 The county’s first courthouse was Pasco County
was created from parts of Hernando County in 1887. The name honors Florida’s United
States Senator, Samuel Pasco. A temporary county seat was located in Dade City (originally Hatton),renamed for
Major Francis Dade, whose troops had been massacred not far from here by Seminoles in
1836. A referendum was held in 1889 to select a permanent site, at which time Dade City
prevailed over Gladstone (San Antonio), Pasadena, and several other locations.
The county's first courthouse was built by H. W. Coleman and W.
A. Ferguson, who donated space to the county until a permanent structure could be erected.
In 1909 James Lee and H. C.
Griffin constructed a frame building at a cost of $7,000. This was replaced in 1909 by the
structure depicted here, which was designed by famous courthouse architect, Edward  Columbus Hosford of Eastman, Georgia.
(Mr. Hosford designed many other county courthouses for Florida, Georgia and Texas.) The
courthouse was built by Mutual Construction Company of Louisville, Kentucky. The Pasco
County Commission minutes reflect that it was accepted for use by the county on January 3,
1910 after they had previously refused acceptance on December 16, 1909 "on grounds,
not fully completed." The commission plans to honor the architect by
placing a historic marker on the grounds of the courthouse. It was long thought that
Artemus Roberts was the architect, but in fact he was the Superintendent of construction.
Thanks to Mr. Eddie Herrmann, member of the Pasco County Historical Committee, for
providing this updated information about this lovely courthouse! |
The county’s first courthouse was Pasco County
was created from parts of Hernando County in 1887. The name honors Florida’s United
States Senator, Samuel Pasco. A temporary county seat was located in
Dade City (originally Hatton),renamed for
Major Francis Dade, whose troops had been massacred not far from here by Seminoles in
1836. A referendum was held in 1889 to select a permanent site, at which time Dade City
prevailed over Gladstone (San Antonio), Pasadena, and several other locations. 
James Lee and H. C.
Griffin constructed a frame building at a cost of $7,000. This was replaced in 1909 by the
structure depicted here, which was designed by famous courthouse architect, Edward 
Columbus Hosford of Eastman, Georgia.
(Mr. Hosford designed many other county courthouses for Florida, Georgia and Texas.) The
courthouse was built by Mutual Construction Company of Louisville, Kentucky. The Pasco
County Commission minutes reflect that it was accepted for use by the county on January 3,
1910 after they had previously refused acceptance on December 16, 1909 "on grounds,
not fully completed." The commission plans to honor the architect by
placing a historic marker on the grounds of the courthouse. It was long thought that
Artemus Roberts was the architect, but in fact he was the Superintendent of construction.
Thanks to Mr. Eddie Herrmann, member of the Pasco County Historical Committee, for
providing this updated information about this lovely courthouse!