158 S Main Street

158 South Main Street – West Coast Lumber 

This building is thought to be one of the few, if not the only, old livery stables still standing in Florida. The structure has since been an auto garage, a second-hand shop, and a lumber yard. It was said to have been constructed in 1904, but many accounts date the building back further into the 1880s. Unfortunately, after the turn of the century, Hernando County lost all its property records in a fire, so we do not have a definitive date. 

A mural of this building from back in time can be seen on the Lowman Law Firm building at 31 South Main Street. According to Hernandoarts.org, “This mural features the livery stable, which housed the Bell Fruit Company, one of the most important businesses in early Brooksville.” The building still stands on Main St. and Hendricks Ave.

The gentleman driving the fruit wagon is Mr. Lem St. Clair, the great-uncle of local African American historian Mable Sims of Twin Lakes, a section of Hernando County. Mr. St. Clair was one of five brothers who lived in Twin Lakes in the late 1800s and worked for many years for the Bell Fruit Company. He was named Great Brooksvillian in honor of his contributions to the community. This mural is a tribute to an important business in early Brooksville and those whose work sustained it.

Certain places were more than just businesses—they were the soul of community life. None was more vibrant than the West Coast Lumber building at 158 South Main Street, better known as Old Brooksville Lumber & Supply. For over five decades, from the 1940s to 1996, this lumber yard, owned and operated by the Snow family, was a bustling hot spot where local men gathered to swap gossip, share news, and build more than just homes. Run single-handedly by Gene Snow six days a week, it was Brooksville’s unofficial town square, a place where the clatter of wood and the hum of conversation created lasting memories. 

Picture the 1940s, when Brooksville was a thriving hub of citrus groves and small-town charm. At 158 South Main Street, just a stone’s throw from the Hernando County Courthouse, West Coast Lumber was a hive of activity. The building, originally a livery stable before the West Coast Lumber Co. moved in during 1932, was transformed into a lumber yard stacked with pine planks, cedar beams, and nails by the barrel. Gene Snow, hired in 1935 and later the owner, stood at the center of it all, his rusty billing machine—styled like a postwar Chevrolet—churning out handwritten receipts with a satisfying crank. Locals like farmers, carpenters, and shopkeepers poured in, not just for supplies but for the chance to lean on a stack of two-by-fours and catch up on the day’s news.

The lumber yard was the social hub for the men of the area, a place where the line between business and banter blurred. Imagine a carpenter picking up lumber for a barn, pausing to debate the price of oranges with a citrus grower. Nearby, a group of old-timers swapped stories about the latest town council meeting or whispered rumors about a neighbor’s new romance. Gene Snow, with his quick wit and encyclopedic knowledge of Brooksville’s goings-on, was the unofficial mayor of this gathering spot. From the 1940s to 1996, he ran the yard alone six days a week, making it a constant in a changing world. The creak of the wooden floor and the scent of fresh-cut pine set the stage for connections that built more than houses—they built community.

New research adds depth to the lumber yard’s story. A 2024 Hernando Sun article reveals that the building, with its high ceilings and exposed beams, was a former feed store before becoming a livery stable, its walls echoing with decades of Brooksville’s evolution. During World War II, when lumber was rationed, Gene sourced scarce materials for local builders, earning him a reputation as a problem-solver. The yard also served as a pickup point for Hernando County’s early recycling efforts in the 1970s, drawing crowds who’d linger to chat about everything from fishing to politics. Photos from the Florida Memory archives show the yard’s hand-painted sign and stacks of lumber, with locals like Whitehurst, a Tampa returnee, visiting in the 1990s to source parts for his family’s historic home, built with West Coast wood.

The West Coast Lumber yard was a stage for Brooksville’s daily drama. On Saturday mornings, contractors might haggle over prices while kids played in the sawdust piles, their parents catching up on gossip. During the 1950s, the yard was a hotspot for planning community projects, like the bleachers for the high school football field, with Gene often donating materials, as recalled in a 2025 Brooksville History Facebook post. The snack bar, added in the 1960s, offered cold Coca-Colas and homemade brownies, drawing non-builders for a quick break and a chance to eavesdrop on the latest news. Even as big-box stores loomed in the 1990s, Gene resisted modernization, keeping his vintage billing machine and personal touch, a choice that made the yard a time capsule of old Brooksville.

