The Map Book 1680-1970

Volume 318 - November 2024 of Old Brooksville In Photos & Stories - The Map Book 1680 - 1970. A fascinating visit through the development of Brooksville (and before it was Brooksville) and Hernando County, Florida, plus a few pictures showing the nearby small towns and hamlets, some of them no longer around.

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Thanks to the following for their contributions

John White

George Allen Jr.

Hernando Historical Society

Florida Archives

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1853 area map by Thomas Cowperthwait shows the town of Melendez, which would become Pierceville, then Brooksville. The county at this time had a population of just over 1,000. The 1850 census reported 722 inhabitants not counting Indians and slaves. The area known as Fort Dade would later become Dade City. The county was then known as Benton County.

1884 map by Cram shows area counties. In 1887, Hernando County cut back to its current size and the northern part seen here became Citrus County.

A ferry ride from Pemberton's Ferry (1882) across the Withlacoochee River near Croom east of Brooksville. The little town disappeared from maps after 1900.

1917 map shows train routes and towns like Centralia, Tooke Lake, Enville, Croom, Rital, Spring Lake, Weeks, Aripeka, Oriole, Wiscon, Kalon, Istachatta and Couper.

Wiscon Home (1903) belonging to Quitman Varn, who served as postmaster from 1903 to 1907. Wiscon was about five miles west of Brooksville from 1884 to 1910.

1893 map by Cram

George Franklin Cram (1842–1928) was an American map publisher. He served in the United States Army during the American Civil War as a first sergeant, serving until the end of the war. He later joined his uncle Rufus Blanchard's Evanston map business in 1867. Two years later, he became sole proprietor of the firm and renamed it the George F. Cram Co. which became a leading map firm in the United States.

A 1900 Hernando County map showing railroad routes and little hamlets that no longer exist.

The Hamlet of Tooke Lake tied into Centralia (1913). Centralia was 18 miles from Brooksville. Mr. Edgar Roberts financed a connecting railroad line from Centralia to Tooke Lake to tie into the Tampa Northern Railroad. This served several purposes - hauling supplies for the various needs of the commissary, passengers, transporting lumber, and recreational outings. The train had to backup 2 1/2 miles from Tooke Lake to Centralia.

1860 map shows the name changed from Melendez to Pierceville. It became Brooksville around 1858, but it took a few years for maps to show the change.

1839 topographical map by officers of the U.S. Army in connection with the Seminole Indian Wars. Discovered in Sarasota by Dudley Haddock in 1957 from the papers of his legendary friend, A. B. Edwards. The map was prepared by General Zachary Taylor, later a key figure in the Mexican War, and later as President of the United States (1849-1850), dying 16 months into his presidency of acute stomach problems resulting from "copious amounts of cherries and iced milk." Very likely food or water contamination.

Courtesy John W. White

Istachatta train depot (1911) about 11 miles northeast of Brooksville. The small community began in the 1870's and grew enough to have two freight and passenger trains daily. The steam boats Sam Pyles and Suwanee provided service to the mouth of the Withlacoochee River.

1883 area map by Hardesty

1874 map by Drew is the earliest map to show "Brooksville." Before 1860, Brooksville was known as Pierceville and Melendez.

Rand-McNally Area Map (1927) shows Pasco, Hernando and Citrus Counties.

1907 photo of Spring Lake home. Pictured is Mrs. Henrietta Batten and her baby boy, Julius. The Battens settled around Spring Lake in 1872 and have many ancestors living here today.

1958 Gulf gas map shows the Tampa Bay area before the development of Spring Hill in 1967.

A panoramic view of Croom, circa 1925. A small forgotten village east of Brooksville. Originally started as the town of Fitzgerald in 1893, it changed its name to Croom in 1902. It was named after the State Comptroller, Alonzo Croom. The house on the left and gas station/store were owned by Leroy McKeown, who owned cattle and about 50 acres. He has a vision that Croom would be a major stop on the highway, but in 1932, the turpentine industry dried up. Mr. McKeown was killed in an auto accident in 1934. Following the Great Depression and World War II, Croom was a thing of the past by 1945.

1948 Cuba map inside a Florida road map for Gulf Gas. The top is east, the bottom is west.