Trilacoochee is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in the northeast corner of

Pasco County Pasco County is a county located on the west central coast in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2024, the population of the county is 656,851, making it the tenth-most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest c ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is at the northern terminus of the US 301 and

US 98 U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola, Florida, Pensacola and Apalachicola, ...

multiplex. It has a non-profit "Greater Trilby Community Association" which exists to improve the life and quality of residents of the

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in UK, BritainBernhard Roetzel, Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. B ...

, Trilacoochee and Lacoochee area. The ZIP Code for this community is 33523, which it shares with

Dade City 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 c ...

Geography

Trilacoochee is bordered by Trilby to the northwest, Lacoochee to the northeast, Blanton to the west, the Green Swamp to the east, and Dade City to the south.

History

Trilacoochee was originally known as Owensboro Junction, where the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

and

Seaboard Air Line The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

railroad crossed paths. The lines were originally built by two other competing railroads, the

South Florida Railroad The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's ma ...

between 1884 and 1885 which was acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line, and the Florida Railway and Navigation Company in 1887, which was bought by the Florida Central and Peninsular Railway and eventually the Seaboard Air Line. In time the town gained a school, two post offices, a shingle mill, and after clay deposits were discovered in 1907, a brick yard and kiln were installed. A housing development known as Trilcoochee Gardens was begun in the 1920s, named because it was between Trilby and Lacoochee. During the 1930s the community became known as Trilcoochee, but by the 1940s the spelling Trilacoochee was used more frequently.Origins of Place Names (History of Pasco County)
/ref> The state highway that became SR 35 was realigned during 1948 and 1949, and US 301 took over the route. ACL built a bridge over both the SAL tracks, the switching station, and the new section of the road. The old sections have since been renamed Old Trilby Road.

was extended through Pasco County in 1952, and joined US 301 in a multiplex from Trilacoochee to Clinton Heights south of Dade City. Since then, the road has been lined with independent farms, restaurants, automotive garages, and motels. In 1967, the ACL and SAL merged to form the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

, which brought the junction into decline. The southwest tracks formerly owned by the SAL were removed during the 1970s, and in 1989 the northwest tracks formerly owned by the ACL were removed, as well as the ACL train trestle. The right-of-way for the former ACL segment to the northwest later became the southern terminus of the Withlacoochee State Trail. Today, the existing line is known as the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

Wildwood Subdivision The Wildwood Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. It runs along CSX's Main Line (Seaboard Air Line Railroad), S Line from Baldwin, Florida, Baldwin south to Zephyrhills, Florida, Zephyrhills via Ocala, Florida, Oc ...

, which is part of the S Line.

References

External links

History of Trilby and Trilacoochee, FloridaFor a down home view of Trilby
*Information on the Steering Committee for the Pasco Count
Lacoochee/Trilby Strategic Plan 2010
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Pasco County, Florida Unincorporated communities in Florida