Unlike the formal Courthouse or the lively soda shops, the lumber yard offered a unique blend of work and play, where every visit was a chance to connect. When Gene Snow closed the doors in 1996, unable to compete with larger chains, the community felt the loss, as noted in a 2023 local history blog (Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories, 2023). 

Though the West Coast Lumber yard is gone, its legacy lives on in Brooksville’s modern gathering spots—cafés, farmers’ markets, and festivals. Locals still share stories of Gene’s hearty laugh or the time they scored a deal on cedar, their memories preserved in community forums and oral histories. The yard fed more than just construction—it fed connection, camaraderie, and the small moments that make a town a home.

Citations

Brooksville History. (2025). Community Memories of Brooksville’s Historic Businesses. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/brooksvillehistory

Florida Memory. (n.d.). Brooksville Lumber & Supply Photographs. Retrieved from https://www.floridamemory.com

Hernando County Supervisor of Elections. (n.d.). Vote in Honor of a Vet. Retrieved from https://www.hernandovotes.gov

Hernando Sun. (2024). West Coast Lumber: Brooksville’s Gathering Place. Retrieved from https://www.hernandosun.com

Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories. (2023). Volume 315: Gene Snow’s Lumber Yard. Retrieved from https://www.oldbrooksville.org

Tampa Bay Times. (2005). Hernando Lumber Shop Carves a Place in History. Retrieved from https://www.tampabay.com

University of North Florida. (n.d.). Gene Snow Oral History Collection. Retrieved from https://www.unf.edu

158 South Main Street – West Coast Lumber 

This building is thought to be one of the few, if not the only, old livery stables still standing in Florida. The structure has since been an auto garage, a second-hand shop, and a lumber yard. It was said to have been constructed in 1904, but many accounts date the building back further into the 1880s. Unfortunately, after the turn of the century, Hernando County lost all its property records in a fire, so we do not have a definitive date. 

A mural of this building from the past can be seen on the Lowman Law Firm building at 31 South Main Street. According to Hernandoarts.org, “This mural features the livery stable, which housed the Bell Fruit Company, one of the most important businesses in early Brooksville.” The building still stands on Main St. and Hendricks Ave.

The gentleman driving the fruit wagon is Mr. Lem St. Clair, the great-uncle of local African American historian Mable Sims of Twin Lakes, a section of Hernando County. Mr. St. Clair was one of five brothers who lived in Twin Lakes in the late 1800s and worked for many years for the Bell Fruit Company. He was named Great Brooksvillian in honor of his contributions to the community. This mural is a tribute to an important business in early Brooksville and those whose work sustained it.

Certain places were more than just businesses—they were the soul of community life. None was more vibrant than the West Coast Lumber building at 158 South Main Street, better known as Old Brooksville Lumber & Supply. For over five decades, from the 1940s to 1996, this lumber yard, owned and operated by the Snow family, was a bustling hot spot where local men gathered to swap gossip, share news, and build more than just homes. Run single-handedly by Gene Snow six days a week, it was Brooksville’s unofficial town square, a place where the clatter of wood and the hum of conversation created lasting memories. 

Picture the 1940s, when Brooksville was a thriving hub of citrus groves and small-town charm. At 158 South Main Street, just a stone’s throw from the Hernando County Courthouse, West Coast Lumber was a hive of activity. The building, originally a livery stable before the West Coast Lumber Co. moved in during 1932, was transformed into a lumber yard stacked with pine planks, cedar beams, and nails by the barrel. Gene Snow, hired in 1935 and later the owner, stood at the center of it all, his rusty billing machine—styled like a postwar Chevrolet—churning out handwritten receipts with a satisfying crank. Locals like farmers, carpenters, and shopkeepers poured in, not just for supplies but for the chance to lean on a stack of two-by-fours and catch up on the day’s news.

