for friends.

A special gathering place for young people was William Shofner’s corner lunchroom, which at one time was the only place in town offering 24-hour food service. Mr. Shofner later moved his restaurant to the corner building erected by Harry Neal. To this day the location continues as a popular dining place. After Mr. Shofner was the Valencia owned by Joe Hevia and then by Tommy Barfield. It is now the Crest, operated by Earl Fitzgerald.

No account of early Dade City would be complete without reference to the Osceola Hotel. This was built on the southwest corner of 5th Street and Meridian Avenue by M. L. Gilbert as a boarding house for workers of the Sunnybrook Tobacco Co. Later it was bought and operated by Mrs. Douglas Cochrane, whose daughters (Inez, Ethel, and Lula) and sons (William and Fred) were popular members of the younger set. The Osceola, both as a hotel and as a boarding house, became a home away from home for visitors and local people. One of the most "beloved figures of the town was Mrs. Rose Fyffe, known to all as Aunt Rose, who succeeded Mrs.. Cochrane. Among the regular boarders during the years were the families of John S. Burke, L. C. Hawes, Mrs. Laura Porter, DeCarr Covington, Monroe Covington, Frank Price, and C. F. Touchton, to name just a few. Fred Gregory, who came to Dade City with the L. B. McLeod Co., contractor for Pasco County’s first paved roads, remained as a resident of the Osceola Hotel for many years.

The Edwinola Hotel was built on the site of the old Dade City Hotel, which burned in 1907, by Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Gasque from Florence, S. C, and his brother-in-law, Mr. Gerow. This structure was completed about 1912, and for many years was the focal point of much of the city’s social life. It was built not only for local residents, but also to attract winter people. On occasion Seaboard trains stopped in front of the hotel to allow passengers to detrain for meals. People came by train and auto from nearby towns to dine at this lovely spot. The hotel had frequent dances and parties which were attended by the "swinging set" of that day. Among these were Chris and Lou Spencer Lock, Edna Peebles (Turner), Mildred Butz (Huckaby Price), Jane Butz (Bourke), Dell Shofner (Douglas), Lawson Howard (May), Annabelle Clark (Ghiselin), Mabel Turner (Clark), Nell Coleman (Embry), George and Daisy May Massey, Younger and Edith O'Neal, Woots Huckaby, Fountain May, Darryl Clark, Frank Price, and many others. After being vacant for a number of years, the Edwinola was restored and reopened in October 1974, now a beautiful and successful restaurant.

Popular with the ladies just after the turn of the century was Mrs. Carroll’s Millinery Shop where hats were made to order. Shofner’s Millinery sold hats, trimmings and dry goods, with a section where Mr. Shofner served ices with a variety of syrups much enjoyed by young and old. Schofield’s sold laces, embroideries, and notions. J. R. A. Williams built the store operated for many years as Williams Department Store by several family members: Mr. Bob and Miss Anna Lee, Vergil, Paul, and Virginia. "Williams" is now owned and operated by Mr. Bob’s nephew, Phil.

Also in the area at various times were grocery stores owned by J. D. Sumner; S. F. Huckaby and his son Woots; Everett Thornton; and Vic Adams, to name a few. It was the custom in the 1920’s through the 1940’s for the ladies to do their marketing in midmorning and then meet at one of the drug stores for "cokes and conversation," a forerunner of today’s coffee break.

Other prominent merchants and businesses were Pasco Abstract Co. with the Locke family; Treiber and Otto Hardware; Madill, hardware and furniture; R. D. Guymon and Harry Tipton, bakeries; Covington, Gruetzmacher, Burks, and Butler, automobile dealerships.

Mayors of Dade City (Under Construction)

Note: The obituary of Henry Clay Griffin says he was the 2nd mayor of Dade City.

Note: A 1923 Tampa Tribune article lists the first mayors of Dade City as:
H. W. Coleman, Capt. Henry Griffin, Capt. J. B. Johnson, W. I. Porter,
J. K. Ward, C. F. Thompson, Frank Price, O. L. "Buck" Dayton,
J. C. Carter, R. B. Sturkie, H. D. Cosner.

