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J. A. Jennings Building
G.M.'s bistro
hernando county courthousebrooksville florida
"brooksville"
brooksviile is located on hwy 50 north of tampa in hernando county. in 1840 fort desoto was built near present day brooksville to protect settlers from indian attack. in 1845 a settlement named melendez was established near present day downtown brooksville. the town of brooksville was established in 1856 and was incorporated in 1880. brooksville is named after preston brooks a south carolina senator. today brooksville is a small rural town located north of the tampa urban sprawl. brooksville has a very nice downtown historic district and several good restaurants. brooksville is most famous for rodger's christmas village which over the years has been visited by millions of tourists. brooksville is a very interesting "off the beaten path" type of town and is worth a visit when in west central florida.
brooksville is named after senator preston smith brooks (1819-1857). brooks is an interesting character in american history. senator charles sumner on a visit to kansas made a speech criticizing president franklin pierce and pro slavery southerners. senator brooks was enraged by the speech and beat sumner in his senate office with his cane until it broke. it took sumner three years to recover from that beating. brooks was never prosecuted for the beating and died of natural causes a year later. after the attack brooks became some what of a "cult" hero in the south and he was sent replacement canes by his supporters. later sumner was to become one of the most influential radical republicans after the civil war.
