Inverness (Florida)

Inverness is the county seat of Citrus County in the Big Bend Coast region of Florida. It is home to the County Courthouse, and the Flying Eagle Reserve.

History
Inverness had a population of 7,000 as of 2019, when the city turned a hundred years old.

Settlement of the area by Europeans began in 1868 by A.D. Tompkins, and the town was originally named "Tompkinsville" after him. He established a mail service and the county's first sawmill in order to attract residents, and his brother-in-law became the town's first merchant. Jacksonville bought the town and renamed it "Inverness" after the Scottish city, and the city was incorporated in 1919. Downtown's historic courthouse brought some fame to the city after Elvis Presley filmed part of Follow that Dream in the building in 1961.

The city has been designated a "Tree City USA" by the National Arbor Day Foundation and the US Forest Service and a "City of the Year" by the Forty and Eight.

Nearby Floral City, at the southern end of Citrus County, is smaller, but has historic homes and a history of phosphate mining. It was founded in 1883 and experienced a boom, when it became larger than Miami, until World War I brought an end to the mining industry. Its population was 5,000 in 2010.

Get in
FL-44, which crosses the state from east to west, goes through Inverness and connects to towns on each side. From Orlando (the location of an international airport), follow the Turnpike northwest and take the FL-44 exit.

Go next

 * The Villages to the east.
 * Homosassa Springs and Homosassa to the west.