The lumber yard was the social hub for the men of the area, a place where the line between business and banter blurred. Imagine a carpenter picking up lumber for a barn, pausing to debate the price of oranges with a citrus grower. Nearby, a group of old-timers swapped stories about the latest town council meeting or whispered rumors about a neighbor’s new romance. Gene Snow, with his quick wit and encyclopedic knowledge of Brooksville’s goings-on, was the unofficial mayor of this gathering spot. From the 1940s to 1996, he ran the yard alone six days a week, making it a constant in a changing world. The creak of the wooden floor and the scent of fresh-cut pine set the stage for connections that built more than houses—they built community.

New research adds depth to the lumber yard’s story. A 2024 Hernando Sun article reveals that the building, with its high ceilings and exposed beams, was a former feed store before becoming a livery stable, its walls echoing with decades of Brooksville’s evolution. During World War II, when lumber was rationed, Gene sourced scarce materials for local builders, earning him a reputation as a problem-solver. The yard also served as a pickup point for Hernando County’s early recycling efforts in the 1970s, drawing crowds who’d linger to chat about everything from fishing to politics. Photos from the Florida Memory archives show the yard’s hand-painted sign and stacks of lumber, with locals like Whitehurst, a Tampa returnee, visiting in the 1990s to source parts for his family’s historic home, built with West Coast wood.

The West Coast Lumber yard was a stage for Brooksville’s daily drama. On Saturday mornings, contractors might haggle over prices while kids played in the sawdust piles, their parents catching up on gossip. During the 1950s, the yard was a hotspot for planning community projects, like the bleachers for the high school football field, with Gene often donating materials, as recalled in a 2025 Brooksville History Facebook post. The snack bar, added in the 1960s, offered cold Coca-Colas and homemade brownies, drawing non-builders for a quick break and a chance to eavesdrop on the latest news. Even as big-box stores loomed in the 1990s, Gene resisted modernization, keeping his vintage billing machine and personal touch, a choice that made the yard a time capsule of old Brooksville.

Unlike the formal Courthouse or the lively soda shops, the lumber yard offered a unique blend of work and play, where every visit was a chance to connect. When Gene Snow closed the doors in 1996, unable to compete with larger chains, the community felt the loss, as noted in a 2023 local history blog (Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories, 2023). 

Though the West Coast Lumber yard is gone, its legacy lives on in Brooksville’s modern gathering spots—cafés, farmers’ markets, and festivals. Locals still share stories of Gene’s hearty laugh or the time they scored a deal on cedar, their memories preserved in community forums and oral histories. The yard fed more than just construction—it fed connection, camaraderie, and the small moments that make a town a home.

Citations

Brooksville History. (2025). Community Memories of Brooksville’s Historic Businesses. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/brooksvillehistory

Florida Memory. (n.d.). Brooksville Lumber & Supply Photographs. Retrieved from https://www.floridamemory.com

Hernando County Supervisor of Elections. (n.d.). Vote in Honor of a Vet. Retrieved from https://www.hernandovotes.gov

Hernando Sun. (2024). West Coast Lumber: Brooksville’s Gathering Place. Retrieved from https://www.hernandosun.com

Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories. (2023). Volume 315: Gene Snow’s Lumber Yard. Retrieved from https://www.oldbrooksville.org

Tampa Bay Times. (2005). Hernando Lumber Shop Carves a Place in History. Retrieved from https://www.tampabay.com

University of North Florida. (n.d.). Gene Snow Oral History Collection. Retrieved from https://www.unf.edu

158 South Main Street – West Coast Lumber - Ernestine Snow

A Trailblazer’s Legacy

We are honoring some of the women who helped shape Brooksville into the charming town it is today. Here, at the West Coast Limber Yard, we’re honoring Ernestine Snow (neé Kitchen), a woman whose strength, grace, and quiet leadership left a mark on Hernando County as deep as the roots of its ancient oaks. 

Ernestine Snow, born around 1908, was part of the storied Ederington and Snow families, tied to the historic Chinsegut Hill Manor House, just five miles northeast of Brooksville. Her family’s roots run deep—her ancestor, Francis Higgins Ederington, bought the manor in 1851, naming it Mount Airy. By 1866, Ernestine’s grandmother, Charlotte Ederington, married Dr. James Russell Snow, a South Carolina dentist, and they renamed the estate Snow Hill. They raised a big family, including Ernestine’s father, Frank Snow, who lived to 94. Ernestine grew up in this historic home, one of six generations to call it theirs, surrounded by citrus groves and tales of survival through the Great Freeze of 1895, when Snow Hill’s trees helped restart Florida’s citrus industry. 

