Dade City, Florida

Dade City, officially the City of Dade City, is a city in and the county seat of Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is located in the Tampa Bay Area, northeast of Tampa and southwest of Orlando. The population was 7,275 as of the 2020 census. The current Mayor of Dade City is Scott Black.
The city was named after U.S. Army Major Francis L. Dade who was killed alongside most of the men he led from Fort Brooke (present-day Tampa) to Fort King (present-day Ocala) in the Dade Battle, which marked the beginning of the Second Seminole War.
The gently rolling hills of eastern Pasco County give way to this quintessential Southern small town that is known and beloved by many for its slow-paced, "Old Florida" ambience.
An earlier community known as Fort Dade existed nearby in the 1870s and 1880s. The railroad was constructed a few miles to the east of Fort Dade, so business owners chose to relocate in order to be nearer to it. The newer settlement became known as Dade City. The name became official when the Hatton post office was changed to the Dade City post office on December 18, 1884.
After being initially incorporated as a town in either 1884 or 1885, Dade City was subsequently reincorporated as a city following the official approval of the state legislature on June 5, 1889. When Pasco County was formed from the southern section of a much larger Hernando County (Citrus County was formed from the northern section) in 1887, Dade City became the county seat of the new county, first temporarily and later permanently, by popular vote.
The Pioneer Florida Museum (located just outside city limits), which opened on Labor Day of 1975, showcases the life of European-American pioneers in Central Florida. Its artifacts and exhibits include a 1913 locomotive, a Methodist church, a house built before the American Civil War, an old school, and an old train depot from Trilby, Florida.
The Hugh Embry Library, currently located on 4th Street in downtown Dade City, was opened in 1904 when its namesake, then 25 years old, was recovering from an illness. Embry had a strong desire to read, but at that time there was no public library located in Dade City. He solicited donations of books from local households, and developed a small library in the Embry home on Church Street (now the site of the U.S. Post Office).
His efforts helped generate great enthusiasm in the community for a much more extensive library, culminating in the development of the Pasco County Library Association in 1905. After Embry's death at the age of 28 due to tuberculosis, the library initially faltered. Efforts of active community members and civic organizations such as the Dade City Woman's Club kept the library open. The library was relocated several times over the next five decades, finally reaching its current location in 1963. The library underwent a complete renovation in the late 1980s, with the current 7,200-square-foot (670 m) building opening in 1991. More recently, the library underwent renovations in 2021. The library reopened on May 30, 2023.
The Crescent Theatre was Dade City's main movie theater from its opening in 1926 until it closed in 1950. It was located on the northeast corner of South 5th Street and Florida Avenue. The facade of the original building was preserved while other renovations were made for adaptive reuse. A metal structure was added in the 1990s. Today the building is used as a non-profit Seniors' Services center.
The Pasco Theater, built as a movie theater on South 7th Street, operated from 1948 until 1999 and has since been demolished.
Lawrence Puckett (1906–1985) settled in Dade City in 1925. He later became involved in politics and served as mayor of Dade City from 1981–1983 and as a member of the Dade City Commission from 1976 until his death in 1985. His recollections of the city were published by the Pasco County Centennial Committee. They date from his arrival as a young man of 19. Puckett describes Dade City before and after the Florida land boom as "a typical southern agriculture area, where the few well-to-do controlled the economy and the poor white folks and Negroes did the work for minimal pay. In other words, folks here were either quite well-to-do or very damn poor". Puckett described Dade City as it existed during the Florida boom, with its various shops, streets, and buildings. Most of these had changed significantly by the time he was writing.
With the Florida land boom, people were streaming into the state, usually sticking to the Eastern Coast. The overall economic effect was to drive up property prices all across the state. For Dade City, Puckett estimated that the top money-making ventures were either real estate, business related to real estate, or the production of moonshine.
