Center Hill, FL

Center Hill is a Sumter County city on one of the higher points in central Florida, incorporated first as a town in 1905 and reincorporated as a city in 1925. The name came either from postmaster Thomas W. Spicer or Carrie Lovell, both of whom connected it to the town's central hilltop setting. Rail access made the place a major produce point in the early 20th century: in 1925, Center Hill shipped nearly 400 rail cars of green beans and became known as the Green Bean Capital of the World. Agriculture later gave way to cattle and beef processing, with Central Beef Industries among the city's leading industries. City Hall and water and sewer services remain local, while Sumter County handles the broader planning connections. Center Hill is a small Florida city whose old bean-shipping story still sits behind its produce routes and industrial uses.