Dade City real estate lies at the boundary of Florida’s Nature Coast, which extends south from the Sunshine State’s Big Bend area to just north of Tampa Bay, and the Florida Suncoast, which continues south from the Tampa Bay area to Naples, Florida. Dade City has a population of 6,615 (2004 U.S. census estimate) and is the county seat of Pasco County, but an estimated 71,000 live near Dade City just outside the city limits.

Located immediately north of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, Pasco County (population: 429,065) is one of the fastest-growing counties in Florida and the U.S., adding more than 85,000 residents since 2000. As recently as 1960, Pasco’s population was 36,785. Pasco County is part of the four-county Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area, which also includes Hernando County to the north. The metro area is home to 2.7 million people, making it one of the top 20 metro areas in the U.S. and second-largest in Florida behind Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach. Yet Dade City and Pasco County are in many ways a world away from the big city. Anyone with a taste for the sun, the water and the outdoors will find it hard to resist the Dade City area.

At 868 square miles, Pasco County still has plenty of room to grow.

Dade City’s balmy climate produces 90-degree days during the summer months, but the average high in January is also quite comfortable, in the mid-60s. Snow is rare and the last significant snowfall was in 1977.

Dade City, Florida real estate has tremendous historic appeal, with many restored buildings, antique shops and a strong sense of its pioneer heritage. Dade City is named for Maj. Francis Dade, a U.S. Army officer who was killed by native Indians at the start of the Second Seminole War (1835-42). Dade City was founded in 1889.

Many Dade City residents commute to nearby Tampa, Clearwater or St. Petersburg. The Dade City economy has historically been tied to agriculture, primarily citrus and cattle production, but in recent years has shifted to service-oriented and government-related industries. Construction, health care, mining, electronics and tourism are also important to the local economy.

The original inhabitants of Pasco County were Calusa, Tocobaga and Timucuan Indians, who lived in the area for thousands of years. In 1528, Spanish conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez, who had already conquered Jamaica and Cuba and explored Mexico, landed on the shores of Old Tampa Bay and marched to what is now Pasco County. Unable to find gold, he attempted to leave the area, but most of his party was killed in a storm. Over the next 300 years, few others came to the area. The U.S. Army built Fort Dade in 1836 during the Second Seminole War, but the fort was abandoned three years later (and later rebuilt in 1849).

Thomas and Sarah Tucker were one of the first families to settle in the area when they arrived in 1842. They planted the first oranges in the area and established a small hamlet known as Tuckerville (now Richland, Florida), a few miles south of Dade City. The Dade City Hotel was built in 1886 (it burned down in 1907) and in 1887, Hernando County was subdivided to create Citrus County to the north and Pasco County to the south.

By 1900, Pasco County had a population of 6,054. The rich land yielded sweet potatoes, rice, hay, millet, eggplant, citrus, tobacco and phosphate. Farmers raised livestock and poultry and sponge divers worked the gulf waters. Pasco County went generally undeveloped through the Sixties, and the county population was only about 75,000 in 1970. But as Tampa and St. Petersburg grew, development pushed north, leading to an explosion in population in Pasco County and the Dade City area.

Dade City, Florida real estate combines modern convenience with rural character. Ranches still operate outside the city and cowboys still tie their horses to hitching posts when they ride into downtown Dade City, where restaurants, antique shops and museums revisit the county’s pioneer heritage.

The Pasco County Courthouse in Dade City was built in 1909 and recently underwent a $2.3 million renovation. The West Pasco Historical Society Museum & Library is located in an old schoolhouse built in 1885. Centennial Cultural Park is home to the Pasco Fine Arts Council, Centennial Library, Anderson House and Baker House, built in 1882. J.B Starkey Wilderness Park, on State Road 54 near the Suncoast Parkway, offers trips through the swamps and woods and is popular with tourists and nature lovers.

Pasco County presents a unique blend of plants, animals, winding rivers and wetlands, all waiting to be explored. The shady, slow-moving rivers, natural springs, a pristine Gulf shoreline and moss-draped oaks lend themselves to great bird watching, horseback riding and hiking expeditions. Major nature parks include Anclote River State Park and Cypress Lake Park in Holiday, Withlacoochee State Trail in Trilby and Green Swamp West Trail, which leads from Dade City to Lakeland in Polk County.

Pasco County has more than 100 square miles of managed recreational facilities, including parks, four artificial reefs (one made up of surplus military tanks), more than 25 golf courses and three state-designated canoe trails. The possibilities to enjoy the outdoors and nature are unlimited.

Two excellent educational institutions, St. Leo University and Pasco-Hernando Community College, are located in the Greater Dade City area, as is the Pioneer Florida Museum. Additionally, Dade City plays host each year to a large number of popular community-sponsored events, including the Kumquat Festival (which honors the sweet-and-sour citrus fruit), Church Street Christmas and the Country Christmas Stroll. New events include a point-to-point steeplechase for horse racing fans, the Dade “Battle of Brilliance” for bicycle racing fans and a “Classic Car Cruise-in” held the first Saturday of each month.