1885 E. A. Hall (first incorporation)
1889 John B. Johnston (second incorporation)
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897
1898 George W. Dayton
1899 George W. Dayton
1900 John B. Johnston
1901 John B. Johnston
1902 John B. Johnston
1903 James Knox Ward
1904 James Knox Ward
1905 David O. Thrasher
1906 R. W. Thompson
1907 Edward Pasco Wilson (was mayor 8 years, according to obituary)
1908
1909 W. I. Porter
1910
1911 Jasper C. Carter
1912 Jasper C. Carter
1913 (A biography of Robert B. Sturkie says he was mayor 1912-13)
1914 A. Frank Price
1915 (election between Price and O. L. Dayton; R. D. Sistrunk resigned some time ago)
1916
1917 E. M. Craig (resigned June 6, 1917, moving to a farm outside town)
1918
1919 Orville L. Dayton
1920 Orville L. Dayton apparently again (two year term)
1921 Frederick Daniel Cosner
1922
1923 Frederick Daniel Cosner
1924 Frederick Daniel Cosner (resigned in June, replaced by Orville L. Dayton)
1925 Frank P. Ingram
1926 last name Turner
1927 William Friedman
1928 William Friedman (?)
1929
1930
1931 J. Y. O'Neal
1932 William Friedman
1933 William Friedman
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938 (William Thomas Cash was apparently mayor about this time)
1939
1940 Frank Ashbrook
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949 James Franklin Croley
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955 W. Glenn Lester (mayor 5 years)
1956
1957
1958
1959 V. V. Adams
1960-1963 John S. Burks
1964
1965
1966 Charles F. Touchton Jr. (mayor 2 years)
1967
1968 Willard Lamb
1968 Ed Vierling acting mayor
1969-1972 James L. Huckabay Sr.
1973 J. Edward Starling
1974 Francis Faso (resigned Nov. 5, 1974)
1975-1977 Agnes Lamb
1978-1979 J. Blake Dunson Sr.
1980-1982 Lawrence Puckett
1982-1984 William Brewton
1984-1986 William Dennis
1986-1988 David L. Williams
1988-1990 Charles McIntosh
1990-1992 Pat Weaver
1992-2000 Charles McIntosh
2000-2004 Scott Black
2004-2008 P. Hutchinson "Hutch" Brock
2008-     Scott Black

Coleman & Ferguson Co. (1934)

The Coleman & Ferguson Company, which was established in the pioneer days of Dade City, is planning to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary, December first.

This company has developed into what we believe is Florida’s largest independent country department store from a warm friendship that was started in Atlanta, Georgia, where Mr. H. W. Coleman and Mr. W. N. Ferguson first became acquainted, and this friendship lasted through life.

Mr. H. W. Coleman was born in Henry county, Georgia, about twenty miles from Atlanta, in 1856. When eighteen years of age he entered the employment of Mr. D. P. Ferguson, in Jonesboro, as a clerk. A few years later Mr. Ferguson went to Atlanta and engaged in the manufacture of wagons and implements. His son, W. N. Ferguson, was his bookkeeper, and Mr. Coleman became the traveling salesman. The two young men were the closest of friends, and along with their work attended a business college in the city together.

In 1882 Mr. Coleman married Miss Ella Dorsey of Jonesboro, and a year or two later made a business trip further south into Florida than he had gone before, and must have seen visions of the development of this state, for on his return to Atlanta he announced to his friends that he was going to Florida to stay. Mr. Ferguson was pleased with the idea and in a short time they were looking for a business site in this part of the state.

Mr. William N. Ferguson was born in Atlanta, Ga, September 10, 1860. After coming with Mr. Coleman to Dade City in 1884 he met ... [illegible section]

...there was a great deal of sickness and several deaths, so one of the first purchases was "coffins," as they were then called, and they sent Harry Carleton over to Leesburg for them.

Among their first purchases were two barrels of hard cider and some candy from "Black, the candy man," of Atlanta. About this same time the First National Bank opened in Tampa, which was a town of about 1200 population.

When the Seaboard railroad was built, about 1886, the business location was not entirely satisfactory, and a new town was laid out to the south of the old site. Coleman & Ferguson bought a block in the center of the plat and built a larger store to accommodate their increasing business. This store was burned about 1896 and they erected the building which was moved back to make way for the new brick store in which they are now located.

