History

The county of Hernando was established on February 27, 1843 in honor of Hernando DeSoto, the Spanish explorer who had traveled through the region in 1539. A bill was passed to divide Hernando County into three counties in the 1880s. This division created Citrus County to the north and Pasco County to the south.

The central portion of the county includes the county seat of Brooksville and prior to 1970 contained most of the population. During the Civil War, Brooksville was held by Confederate forces until Union Navy and Army forces landed at Bayport and launched an attack, shelling the town heavily. This renowned 1864 event is celebrated every January as the "Brooksville Raid Festival" and is Florida's second largest Civil War re- enactment.