Ernestine’s own story shines through her marriage to Colonel Roy Snow, a decorated World War II and Korean War hero who earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart. Roy, born in 1916, served as a captain in the 30th Infantry and later as a Hernando County Commissioner, leaving a legacy through Snow & Bell, Inc., a family business still running in Brooksville today. Ernestine, as his partner, was the backbone of their family, raising children and managing the household while Roy served in war and public office. She lived through the Great Depression, when the Snows and their kin, the Robins family, gave nearly $250,000 to save Brooksville’s First National Bank from collapsing in 1929, showing the kind of community spirit Ernestine carried forward. Though specific details about her personal deeds are scarce, we do know that Ernestine and her brother, Gene, were close. She partnered with him to purchase West Coast Lumber, here at 158 South Main Street, in 1945. Her role as a matriarch in a prominent family and a female business owner speaks volumes.

As a woman of her time, Ernestine’s contributions were woven into the everyday fabric of Brooksville—supporting her family’s business, nurturing the next generation, and upholding the heritage of Chinsegut Hill. The manor, now a historic site and museum at 22495 Chinsegut Hill Road, hosted luminaries like Thomas Edison and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Ernestine’s presence helped preserve its legacy. Her life, alongside Roy’s, bridged Brooksville’s pioneer past with its modern growth, from the days of horse-drawn wagons to the citrus boom that earned the town its “Home of the Tangerine” title.

Standing here, thinking about Ernestine, you can picture her helping her brother Gene, here at the Lumber Yard, or her tending to the Snow Hill estate, welcoming neighbors, or sharing stories of Brooksville’s early days. She was a quiet force, a woman who held her family and community together through war, economic hardship, and change. Let’s tip our hats to Ernestine Snow, a true Brooksville trailblazer whose legacy lives on in the hills and hearts of Brooksville. 

Citations 

Chinsegut Hill Manor House, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinsegut_Hill_Manor_House.[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinsegut_Hill_%28Florida%29)

Chinsegut Hill: Where History Meets Hospitality, Florida Backroads Travel, https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com.[](https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com/chinsegut-hill.html)

Hernando County: Our Story by Alfred A. McKethan, 1989, Hernando Historical Museum Association, https://www.hernandohistoricalmuseumassoc.com.

Who Were the McKethans?, Hernando Sun, January 5, 2021, https://www.hernandosun.com.

158 South Main Street – West Coast Lumber 

This building is thought to be one of the few, if not the only, old livery stables still standing in Florida. The structure has since been an auto garage, a second-hand shop, and a lumber yard. It was said to have been constructed in 1904, but many accounts date the building back further into the 1880s. Unfortunately, after the turn of the century, Hernando County lost all its property records in a fire, so we do not have a definitive date. 

A mural of this building from back in time can be seen on the Lowman Law Firm building at 31 South Main Street. According to Hernandoarts.org, “This mural features the livery stable, which housed the Bell Fruit Company, one of the most important businesses in early Brooksville.” The building still stands on Main St. and Hendricks Ave.

The gentleman driving the fruit wagon is Mr. Lem St. Clair, the great-uncle of local African American historian Mable Sims of Twin Lakes, a section of Hernando County. Mr. St. Clair was one of five brothers who lived in Twin Lakes in the late 1800s and worked for many years for the Bell Fruit Company. He was named Great Brooksvillian in honor of his contributions to the community. This mural is a tribute to an important business in early Brooksville and those whose work sustained it.

Certain places were more than just businesses—they were the soul of community life. None was more vibrant than the West Coast Lumber building at 158 South Main Street, better known as Old Brooksville Lumber & Supply. For over five decades, from the 1940s to 1996, this lumber yard, owned and operated by the Snow family, was a bustling hot spot where local men gathered to swap gossip, share news, and build more than just homes. Run single-handedly by Gene Snow six days a week, it was Brooksville’s unofficial town square, a place where the clatter of wood and the hum of conversation created lasting memories. 