The fire was followed by the "big freeze" which ruined so many people in Florida, but with grit and confidence Coleman & Ferguson pushed ahead with their business, overcoming every obstacle and threatened catastrophe. Their trade has come from a radius of thirty miles around Dade City, and they have done considerable jobbing business with smaller country stores. From the very start they have been foremost in the mercantile life of Dade City.

When Pasco county was set off from Hernando county and all the villages were after the county seat, Coleman & Ferguson built the first court house at a cost of $2,000 and gave it to the county. Later when a larger building was required and the site was again contested, it was bought largely through their efforts that it was retained in Dade City.

Coleman & Ferguson bough the land where the Edwinola Hotel now stands and gave it to Mr. Delcher for a hotel site. Here the first hotel stood until destroyed by fire.

Mr. Coleman was interested in the Bank of Pasco County since its inception, built the bank home, the first brick building in Dade City, and was vice-president and a director for a number of years before his death. He also helped materially to build the Masonic Hall, being a member of the lodge; bought and gave the land for the school house, and both he and Mr. Ferguson gave largely toward the building of the various churches and all charitable work of the community.

In 1904 Mr. J. Y. O'Neal, the present manager, was taken on by this firm, remaining with them ten years, when he resigned to assume the duties of postmaster of Dade City. This position he held for the next five years, or until the death of Mr. Coleman, which occurred in March of 1919. At this time a corporation was formed and Mr. O'Neal was made vice-president and general manager.

Mr. Ferguson retired from active participation in the company at that time, enjoying his summers in his home in North Carolina and his winters in Tampa, where he died in January 1930.

The present building of red brick and tile, two and one-half stories high, and measuring 60 x 123 feet, is located on the exact spot where the business has been conducted for thirty years. This building has cement floors and is as nearly fireproof as any building can be made. It is equipped with an automatic sprinkler system, which combined with its construction, makes the fire insurance almost nil. ...

Pioneer Tells Early History of Coleman & Ferguson Co. (1934)

Winter Haven, Florida,
November 8, 1934.

Mr. J. Y. O'Neal,
Manager, Coleman, Ferguson Company.
Dade City, Florida.

Dear Mr. O'Neal:

Relative to our conversation with reference to me being a pioneer customer of your store—

What do I remember the day Coleman and Ferguson opened for business at Dade City. I was just ten years of age.

Prior to Coleman and Ferguson opening business at Dade City, there had been several small stores, and when you called for many things these small merchants did not have in stock, they would take your order and have it shipped by the next wagon which was the only transportation at that time to Dade City. Coleman and Ferguson opened business with a bang, operated their own teams for moving their goods from Wildwood which was then the nearest railroad.

Their store was first located in Old Town near the present site of the Ice and Power plant. It was a huge one-story building about one hundred and fifty feet long. The people in Sumter, Hernando as well as Pasco county all thought them foolish, the idea of such a big store in this neck of the woods. The goods began to arrive by the time the roof was on the building. In a few days that store was filled with merchandise of all kinds at first, except bolt cloth goods and ladies' dress goods. I have heard them say many times they just did not have room and time to bother with that class of merchandise. However, they had plenty of all other stock. They had a long rack built through the center of the store from front to rear; the rack held saddles of all kinds, bridles and harness and red virgin wool blankets for cattle men, cow whips, etc. This was to supply the cattle men trade. Also they had a complete stock of buggies, fine harness wagons, both one and two horse. They had guns of all dimensions, mostly muzzle loaders, as people in those days purchased black powder and shot and gun caps and did the loading with ram rod. I will say, however, the old deer hunter always brought home the bacon those days.

They also carried a complete and up-to-date stock of groceries. All flour was packed in 196 pound wood barrels, half barrels 98 pounds; very few people purchased less than half barrel of flour.

Their opening stock of shoes was the largest and most complete that had ever been shipped south of Palatka at that time, to any one firm in Florida. I have heard that verified by several old traveling shoe salesmen who knew. They drew the shoe trade from everywhere. Children bought shoes who never knew what shoes were, except homemade.

They were also pioneers in Christmas goods, toys, etc. I have seen their store so jammed with people during Christmas week that getting what you wanted to buy was like the old Country Post Office at mail opening time.

