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Our History

The Old Courthouse Heritage Museum, housed inside the Historic Citrus County Courthouse, stands proudly on the square in historic downtown Inverness, a bulwark of Citrus County’s history in our ever-growing community. Constructed in 1912, the Courthouse was emblematic of the hopes the county leaders had for the community. This building would be stylish, modern, fireproof, and ready for electricity, which in those days made it an exciting glimpse into the future.

Over the years, the prominence and majesty of the building dwindled as its unique architectural features, both inside and out, disappeared or were altered in the name of progress. Some of the “improvements” included painting the copper cupula, belvedere and clock tower a silver Rustoleum-type paint. With the growth of the county in the 1970s, the 1912 courthouse was replaced with a new, more modern one across the street.

image CCHS building

By the 1990s, deserted and shuttered, the 1912 structure seemed destined for demolition. Someone went so far as to calculate the number of parking spaces that would fit on the one-acre square! Finally some members of the community and the Citrus County Historical Society realized its value as an historical symbol and banded together to preserve it. In 1992, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and an eight-year restoration process began.

In 2000, to great fanfare, the building was officially reborn as the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum. Today, the building is more than just a symbol of the community’s past; it is where the county’s history—in books, stories, photos, oral histories, and artifacts—is housed. It’s also a place where anyone can research archives, students discover their past, and citizens participate in a bountiful variety of projects, activities, and cultural and civic events.