 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
Our History:
The Florida Legislature established Sumter County from a part of Marion County on January 8, 1853, with Leesburg as its county seat.
The county is named for the South Carolinian General Thomas Sumter, who distinguished himself in the Southern campaigns in the Revolutionary War.
In 1881, Sumterville became the county seat, with the county commission renting space until the courthouse could be constructed. The City of Leesburg purchased the original Sumter County Courthouse in 1883. Some believe a structure in downtown Leesburg on the corner of Fifth and Magnolia Streets is this courthouse building, but this is not certain.
In 1887, the population had grown adequately for the Legislature to create Lake County, using land taken from Orange and Sumter Counties - including Leesburg. This change coincidentally made Sumterville the geographic center of the county, and the boundary lines have endured to this day.
Following a fire that burned the Sumterville Courthouse to the ground on January 9, 1909, the county commission again conducted the people's business in leased space while a new courthouse was being constructed. A referendum was held in 1912 to determine if the new county seat would be in Bushnell or Wildwood. After a bitter contest, Bushnell, by a mere nine votes, became the new county seat.
Architect William A Edwards won the job of designing the present Sumter County Courthouse. The government has outgrown its courthouse several times since then, but the Historic Courthouse remains the administrative headquarters for Sumter. An annex was built onto the back in 1976, and more recently the Judicial Center was constructed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
![[ Yahoo! Maps ]](http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mp/gr/mplogo.gif){kind=small}