About 1887 the town of Dade City had convinced Coleman and Ferguson that they would succeed and they needed more room. Hence they built a very large two story building where the present store is located. In the meantime there had started up several stores, very good merchants, one J. T. Lawrence & Bro., and W. J. Thebeaut and Bro., and W. J. Thebeaut and Bro., but for some reason they quit; also C. C. Grace & Co., who operated a chain of gents furnishing goods all through Georgia; they also moved away.

When Coleman and Ferguson moved to their new building, their stock was as complete as humanly possible to make it. Their stock of clothing and ladies' dress goods was as up-to-date and as high quality as the world’s market afforded. In fact, everything that C & F sold was of only goods with a world-wide reputation for quality and thoroughly established. I have never known a person to buy anything from them and complain of getting an inferior product, or being over charged or any mistake not being gladly corrected. That was the type of those men and the reputation they had throughout South Florida. Coleman and Ferguson controlled the American Fence Company products; they sold fence to all hardware dealers in South-west Florida as well as to consumers.

C & F always rendered a service and courtesy in their store that I seldom have seen equalled in any business.

The reminiscing of the Coleman, Ferguson Company affords me a great pleasure, because I have learned a great deal by observing the difference in the various characters of this life. For many years it has been my humble place in this world to gain trade for my employers by rendering a service. Often it comes to me so plainly how these pioneer merchants took hold here and made a great success. There was nothing small about C & F and I have observed that it is the little things in a business or anything else, that discourages, destroys and otherwise brings failure.

I have been a constant customer of C & F since they started business 50 years ago. I am glad to say if I could live another 50 years and Coleman and Ferguson would continue in this business, I would still trade with them. I have always admired the spirit of Coleman, Ferguson, & Co.

Sincerely,
D. E. SUMNER.

DES:L

Mr. Sumner has a daughter and son living near Dade City, Mrs. A. V. Bugbee, who with her husband operates the restaurant and Mr. Joe Sumner who lives on one of Mr. Sumner’s nice groves.

The Bank of Pasco County County Sets 80th Anniversary (1969)

The Bank of Pasco County, which has been in continuous operation since it opened its doors for business on September 5, 1889, will celebrate its 80th anniversary with Open House on Thursday, September 25th and Friday, September 26th, 1969 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

All customers and friends are invited to share in this celebration by visiting the bank. Tours will be conducted through the bank, and there will be refreshments, gifts, and prizes.

Leon R. Douglas, President of the bank, will be assisted by other officers, directors, and personnel in welcoming all guests.

The Bank of Pasco County, which holds Charter No. 3, dated September 5, 1889, and Quincy State Bank, are the two oldest state banks in Florida.

The Bank of Pasco County which has as its slogan, "The Old Reliable", has among its customers the fifth generation of the original depositors. The first published statement of the bank on December 31, 1889, showed total resources of $43,960.52. Deposits were $25,534.73. The current statement as of June 30, 1969, shows total resources of $18,437,470.89. Deposits as of that date were $16,971,381.39. The Bank is a member of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and has been since F.D.I.C. was established in 1933. The Bank is also a member of the Florida Bankers Association, Independent Bankers Association and American Bankers Association.

The Bank of Pasco County was established two years after Pasco County was formed in 1887 from a portion of Hernando County, and about three years after the present location of Dade City was surveyed. The surrounding area of Dade City and the eastern section of the new Pasco County was a thick forest of large virgin pine trees, which attracted the attention of five Florida men interested in the fast growing turpentine business. They decided such natural wealth must bring growth enough to Dade City to warrant the establishment of a bank.

Acting on this decision, A. A. Parker and C. E. Newell of Tavares, Russell T. Hall and M. T. Hall of Jacksonville, and J. C. Pace of Altoona chose Dade City as the site for The Bank of Pasco County, which was duly incorporated on September 5, 1889. The capital stock was $15,000 with 150 shares of $100 par value. These organizers of the bank became its first directors.

The present capital stock of the bank is $500,000, and the surplus fund is $600,000. At the time of the organization of the bank, no surplus fund was required.

