Secretary Detzner Designates Brooksville Main Street as Florida Main Street Program of the Month

TALLAHASSEE –

Secretary of State Ken Detzner today announced that Brooksville Main Street has been designated the Florida Main Street Community of the Month for February 2018. Communities are selected based on their developmental achievements and participation in the Florida Main Street Program.

“In the 18 months since Brooksville was designated, it has consistently demonstrated an exemplary commitment to downtown revitalization,” said Secretary Detzner. “Brooksville Main Street has successfully made the preservation of its downtown an outstanding component of Florida’s statewide preservation efforts.”

Historic Hernando County Courthouse, Brooksville, Florida

Native Americans inhabited the Brooksville area for thousands of years before Europeans settled there. In the 19^th century, settlers merged two small colonies into what today is the City of Brooksville and the county seat of Hernando County.

Today, the centerpiece of the downtown is the historic 1913 Hernando County Courthouse, situated on the crest of a hill under a canopy of magnificent oak trees. The Beaux-Arts style building was designed by William Edwards Augusta who also designed many of the University of Florida’s original buildings. The courthouse is now part of a larger complex of buildings on the same block, known as the Hernando County Government Center. A significant part of the early history of this area was plantations with fields of sugarcane and cotton. The most notable plantation today is the recently restored Chinsegut Hill Manor House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently owned by the State of Florida, Chinsegut Hill Manor House is managed by the Friends of Chinsegut Hill.

As a recent participant in the Florida Main Street Program, Brooksville Main Street has made great strides in capitalizing on the large downtown employment base and re-establishing downtown as the economic hub. In addition, the organization is host to several community events throughout the year, including First Fridays, the Shootout Golf Tournament, the Cycling Classic and Fitness Festival, and Founder’s Week.

“When I first looked at Brooksville, I knew I had found a home,” said Ryan Malloy, Brooksville Main Street Executive Director. “I imagine this feeling is shared by many who have visited Brooksville, which exudes the true architectural spirit of what a historic hometown feels like.”

For more information about Brooksville Main Street visit BrooksvilleMainStreet.org or Facebook.com/BrooksvilleMainStreet. For more information about the Florida Main Street program visit FloridaMainStreet.com or Facebook.com/FloridaMainStreet.

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About Florida Main Street

Florida Main Street is a program administered by the Division of Historical Resources under the Florida Department of State, which currently oversees 51 communities throughout the state. By implementing the National Main Street Center’s Four-Point Approach®, Florida Main Street encourages economic development within the context of historic preservation through the revitalization of Florida’s downtowns – the community’s heart and soul.