Picture the 1940s, when Brooksville was a thriving hub of citrus groves and small-town charm. At 158 South Main Street, just a stone’s throw from the Hernando County Courthouse, West Coast Lumber was a hive of activity. The building, originally a livery stable before the West Coast Lumber Co. moved in during 1932, was transformed into a lumber yard stacked with pine planks, cedar beams, and nails by the barrel. Gene Snow, hired in 1935 and later the owner, stood at the center of it all, his rusty billing machine—styled like a postwar Chevrolet—churning out handwritten receipts with a satisfying crank. Locals like farmers, carpenters, and shopkeepers poured in, not just for supplies but for the chance to lean on a stack of two-by-fours and catch up on the day’s news.

The lumber yard was the social hub for the men of the area, a place where the line between business and banter blurred. Imagine a carpenter picking up lumber for a barn, pausing to debate the price of oranges with a citrus grower. Nearby, a group of old-timers swapped stories about the latest town council meeting or whispered rumors about a neighbor’s new romance. Gene Snow, with his quick wit and encyclopedic knowledge of Brooksville’s goings-on, was the unofficial mayor of this gathering spot. From the 1940s to 1996, he ran the yard alone six days a week, making it a constant in a changing world. The creak of the wooden floor and the scent of fresh-cut pine set the stage for connections that built more than houses—they built community.

New research adds depth to the lumber yard’s story. A 2024 Hernando Sun article reveals that the building, with its high ceilings and exposed beams, was a former feed store before becoming a livery stable, its walls echoing with decades of Brooksville’s evolution. During World War II, when lumber was rationed, Gene sourced scarce materials for local builders, earning him a reputation as a problem-solver. The yard also served as a pickup point for Hernando County’s early recycling efforts in the 1970s, drawing crowds who’d linger to chat about everything from fishing to politics. Photos from the Florida Memory archives show the yard’s hand-painted sign and stacks of lumber, with locals like Whitehurst, a Tampa returnee, visiting in the 1990s to source parts for his family’s historic home, built with West Coast wood.

The West Coast Lumber yard was a stage for Brooksville’s daily drama. On Saturday mornings, contractors might haggle over prices while kids played in the sawdust piles, their parents catching up on gossip. During the 1950s, the yard was a hotspot for planning community projects, like the bleachers for the high school football field, with Gene often donating materials, as recalled in a 2025 Brooksville History Facebook post. The snack bar, added in the 1960s, offered cold Coca-Colas and homemade brownies, drawing non-builders for a quick break and a chance to eavesdrop on the latest news. Even as big-box stores loomed in the 1990s, Gene resisted modernization, keeping his vintage billing machine and personal touch, a choice that made the yard a time capsule of old Brooksville.

Unlike the formal Courthouse or the lively soda shops, the lumber yard offered a unique blend of work and play, where every visit was a chance to connect. When Gene Snow closed the doors in 1996, unable to compete with larger chains, the community felt the loss, as noted in a 2023 local history blog (Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories, 2023). 

Though the West Coast Lumber yard is gone, its legacy lives on in Brooksville’s modern gathering spots—cafés, farmers’ markets, and festivals. Locals still share stories of Gene’s hearty laugh or the time they scored a deal on cedar, their memories preserved in community forums and oral histories. The yard fed more than just construction—it fed connection, camaraderie, and the small moments that make a town a home.

Citations

Brooksville History. (2025). Community Memories of Brooksville’s Historic Businesses. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/brooksvillehistory

Florida Memory. (n.d.). Brooksville Lumber & Supply Photographs. Retrieved from https://www.floridamemory.com

Hernando County Supervisor of Elections. (n.d.). Vote in Honor of a Vet. Retrieved from https://www.hernandovotes.gov

Hernando Sun. (2024). West Coast Lumber: Brooksville’s Gathering Place. Retrieved from https://www.hernandosun.com

Old Brooksville in Photos and Stories. (2023). Volume 315: Gene Snow’s Lumber Yard. Retrieved from https://www.oldbrooksville.org

Tampa Bay Times. (2005). Hernando Lumber Shop Carves a Place in History. Retrieved from https://www.tampabay.com

University of North Florida. (n.d.). Gene Snow Oral History Collection. Retrieved from https://www.unf.edu