The bank remains on its original location at the corner of E. Meridian Avenue and 7th Street (Plum Street on the original plat of Dade City), which is U. S. Highway 301 through Dade City.

The original two-story brick building is the nucleus of the present modernized bank, with an attractive interior, well arranged departments with splendidly equipped offices and a large room for meetings, of the Board of Directors, and a well equipped conference room. The several additions and renovations have provided for eleven windows for serving the public, including three drive-in windows, to make a total of eight windows used by receiving and paying tellers; a window each for the savings teller and the collection teller, also the bookkeeping window, and an Installment Loan Department and Commercial Loan Department.

Extending across the west wall of the lobby is a significant painting of Florida’s "forest primeval" and its wealth of pine trees, which prompted the establishment of the Bank of Pasco County.

During the 80 years since the organization of the Bank of Pasco County, it has had only six presidents. A. A. Parker, one of the organizers of the bank, the first president, served for three years.

Charles H. Robinson, who became a director of the bank in 1890, succeeded Parker in 1892 to become the bank’s second president, with H. W. Coleman, pioneer merchant as vice president, an office he held for 28 years until his death in 1919. With W. N. Ferguson, another pioneer merchant, a member of the board of directors of the bank for 17 years, they formed the firm of Coleman and Ferguson, whose trade name continues to be prominent among Dade City’s business firms.

W. I. Porter, whose connection with the bank began with his election to the board of directors in 1891, became the bank’s cashier in 1892 and succeeded Robinson in 1914 as the bank’s third president. Porter held this office through 1919 until his retirement.

In 1920, Dr. L. A. Bize of Tampa was chosen as the fourth president of the Bank of Pasco County and served through 1929.

A. F. Price, who became the bank’s fifth president in 1930, began his career of 53 years in the Bank of Pasco County on June 10, 1908, and worked there continuously until his death on June 25,1961. He began serving as an officer in 1912, when he became assistant cashier to W. I. Porter, cashier. Price became cashier in 1914, when Porter was elected president Price continued to serve as cashier until 1926 when he was elected vice president to succeed John Raymond, deceased. With the resignation of Dr. Bize as president, the directors elected Price as president, and he assumed his duties at the beginning of the year 1930 and held this office until his death, after a long and valuable record service of 32 1/2 years as "the boss", the friendly title accorded him by his associates.

Coincident with the recognition accorded him by the bank on April 11, 1958, for his 50 years' employment was the presentation to him by the Florida Bankers' Association of a certificate of his election to membership in the Half Century Club of the association in appreciation of his having "devoted 50 years or longer to active service in the profession of banking in Florida." The certificate, in a framed plaque, one of President Price’s prized possessions, bears the gold seal of the Florida Bankers Association and signatures of the president and vice president of the association, and the date of presentation.

Mrs. Laura Spencer Porter, who became associated with the Bank in September, 1908, also holds membership in the Half Century Club of the Florida Bankers Association, presented to her in September, 1958, on her 50th anniversary of employment in the Bank. She became assistant cashier to A. F. Price, cashier, in 1920, and served six years in this office until he became vice president in 1926, and she became cashier. She served in this office seven years and then continued in the dual office of cashier and vice president from 1933 through 1939. As vice president, in 1930, 1931, and 1932, following membership on the board of directors since 1911. Mrs. Porter, while inactive, continues to hold the office of vice president.

Leon R. Douglas, the bank’s genial and efficient president, became an employee of the Bank of Pasco County in May, 1924, celebrating his 45 years with the bank the past May. He became assistant cashier in 1933, cashier in 1940, and executive vice presided and cashier in 1961 and succeeded the late A. F. Price as president on August 8, 1961. His membership on the board of directors began in 1941.

Mrs. Marie Platt, a well known former employee of the bank, began her employment on January 2, 1922, became assistant cashier in 1934, and held this office until her retirement in 1957.

H. S. Massey was serving as vice president and chairman of the board of directors at the time of his death on June 24,1968; succeeding his father, G. B. Massey, to the board of directors in 1925.

W. V. Gilbert, former tax assessor and postmaster of Dade City, served as a member of the board of directors from 1926 until resigning in late 1963, shortly before his death.

J. A. Barthle, who became a member of the board in 1934, is in his 35th year as a director, now serving as Director Emeritus.

