Hernando County
| Hernando County, Florida | ||
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Hernando County Courthouse
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 Location in the U.S. state of Florida |
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 Florida's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | February 24, 1843 | |
| Named for | Hernando de Soto | |
| Seat | Brooksville | |
| Largest community | Spring Hill | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 589 sq mi (1,526 km2) | |
| • Land | 473 sq mi (1,225 km2) | |
| • Water | 116 sq mi (300 km2), 19.8% | |
| Population (est.) | ||
| • (2016) | 182,835 | |
| • Density | 366/sq mi (141/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 11th | |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | |
| Website | www |
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Hernando County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 172,778. Its county seat is Brooksville, and its largest community is Spring Hill.
Hernando County is included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2005, Hernando was the 35th fastest-growing county in the country.
Around 1840, Fort DeSoto was established in present-day Hernando County in the northeast edge of present-day Brooksville to protect settlers in the area from Native Americans. Fort DeSoto became a small community center, trading post, and way station on the route to Tampa. When settlement by the fort began around 1845, it was alternatively known as Pierceville.
Then encompassing a significantly larger area of west central Florida than it does today, Hernando County was officially established on February 27, 1843, two years prior to Florida's admission into the Union. It was created from portions of Alachua, Hillsborough and Orange Counties and included all of present-day Citrus and Pasco Counties. Named for Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, whose name has also been honored in DeSoto County, Hernando County was briefly renamed Benton County in 1844 for Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, a strong supporter of territorial expansion who aided in the county's creation. However, Benton fell out of favor with the county's residents later in the decade due to his decision to support the Missouri Compromise and the overall reversal of his stance on slavery, and the county's name reverted in 1850.
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