70 Russell Street

70 Russell Street - 1885 Train Depot Museum

Welcome to another stop on our stroll through Brooksville’s storied past. We’re standing right here at 70 Russell Street, home to the 1885 Train Depot Museum, where the tracks of history run deep. This old depot isn’t just a building—it’s a time machine, taking us back to when trains were the lifeblood of Hernando County. So, let’s hop aboard and chug through the tales of tangerines, duels, and a touch of mischief that make this spot so special.

Back in the 1880s, Brooksville was a bustling little town, but getting goods and folks in and out was no easy feat—think horse-drawn wagons bouncing along dusty trails. Then, in 1885, the Brooksville Railroad Association, led by folks like John Parsons and Christopher Keathley, raised a whopping $20,000 to bring the Florida Southern Railway from Pemberton’s Ferry to Brooksville. That single-track line, running one way and reversing back, was a game-changer. By 1911, the Tampa Northern Railroad added more lines, including four spurs to local logging camps. This depot became the heart of it all, shipping out the county’s bounty and earning Brooksville the title “Home of the Tangerine.” Why? ‘Because the Dancy Tangerine, grown right here, was the sweetest, easiest-to-peel citrus around, fetching top dollar at market. Daniel Hale was so tickled with his tangerine profits, he waved copies of his payment check all over town! In the 1930s, Hernando even got dubbed the “Eggplant Center of the World” for shipping more of those purple beauties than anywhere else in Florida.

Step inside the depot, and you’re walking into history. The office area is where folks once bought tickets, sent telegrams, or shipped freight. Wander into the freight room, and you’ll find train artifacts and HO model trains that will make kids and grown-ups grin from ear to ear. Out on the enclosed freight dock, you can ring a bell, sound a siren, or snap a photo with your little one in a 1925 LaFrance Fire Engine—Brooksville’s first. And don’t miss the Cook & Utility Box Car out back, rescued from a swamp by Ron Daniel. Once owned by Cummer Sons Cypress Lumber Company, it hauled workers to the Green Swamp, serving as a kitchen, bedroom, and office on wheels.

Now, hold onto your hats, because this depot’s seen some wild times. In 1906, a scandal rocked the tracks when an African American railroad worker stood his ground against a white customer, Mr. Braswell, who demanded his cargo be loaded without Conductor Lee Hicks’ say-so. Things escalated, and Julius Higginbotham, fired up over the incident, beat the worker and confronted Hicks. It all came to a head right here, ten feet from the depot’s entrance, in a duel straight out of the Wild West. Both men drew their guns, firing three bullets into Higginbotham and five into Hicks. Both fell dead on the spot. The railroad worker got six months in jail.

And if that wasn’t enough, the 1920s brought a whole different kind of trouble. Hernando County was a hotbed for bootleggers, and this depot played a sneaky part. A Tampa mobster named Sam ran rum from Cuba, landed at Bayport, and loaded it into trucks disguised as Planters Peanut haulers. They’d roll up here and ship the hooch out as “potatoes.” Talk about a sly operation!

As you stand here, take a good look at this depot, now a museum, keeping these stories alive. The trains may have stopped running by the early 1960s, but the spirit of this place—the tangerines, the eggplants, the duels, and the bootlegging—still hums like a locomotive. 

Citations

Hernando County, Florida 1842-1945 "One Hundred Years or Thereabout" by Roger L. Landers.

Higginbotham Genealogyhttps://www.higginbothamgenealogy.com/fl/florida_obituaries.htm.

70 Russell Street - 1885 Train Depot Museum

Welcome to another stop on our stroll through Brooksville’s storied past. We’re standing right here at 70 Russell Street, home to the 1885 Train Depot Museum, where the tracks of history run deep. This old depot isn’t just a building—it’s a time machine, taking us back to when trains were the lifeblood of Hernando County. So, let’s hop aboard and chug through the tales of tangerines, duels, and a touch of mischief that make this spot so special.

Back in the 1880s, Brooksville was a bustling little town, but getting goods and folks in and out was no easy feat—think horse-drawn wagons bouncing along dusty trails. Then, in 1885, the Brooksville Railroad Association, led by folks like John Parsons and Christopher Keathley, raised a whopping $20,000 to bring the Florida Southern Railway from Pemberton’s Ferry to Brooksville. That single-track line, running one way and reversing back, was a game-changer. By 1911, the Tampa Northern Railroad added more lines, including four spurs to local logging camps. This depot became the heart of it all, shipping out the county’s bounty and earning Brooksville the title “Home of the Tangerine.” Why? ‘Because the Dancy Tangerine, grown right here, was the sweetest, easiest-to-peel citrus around, fetching top dollar at market. Daniel Hale was so tickled with his tangerine profits, he waved copies of his payment check all over town! In the 1930s, Hernando even got dubbed the “Eggplant Center of the World” for shipping more of those purple beauties than anywhere else in Florida.

Step inside the depot, and you’re walking into history. The office area is where folks once bought tickets, sent telegrams, or shipped freight. Wander into the freight room, and you’ll find train artifacts and HO model trains that will make kids and grown-ups grin from ear to ear. Out on the enclosed freight dock, you can ring a bell, sound a siren, or snap a photo with your little one in a 1925 LaFrance Fire Engine—Brooksville’s first. And don’t miss the Cook & Utility Box Car out back, rescued from a swamp by Ron Daniel. Once owned by Cummer Sons Cypress Lumber Company, it hauled workers to the Green Swamp, serving as a kitchen, bedroom, and office on wheels.

Now, hold onto your hats, because this depot’s seen some wild times. In 1906, a scandal rocked the tracks when an African American railroad worker stood his ground against a white customer, Mr. Braswell, who demanded his cargo be loaded without Conductor Lee Hicks’ say-so. Things escalated, and Julius Higginbotham, fired up over the incident, beat the worker and confronted Hicks. It all came to a head right here, ten feet from the depot’s entrance, in a duel straight out of the Wild West. Both men drew their guns, firing three bullets into Higginbotham and five into Hicks. Both fell dead on the spot. The railroad worker got six months in jail.

And if that wasn’t enough, the 1920s brought a whole different kind of trouble. Hernando County was a hotbed for bootleggers, and this depot played a sneaky part. A Tampa mobster named Sam ran rum from Cuba, landed at Bayport, and loaded it into trucks disguised as Planters Peanut haulers. They’d roll up here and ship the hooch out as “potatoes.” Talk about a sly operation!

As you stand here, take a good look at this depot, now a museum, keeping these stories alive. The trains may have stopped running by the early 1960s, but the spirit of this place—the tangerines, the eggplants, the duels, and the bootlegging—still hums like a locomotive. 

Citations

Hernando County, Florida 1842-1945 "One Hundred Years or Thereabout" by Roger L. Landers.

Higginbotham Genealogyhttps://www.higginbothamgenealogy.com/fl/florida_obituaries.htm.