The bank’s history during its 80 years has included many outstanding businessmen on its board of directors who shared in the building of Dade City. I n addition to those already mentioned, others, now deceased, include N. H. Garner, John Raymond, Col. J. A. Hendley, F. S. Daiger, C. A. Lock (who was also an assistant cashier in 1908, 1909, and 1910), and J. C. Griffin.

L. C. Hawes, Sr. was elected a director on August 8, 1961, and is now serving as vice-chairman of the board of directors. James L. Huckabay was elected a director on January 4, 1962, and is now serving as chairman of the board of directors. Ben R. Adams was elected as director on January 9, 1964. A. O. Kiefer was elected as director on January 9, 1964. A. H. Schrader was elected as director on January 6, 1966.

The present board of directors is composed of Ben R. Adams, J. A. Barthle, Leon R. Douglas, L. C. Hawes, Sr., James L. Huckabay, A. O. Kiefer, and A. H. Schrader.

“Old Reliable” Tall Among Banks (2002)

This article appeared in the Tampa Tribune on July 10, 2002.

By CAROL JEFFARES HEDMAN

The thick forests of virgin pine brought prosperity to the area in the late 1880s.

And as the turpentine and lumber businesses grew, five progressive-thinking men thought the natural wealth would warrant enough profits to establish a bank.

Thus the Bank of Pasco County was granted a charter Sept. 5, 1889. It was the third charter granted by the state Treasury Department and the first bank to open in Pasco County.

The five original founders served as the first board of directors. They were: A. A. Parker and C. E. Newell, both of Tavares; Russell T. Hall and M. T. Hall, both of Jacksonville; and J. C. Pace of Altoona.

The bank’s capital stock was $15,000, with 150 shares sold for $100 each. The bank’s first published statement on Dec. 31, 1889 showed total resources of $43,960. Deposits were $25,534.

The bank opened in a two- story, red-brick building completed in 1891 at Meridian Avenue and Seventh Street in the heart of downtown Dade City.

The architecture, Victorian arabesque, resembled that of the Tampa Bay Hotel. That hotel is now the home of the Henry B. Plant Museum at the University of Tampa.

The Bank of Pasco building had Moorish arches over the windows and a minaret-like cupola over the door.

The cupola was removed about 1915, possibly because it leaked. But the Victorian arabesque style also would have seemed very old-fashioned in 1915. It was quite ornate, and taste had shifted to simpler styles.

The brick was stuccoed in gray, and the Moorish arches were made over into something that resembled art deco, with white paint highlighting the arches. Street lights were added about 1920, and the marble counters replaced old wire teller cages about the same time.

With the removal of the teller cage came down the sign that read: “Please do not spit on the floor. To do so may spread disease.”

Other banks followed the Bank of Pasco County’s lead. American State Bank was opened in Zephyrhills in 1914. The State Bank of Trilby was built in 1918.

The Bank of Dade City opened across Seventh Street from the Bank of Pasco in 1919. And the State Bank of Elfers was ready to open in 1926 when the Florida real estate boom collapsed.

The Depression began in Florida that year with the ending of the boom and bank failures throughout the state. But the Bank of Pasco earned the nickname “Old Reliable,” closing for only a day or two while bank president Frank Price and Laura Spencer Porter, one of four bank employees, rounded up enough assets to allow the bank to reopen.

And when the 1929 stock market crash arrived, every bank in Pasco County had failed except the Bank of Pasco County, which was forced to close and reorganize with a program to pay off its depositors, which took 15 years.

Throughout the years, the original Bank of Pasco building remained the nucleus of the bank. But it expanded, acquiring the adjacent building that was constructed to house Sunnybrook Tobacco Co., at one- time the largest employer in Pasco County.

In 1960 the original bank building got another face lift, as the stucco was covered with a layer of plywood with a pebble finish. But in 1988 - nearly 100 years after it was built that facade was demolished when architects said it could not be restored.

By that time, the Bank of Pasco County had been bought out by a large international banking conglomerate and was owned by its current owner, First Union National Bank.

The bank went to great length and expense to replace the “old reliable” with a replica of the original building that has stood at Seventh Street and Meridian Avenue for more than 100 years.

