The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recognized Bill Smith and his sister, Ruth Smith Adams, two members of a Wesley Chapel pioneer family, for their contribution in preserving the area’s history, at the historic Dade City Courthouse.
Pasco clerk and comptroller Dr. Paula O’Neil read the extensive resolution on June 7 presented by District 2 county commissioner Mike Moore. The resolution spoke of the contributions of the Smith family to east Pasco with the settlement of Wesley Chapel by their great-grandfather, William R. Smith, in 1867.
Bill and Ruth were instrumental in preserving the history of Wesley Chapel. Their family donated the 1894 cracker home of Daniel Smith to the hands-on Cracker Country museum at the Florida State Fairgrounds in 1979. Bill and Ruth’s father was instrumental in the delivery of electricity to Wesley Chapel from the Rural Electric Administration.
The Smiths had been previously honored in 1998 in a re-dedication of the historic Pasco County Courthouse as one of the “Pioneer Founding Families of Pasco County.”
The Smiths, along with many others, played important roles in helping local author Madonna Wise put together her book, Images of America: Wesley Chapel. Wise has spoken glowingly of Bill and Ruth’s contributions to Wesley Chapel’s history at the Pasco-Hernando State College History Fair and at other book signings. The Smiths also lent a number of photos to Wise that appeared in her book.
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