Inverness, Florida

Inverness History

The city of Inverness was originally named “Tompkinsville”. Settlement of the area dates back to 1868. A. D. Tompkins, later known as “Uncle Alf”, started the community. To attract newcomers to the town, he established mail service and helped erect the first sawmill in the county. He gave his brother-in-law, Frank M. Dampier, Sr., a lot to build a store, with Dampier becoming the first merchant in town. Dampier is credited with laying out the town and naming it Tompkinsville.

Not many years later, the town of Tompkinsville was sold to a firm in Jacksonville, and the name was changed to “Inverness”. According to the late historian Mary McRae of Homosassa, Inverness is named directly after a Scottish city of the same name. Inverness is Great Britain’s most northernly city, with a population of 46,870. The story goes that Inverness Florida got its name from a lonely Scotsman, far away from his home, who gazed upon the blue waters of the Native American-named Tsala Apopka Lake and thought the area looked like the headlands and lochs of the area surrounding Inverness in Scotland. Inver is a Gaelic word meaning “mouth of the river”, the River Ness flows through the Scottish city Inverness, so Inverness literally means the mouth or starting point of the River Ness, which flows from the world famous Loch Ness which is one of Scotland’s most visited areas. Since the Florida city lies at the foot of one of the chain of lakes in Citrus County, Inverness seemed an appropriate name.

Per official city documentation, Inverness was incorporated on September 18, 1919.

Over twelve downtown buildings have been recognized by the historic plaque program and are presently active places for business. Central Business Development grants have helped to retain the historic character of the city. In 1961 the historic courthouse downtown was used to film the courtroom scene of “Follow That Dream” featuring Elvis Presley.

The city has been designated a “Gateway Community” by the Florida Trail Association. Since 1995, Inverness has been recognized as a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation and the US Forest Service. In 2009, Inverness was named “City of the Year” by the Forty and Eight, a national veterans’ organization.