Dade City Articles of Incorporation (1889)

Notice of Incorporation

The citizens of Dade City within the boundaries specified below will meet at the Court House on Tuesday the 15th day of January A. D. 1889 at ten o'clock A. M. for the purpose of holding an election to decide the question of no incorporation of the said town of Dade City and also if the majority of votes cast are in favor of incorporation, to elect the following officers viz. A Mayor, Five Alderman, A Marshall and Clerk. The following boundaries include the proposed incorporate limits viz: Beginning at the South East corner of the SE1/4 of the SE1/4 Section 27, Township 24 South, Range 21 E. thence East1/4 of a mile to find a starting point, thence North three quarters of a mile, thence West three quarters of a mile, thence South three quarters of a mile, thence West one hundred and ten yards, thence South one quarter of a mile, thence East fourteen hundred and thirty yards, thence North one quarter of a mile to point of beginning. The registered residents within said boundary & limits are urged to attend the election and to participate in it. Polls will be opened at 10 a. m. on said day and closed at 4 P. M.

Citizens of Dade City
Dade City FLA Nov 6th 1888

Pursuant to the above Notice published weekly for a period of thirty days previous to the 15th day of January A. D. 1889 in the Pasco County Democrat, a newspaper published weekly in the town of Dade City, Pasco County, Florida. Forty seven qualified voters being not less than two thirds of those whom it is proposed to incorporate came to the Court House in Dade City where the Polls were duly and legally opened on the 15th day of December A. D. 1889. R. H. Hartley, J. P. Wallace and J. J. Smith being duly impowered to act as managers and inspectors of said election proceeded to incorporate the city of Dade City and complying with the laws relation to incorporation proceeded to and elected the following officer to wit:

For Mayor- Jno B. Johnston

For Councilmen- F. P McElroy, D. Clermont, J. T. McMichael, A. A. Boone, J. E. Lee

For Clerk and Assessor- Jno. C. Calhoun

For Marshall and Collector- Wm. Beard

And the following bounds were adopted for the City of Dade City viz: Beginning of the South East corners of the SE quarter (1/4) of SE quarter (1/4) of Section Twenty Seven (27), Township Twenty Four (24) South of Range Twenty-one (21) East thence east one quarter of a mile to field a starting point, thence North three fourth of a mile of a mile, thence West three fourths of a mile, thence South three fourths of a mile, thence West one hundred and ten yards, thence South one quarter of a mile, thence east fourteen hundred and thirty yards, thence North one fourth of a mile to point of beginning. And the following seal was adopted as incorporation. Seal of said City of Dade City.

{SEAL}

Jno B. Johnston, Mayor
D. J. Clermont, Alderman
F. P. McElroy, Alderman
J. T. McMichael, Alderman
All ut
J. E. Lee, Alderman

J. C. Calhoun
City Clerk

Waivers of Incorporation and Registered Voters

1-T. J. Howard 2-D. J. Current 3-J. T. McMichael 4-G. M. Roberts 5- E. R. Wallace 6-J. U. Senniur 7-H. W. Coleman 8-John B. Johnston 9-Henry Macon 10-J. C. Overstreet 11-J. D. Sumner 12-D. T. McLeod 13-T. H. Thompson 14-W. A. Vickers 15-C. W. Bell 16-Will Cohen 17-D. Dortch 28-Wash Robles 19-J. C. Sumner 20-J. E. Lee 21-George W. Young 22-W. H. Garner 23-A. A. Boone 24-J. C. Calhoun 25- J. A. Grady 26-J. A. Hendley 27-C. T. Lewis 28-S. F. Huckabay 29- J. J. Smith 30-C. T. Seay 31-J. B. Roberts 32-W. Kindall 33-H. O. Benton 34-R. L. Seay 35-Wiley Sprouls 36-B. D. Sturkie 37-W. U. Ferguson, 38-H. J. Burton 39-H. H. Henley 40-J. G. Wallace 41-J. G. Roberts 42-T. L Shofner 43-T. B. Porter 44-F. S. Daiger 45-J. K Davis 46-J. P Wallace 47-R. H. Hartley

Recorded this 18th day Jany A. D. 1889
H. H. Henley Ck of Ct.
By M. G. Rowe D. C.