He said that the increase of people and capital into Dade City had a profound effect on its culture:
During World War II, the government established a prisoner-of-war camp in Dade City. The prisoners were German soldiers from Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps, who were captured in battles in North Africa in 1942-1943. They were put to work, producing limestone bricks, building warehouses, and making boxes. The POW camp operated from approximately 1942 to the spring of 1946. The site has been redeveloped as the Pyracantha Park Civic Center.
Dade City is located at 28°21′53.01″N 82°11′45.30″W﻿ / ﻿28.3647250°N 82.1959167°W﻿ / 28.3647250; -82.1959167 (28.3647248, -82.1959178).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.813 square miles (20.24 km), of which, 7.586 square miles (19.65 km) is land and 0.227 square miles (0.59 km) (6.23%) is water.
Dade City contains gently rolling topography with elevations from 60 ft to 100 ft.
As of the 2022 American Community Survey, there are 2,505 estimated households in Dade City with an average of 2.74 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $63,493. Approximately 12.8% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. Dade City has an estimated 46.3% employment rate, with 23.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 83.6% holding a high school diploma.
The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (82.7%), Spanish (17.2%), Indo-European (0.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.1%), and Other (0.0%).
The median age in the city was 40.4 years.
As of the 2020 census, there were 7,275 people, 2,718 households, and 1,707 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,177.9 inhabitants per square mile (454.8/km). There were 3,227 housing units at an average density of 522.5 per square mile (201.7/km). The racial makeup of the city was 58.86% White, 17.79% African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 9.68% from some other races and 12.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 25.62% of the population. 21.2% of residents were under the age of 18, 3.4% were under 5 years of age, and 24.7% were 65 and older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.9% male and 54.1% female.
As of the 2010 census, there were 6,437 people, 2,500 households, and 1,528 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,087.6 inhabitants per square mile (419.9/km). There were 3,049 housing units at an average density of 515.0 per square mile (198.8/km). The racial makeup of the city was 67.35% White, 20.44% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 8.65% from some other races and 2.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 20.65% of the population.
Dade City is popular with tourists for its antique stores, historic buildings, and various renowned events. The Kumquat Festival is hosted annually downtown on the last Saturday in January, attracting thousands of attendees. The festival celebrates the widely locally grown kumquat, a citrus fruit that is eaten whole and is similar in size to an olive.
The Dade City Cruise In car show is held every first Saturday from September to May around the historic courthouse square.
During the holiday season, the annual Dade City Christmas parade is held on the first Friday in December. The parade route runs south on 7th Street for around half a mile. One can also catch the Country Christmas Stroll and Church Street Christmas held later on in the month.
Downtown Dade City is known for its quaint shops and array of restaurants. Businesses like Kiefer Jewelers, The Book Shack, and Treehouse Mercantile, among others, can be found downtown. Area restaurants include, Florida Cracker Lunch on Limoges, Del Carmen Mexican restaurant, Olio (which offers authentic Italian cuisine), and more. Dade City City Hall (adjacent to the police department building) is located downtown on Meridian Avenue. The Hugh Embry branch library, which is a member of the Pasco County Library Cooperative, is directly across the street from city hall.
Standing front and center as the crown jewel of historic downtown Dade City is the stately Pasco County Courthouse. The courthouse was designed by Atlanta-based architect Edward Columbus Hosford and its construction was completed in 1909.
Wells Fargo currently occupies the two-story brick building across from the courthouse on the northeast corner of Meridian Avenue and 7th Street. The building was originally opened by the Bank of Pasco County in 1891. This was the first brick structure ever constructed in Dade City.
The city is served by Zephyrhills Municipal Airport.
Passenger rail service was previously available at the Atlantic Coast Line depot. Since 2004, the depot is only served by Amtrak Thruway service to Jacksonville and Lakeland.
CSX Transportation's Wildwood Subdivision provides freight rail service to Dade City.
Pasco County Public Transportation provides local bus service on routes 30 & 31 in Dade City.
The Dade City Police Department (DCPD) is the law enforcement arm of the City of Dade City. Pasco County Fire Rescue covers all fire protection and emergency medical services for the city.
The only hospital in Dade City is AdventHealth Dade City.