A History Worth Reading...
The history of Citrus High School can be traced back to the late 1800's. At this time in Inverness, Florida there was a wood-frame school building which taught chart class to 6th grade. Some refer to this school as the first Inverness High School.
Officially, Citrus High School was authorized to be built in 1911. The two-story brick schoolhouse designed by architect W. B. Talley was to be built on Citrus Avenue, across the street from the existing wood-frame school building. The School Board approved the bid of $12,760 by the Winston Brothers of Inverness, Florida to build the school. The school was built to originally serve only high school students, but at completion of construction, the school contained grades one through twelve.
In 1913, the school was wired for electricity and by 1918, the student body had outgrown the school. Originally, the school board wanted to add on to this school. However, after two unsuccessful attempts for bids (no one would bid on the addition) the school board abandoned the addition project.
In 1920, the Board of Public Instruction approved to build a new school and principal's home. The new school was to be built on the corner of Main Street and Line Avenue. The bid for construction was awarded to C.M. Emerson & Co. for a price of $19,210. The existing old school was to be used as strictly a grammar school. By 1921, the new Citrus High School was built but was used only a short time. The school developed major structural problems, was condemned and then removed. Thus, the high school students found themselves back in the 1911 school building.
In 1930, a new high school was built once again on Main Street and Line Avenue. During this year, Citrus High School also received accreditation as a four-year high school from the State Board of Education. This new school housed students until 1985.
On 1985, a fire erupted in Citrus High School which burned almost the entire school. The cause of the fire was attributed to faulty wiring. Students had to be placed in temporary portables to finish the school year. Some students' classes were even held in the 1911 Citrus High School building which is now owned by Citrus Memorial Hospital.
After the fire, Citrus High School was steadily rebuilt until 1992. In 1992, construction on the new East and West Wings was completed. Ironically, between these two new wings stands the only original building of the 1930 Citrus High School.
Now you know the rest of the story!
Thank you . . Citrus County Historical Society, Back Home by Hampton Dunn, and the Citrus County Chronicle for providing the information for this page.