Sumter County was created by an act of the Florida Legislature on January 8, 1853. The new county was formed from the southern part of Marion County and included a large segment of what is now Lake County. Adamsville was chosen as the first county seat, and near this site a log building was erected to serve as the courthouse until the county seat was moved to Sumterville in 1858. Officers appointed by Governor Madison S. Perry included D.G. Leigh as Clerk of the Circuit Court, Wilson C. Williams as Judge of Probate, Solomon Hall as Tax Assessor and Collector, J.S. Kilgore as County Surveyor, and E.H. Crow as Sheriff. County commissioners included F.W. Durrance, D.B. Chapman, L.B. Branch, W. Carruthers, and James Weeks, and justices of the peace included J.A. Lee, J.G. Hall, Moses Daniel, James A. Collins, and R.W. Giskins.