Centralia takes center stage on Heritage Day

The city has its history and Centralia - the once-thriving logging community - had its own.

It once had three times as many people as Brooksville.

Then all the trees were cut down. The town's booming era lasted 12 years.

The Hernando Historical Museum Association hosted its 30th annual Heritage Day celebration Saturday in downtown.

The usual draws were there, including the Orlando-based Talako Indian Dancers, which performed three times throughout the day.

There were Civil War reenactors, a silent auction and various historically centered vendors at the festival.

The attraction within the attraction Saturday was the photographic display of Centralia.

"In 1910, Brooksville had about 500 residents," said event coordinator Mary Sheldon. "There were 1,500 in Centralia."

She pointed at each framed photograph, which showed train tracks, large pine trunks and a general store that could stock enough items to fill four railroad cars.

"People from Tampa would come up to Centralia to shop," said Sheldon.

The logging community's heyday lasted until 1922.

"Once it was gone, once they cut all those trees, they were gone," Sheldon said. "It became a ghost town."

Now all that's left are the remains of some of the buildings, including the large-sized sawmill. The property is owned by the state.

None of the trees remain. Some tried to replant pines in the area, but "it was never the same again," Sheldon said.

She hopes to walk through the 160 acres one day soon and see it for herself.

Virginia Jackson, an active member of the association, is working on a book about the local logging industry, Sheldon said.

Saturday's festival took place in the yard next to the May-Stringer House at 601 Museum Court.

"We started with a condemned house," said Ron Daniel, president of the association. "We've now come together with a lot of staff and volunteers ... It's turned into a great museum."