There is history here

BROOKSVILLE - Hernando County has heritage.

The Florida Division of Forestry celebrated that heritage Saturday morning during a 75th anniversary celebration of the Withlacoochee State Forest.

There was a thriving logging industry prior to World War II near Weeki Wachee. Phosphate was mined extensively leaving large pits that later would be used for recreation.

Then it was all gone.

Before long, the lands were stripped of their natural resources and the hundreds of thousands of acres making up portions of West Central Florida had the appearance of a ghost town.

"It looked like the Midwest during the Dust Bowl," said Park Ranger Sid Taylor, who gave an hour-long presentation to the more than 100 people in attendance.

The event took place at the forest's training center along U.S. 41 near the Citrus County line.

It has been elusive for historians and hobbyists to track the history of the area. In the 1800s, Floral City was the highest populated city in the state. Centralia was a fully functional community that enjoyed a prosperous logging boom. It couldn't be sustained.

"It's good to fill in the blanks," Michelle Dachsteiner, of Brooksville, a nature enthusiast and regular visitor of the Withlacoochee State Forest. "You can put everything into context and see how people were affected and see how they made their money."

By the time World War I rolled around, few people were making money across West Central Florida, said Taylor.

She showed photographs of desolate lands and makeshift homes, many of which were abandoned. A few were occupied by "squatters," nomadic people who occupied deserted homes during the Great Depression until they were kicked out.

Taylor spent several minutes showing black-and-white images of the region's abject poverty. At one point she stopped and asked, "Have I convinced you we had a problem?"

Most in the audience nodded.

The area benefitted from the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, said Taylor.

She said the Works Progress Administration and other programs saved Hernando County Schools and gave people the means to earn incomes again. At one point, less than 5 percent of local residents collected wages.

The federal government took over the state forest from private land owners in 1936 before turning it over to the state more than 20 years later.

Saturday's history lesson aimed to give people another reason to love the state's second-largest forest.

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