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Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries
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Newspaper Sumter County Times (Sumterville, Sumter County, Fla.) 18??-Current

About Sumter County Times (Sumterville, Sumter County, Fla.) 18??-Current

The Sumter County Times, a weekly, began publishing in the 1880s as the Sumterville Times. The first publisher was John Fraser Shecut. S.N. Graham joined the paper in 1898 and purchased it in 1908, changing its name to the Sumter County Times. In 1911, Graham moved the newspaper’s operations from Sumterville to the new county seat of Bushnell. Sumter County is situated in central Florida, northeast of Tampa and northwest of Orlando. Citrus flourished here with more than one hundred orange growers by 1886, until the Freeze of 1895 almost destroyed the industry. The area’s farmers then turned to cattle ranching, which proved more durable and profitable, rivaled only by truck gardening that flourishes to the present. The pages of the Sumter County Times dealt with economic developments, shifting political boundaries, and subsequent power changes in the county. The paper is currently owned and operated by the Citrus Publishing, Inc.

Provided By: University of Florida

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Sumter County Times (Sumterville, Sumter County, Fla.) 18??-Current

Summary

  • The Sumter County (FL) Times [LCCN: sn95072059], a weekly, began publishing in the 1880s from Sumterville, Florida. From 1937 through 1993, the newspaper published from Bushnell, Florida. In 1979, the Sumter County Times absorbed the Herald Express [LCCN: sn00229627] which had published in Wildwood (FL) since 1962 under the alternate titles Sumter County's Herald Express and Wildwood's Herald Express. Sumter County, Florida, originally spelled Sumpter, was named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero, General Thomas Sumter. The County, located in central Florida northeast of Tampa and northwest of Orlando, has been the site of the Seminole Wars. The Dade Massacre (present day Pasco County, Florida) in 1835 led to the start of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). There were a number of boundary modifications in the county towards the end of the 19th century. In 1871, the boundary between Polk County (FL) and Sumter County was altered. In 1872, a portion of Sumter was annexed to Orange County (FL). On May 27, 1887, Lake County (FL) took portions of Sumter County and Orange County, leaving Sumter County with 574 square miles. To this day (ca. 2008), the area remains essentially rural, a true anomaly for central Florida in the age of Disney. Citrus flourished by 1886 with over 100 orange growers in the county. But, the Freeze of 1894 almost destroyed the citrus industry in Sumter County. The area's farmers then turned to cattle ranching which proved more durable and profitable, rivaled only by truck gardening, a form of small scale gardening that flourishes even today (ca. 2008) in this part of Florida. The Sumter County Times deals with these assorted economic disasters, shifting political boundaries and subsequent power changes. --E. Kesse, University of Florida Digital Library Center.

Dates of Publication

  • 18??-current

Created / Published

  • Sumterville, Sumter County, Fla. : D.C. Hull

Headings

  • -  Sumterville (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Bushnell (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Sumter County (Fla.)--Newspapers
  • -  Florida--Bushnell
  • -  Florida--Sumter County
  • -  Florida--Sumterville
  • -  United States--Florida--Sumter--Bushnell
  • -  United States--Florida--Sumter--Sumterville

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Published at: Bushnell, Fla., <1937-1993>.
  • -  Also issued on microfilm from the University of Florida.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 11, no. 29 (July 3, 1891).
  • -  Latest issue consulted: Vol. 114, no. 47 (Nov. 16, 1995).

Medium

  • v.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn95072059

OCLC Number

  • 33393995

Preceding Titles

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Chicago citation style:

Sumter County Times Sumterville, Sumter County, Fla. 18??-Current.

APA citation style:

Sumter County Times Sumterville, Sumter County, Fla. 18??-Current.

MLA citation style:

Sumter County Times Sumterville, Sumter County, Fla. 18??-Current.