Inverness (Florida)

Inverness is a city in Citrus County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,210. It is the county seat of Citrus County and is home to the Citrus County Courthouse and near the 10950acre Flying Eagle Preserve.GeographyInverness is located in eastern Citrus County, on the western shore of the connected Tsala Apopka and Henderson lakes. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.9km2, of which 19.7km2 is land and 0.2km2, or 1.01%, is water. Within the city are of land reserved for passive and active park usage.HistoryThe 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 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 Inverness in Scotland. Inver is a Gaelic word meaning "mouth of the river", and through the Scottish city flows the River Ness, originating from Loch Ness. 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 March 6, 1919.