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The Osceola Hotel, at the southwest corner of Meridian and Fifth,
or on Meridian Ave. just east of the present Tampa Electric Co. offices. The Osceola was razed
to give room for a convenience store and that store gave way to Touch of Quality dry cleaners
(in the convenience store building). A post card postmarked in 1917, provided by Henry Fletcher.
Helen Eck Sparkman wrote, “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.” |