{"id":158144,"date":"2026-02-17T08:04:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/158144\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T08:04:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:04:21","slug":"florida-am-university-awarded-stewardship-of-chinsegut-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/158144\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida A&M University awarded stewardship of Chinsegut Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla.\u00a0\u2014 A new partnership is reshaping the future of one of Hernando County\u2019s most historic landmarks during Black History Month.<\/p>\n

County commissioners have awarded preservation stewardship of Chinsegut Hill to Florida A&M University, linking the site\u2019s long history of civic dialogue and race relations with the state\u2019s historically Black land-grant institution.<\/p>\n

In Brooksville, community members say the hill has always carried a deeper meaning.<\/p>\n

What You Need To Know<\/p>\n

Hernando County commissioners have awarded preservation stewardship of Chinsegut Hill to Florida A&M University
\n
Next door to Chinsegut Hill, Florida A&M University\u2019s BAERS campus spans more than 3,800 acres and operates as a major research and extension hub for agriculture, natural resources and environmental education. The land itself carries federal significance
\n
Hernando County leaders say finances played a role in the decision. As state leaders discuss potential property tax changes, commissioners viewed the university\u2019s unsolicited proposal as a stable option
\n
FAMU plans to partner with local organizations to preserve the site\u2019s full history, including women\u2019s suffrage, Black and Native American stories<\/p>\n

Rick Barge, farm manager at FAMU\u2019s nearby BAERS campus, said the property\u2019s original owners intentionally created a place for discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who lived here, the robins, they were all about race relations. You know, that\u2019s why they came here. So that makes a difference,\u201d said Barge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The estate, purchased by Raymond and Margaret Robins in 1904, sits atop one of the highest points in Florida and is surrounded by a 114-acre preserve.<\/p>\n

Next door, Florida A&M University\u2019s BAERS campus spans more than 3,800 acres and operates as a major research and extension hub for agriculture, natural resources and environmental education.<\/p>\n

The land itself carries federal significance. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture transferred<\/a> the former Subtropical Agricultural Research Station property to Florida A&M University \u2014 one of the largest single land transfers ever made to a historically Black land-grant university created under the Second Morrill Act of 1890. The transfer expanded hands-on training, conservation research and community outreach programs in Central Florida.<\/p>\n

University leaders say that mission makes stewardship a natural extension of its community outreach.<\/p>\n

Dr. Dale Wesson, dean of FAMU\u2019s College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, says the site will remain accessible to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a land-grant, which means that we actually operate with those three areas with education, research, and extension or community outreach. And so we see this as a function of our community outreach. And so we\u2019re allowing the community to continue to take advantage of this property,\u201d said Wesson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

County leaders say finances played a role in the decision. As state leaders discuss potential property tax changes, commissioners viewed the university\u2019s unsolicited proposal as a stable option.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been tried over and over by organizations that do not have the financial backing that Florida A&M has, and it has not been successful,\u201d said Commissioner John Allocco.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wesson says the agreement would remove the financial burden from the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cHernando County will not have to pay any costs for us to take over the lease, to sublease this,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FAMU says the manor house will remain open for tours through the Tampa Bay History Center, while the university expands programming and operations to seven days a week. Weddings and community events will continue, though some buildings may occasionally be reserved.<\/p>\n

Access has been a concern for some residents, something Wesson addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re allowing the community to continue to take advantage of this property,\u201d he said during a meeting on Jan. 29.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The university also plans to partner with local organizations to preserve the site\u2019s full history, including women\u2019s suffrage, Black and Native American stories.<\/p>\n

County officials are still negotiating final contract terms with Florida A&M University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla.\u00a0\u2014 A new partnership is reshaping the future of one of Hernando County\u2019s most historic landmarks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[767,274,48241,71626,770,2375,28,30,29,7086,2200,115,135,278,2032,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-158144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-app-community","9":"tag-app-top-stories","10":"tag-black-history-month","11":"tag-black-history-month-2026","12":"tag-community-news","13":"tag-fadia-patterson","14":"tag-florida","15":"tag-florida-headlines","16":"tag-florida-news","17":"tag-hernando-county","18":"tag-instagram-bn9","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-tampa","21":"tag-top-stories","22":"tag-trending-topics","23":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}