Saturday, May 12, 2012
Also known as the Tarpon Springs Hurricane, wind speeds reportedly reached 120 m.p.h., a category 3 by today's standards.
Last month, Colorado State University climatologists announced that the 2012 hurricane season, which begins June 1, should be slower than normal with 10 named storms, including four hurricanes, two major. Today, our advance warning system lets us plan days ahead of a storm, typically leading to evacuations of specific areas along the coast. While these warnings and evacuations are common once the season starts, it’s important to remember the widespread damages and impacts of storms past. One such storm was the devastating Hurricane of 1921, also known as the Tarpon Springs Hurricane— the effects of which impacted Pasco County. Historic reports document the hurricane came ashore on Oct. 25, 1921, preceded by approximately 42 hours of rain. …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Located in the northeastern community of Trilby, the Florida Tuberculosis Sanatorium is believed to be the first TB sanatorium in Florida.
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases, lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacterium. Spread through the open air when people with the active infection cough, sneeze, or otherwise transmit their saliva, the TB disease typically attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, TB caused the most widespread public concern as an endemic disease of the urban poor. And, after finding it contagious in the 1880s, this fatal disease was added to the list of notifiable diseases in Britain and other countries, and aggressive campaigns began to ban spitting in public places. But, prior to the introduction of antibiotic streptomycin in 1946, the only …
Saturday, April 28, 2012
During WWII, parts of the Withlacoochee State Forest were used for chemical weapons testing.
Covering 157,479 acres and spanning four counties, including Pasco, most in the Bay area are familiar with the vast tract of land now known as the Withlacoochee State Forest. Acquired from private landowners between 1936 and 1939 under the U.S. Land Resettlement Administration, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Withlacoochee State Forest is currently the third largest forest in Florida. And, with its extensive trail systems for hiking, biking, horseback riding, canoeing, and camping, in recent years the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) even declared the forest as one of the “10 Coolest Places You’ve Ever Been in North America.” But, did you know that parts of the Withlacoochee State Forest were actively…
Saturday, April 21, 2012
What condition is the vacant historic landmark in?
As city leaders mull ideas relating to the redevelopment of the Hacienda Hotel, the once-famous landmark continues to sit empty. Since acquiring the building last decade, the city has provided little in the way of upkeep and maintenance, and now time and vandals are beginning to take their toll on the shuttered structure. So, how bad is it? How much has the building really deteriorated in the last six years, under the city’s ownership? These are the questions that I set out to answer amidst rumors of leaking roofs, collapsing ceilings, dangerous molds, and unsafe conditions inside the Hacienda. In 1926, when construction of the Hacienda began, plans by architect Thomas Reed Martin of Sarasota called for the most modern construction of the …
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Once part of a thriving African-American community, today the Stark Cemetery is a piece of the county's almost-forgotten past.
Among one of the most intriguing subjects that I’ve encountered while researching Pasco's history is the Stark Cemetery. Driving down the nicely paved streets of Embassy Hills in Port Richey and past the homes with their neatly manicured lawns, it’s hard to believe this is where, according to documents and anecdotes, the cemetery stood. The surrounding community was a thriving African-American community that stretched from today’s Pine Hill Road north to around Stone Road. While parts of the community still survive along Pine Hill Road, few remember the Stark Cemetery—which was apparently destroyed during the west coast housing boom of the early 1970s. As early as 1920, census records for New Port Richey provide evidence of a small African…
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Estimated to be more than 400 years old, Pasco’s most distinguished pioneer isn’t a person, but instead is a tree.
The native Seminoles called it “hatch-in-e-haw” which means everlasting wood, but we know it more commonly as the cypress tree. This mystic and majestic tree has long been appreciated for it beauty, size, longevity, and variety of uses. But, during the first half of the 20th century, the heartwood from these old trees, which required centuries to develop, was marketed as “tidewater cypress”, the commericalized term for the cypress, and resulted in the removal of the larger, old-growth trees from virtually every swamp in Florida. However, tucked away deep in the swamps east of Ehren Cutoff Road near Land O’ Lakes, one old growth cypress survived the centuries and escaped the sawmills to become one of Pasco’s most distinguished pioneers—the …
Saturday, March 3, 2012
A history of the Dade City Colored School from 1888 to desegregation.
In this final article in our Black History Month series, we continue with the topic of achievements made by local African-Americans in the areas of education. Following our split from Hernando County in 1887, Pasco County’s very first African-American School was established in Dade City. From its inception, this little school made a significant impact in our community. So, this week we trace the beginnings, history, and contributions of the Dade City Colored School through the years. The Early School According to school board records, the school was conceived October 1, 1888, when Freedtown resident Alec Brandon presented a petition to the school board to establish a school for the African-American children of Dade City. By motion, the …
Saturday, February 25, 2012
The contributions of our local Freedmen’s Bureau office in establishing education during Reconstruction.
On March 3, 1865, nine months before the ratification of the thirteenth amendment and official end to slavery, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to formally create the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. Commonly called the Freedmen's Bureau, this agency deemed by some historians as the first federal welfare agency, was given the task of assisting the more than 4 million newly freed slaves in their transition from the plantation to freedom. And, to carry out this enormous task, local Freedmen’s Bureau offices were opened across the south, including right in our backyard with the bureau’s Brooksville office. Through the available records, correspondents, and reports from the Brooksville Freedmen’s Bureau office we catch a vivid…
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Through the years, the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church has contributed and played an active role in Pasco County.
In this week’s entry into the Black History Month series we explore the history, contributions, and active role of Dade City’s historic Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church through the years. From the Frame Meeting House to the Modern Church Among one of the first contributions of the church to Pasco County was recorded on December 28, 1901, when, for the sum of $10, trustees joined together in deeding a ¼-acre to the Town Council of Dade City. This ¼ acre was only a small portion of the acreage that became known as the Dade City Municipal Cemetery in 1903. And, while the church does boast a rich history in Pasco County, there still remains a great deal of unknown, including the congregation's first pastor or even where their …
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Proposed for future development, today nothing remains of the former Freedtown settlement, not even its cemetery.
Since 1976, February has been officially designated Black History Month—an annual celebration to recognize the achievements and central role of African- Americans in our history. So, in recognition of this national celebration I'm kicking off a month-long, four-part series that explores some of the lesser known African-American history of Pasco County. This week, we begin by delving into the life of pioneer resident Benjamin B. Baisden, whose work was instrumental in the advancement of one of Pasco County’s pioneer black communities — Freedtown. Born in August 1835, like most African-Americans, Benjamin Baisden reportedly spent his early years in slavery and working the low country plantations in South Carolina. However, according to “The …
Juanita McGregor
10:20 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012
My father was a young boy when this hurricane hit Sulfer Springs in Tampa. His father had built the house on Brooks Street a few years before. My father, along with his brothers and parents hid in a small pantry off the kitchen. The heavy winds blew the roof off of their home. My father use to tell how scared every one was. Eventhough my father is no longer alive, I will always remember this … more ›