The Pasco Arts Council

The Pasco Arts Council is the local arts agency designated by the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners. It is supported by income earned from services provided, the Florida Department of State/Division of Cultural Affairs, and contributions from private business and individuals. The Arts Council's mandated mission is to encourage and support the arts and culture in Pasco County.

The Arts Center

The Arts Center features outstanding Gallery exhibitions of local and nationally renown artists, a full schedule of year-round arts classes and a a cooperative shop of original artworks. The Center offers adult and children's classes, workshops, lecture series and a summer camp art program for children.

The Historic Anderson House

Home of the Pasco Arts Council

Charles B Anderson bought 70 acres of citrus groves in Elfers in 1937. Forty acres of this land was originally Samuel Baker House now standing where it was built, and which is now restored. Anderson lived in the Baker House with his wife, Mary A. Anderson while he built the Anderson House nearby. His son-in-law, Guy Kuenzi, did most of the carpenter work and they moved into the Anderson House by 1939. This two story house, with full basement, had many interesting features. The cabinet tops in the kitchen were made of mahogany he had brought from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. A garbage chute under one cabinet top emptied into a trash can in the basement, that could be rolled over to a nearby incinerator to be burned. A water tank next to the incinerator contained water heated by coils in the incinerator. A laundry chute in the closet between the two first floor bedrooms emptied into a laundry basket in the basement that rolled over to a nearby washer and dryer.

All the closets and cupboards in the house were lined with cedar, as well as the bookcase under the stairs. Shelves on the left of the stairway going downstairs served as a pantry for canned goods. A sun heater in the yard heated water in the house. The basement included garage space for two cars, and the overhead door could be opened and closed by a lock in the large oak tree approaching the basement and at the top of the stars going down stairs. The telephone on the first floor was in a small room off the hall, which also contained fuse boxes for the house. 

Electrical strips about a foot above the floor held many plug-ins wherever they were needed on the first floor. Large beaver-board window covers were stored in the basement to be used to cover the large picture windows in the living room in the event of a storm. The original windows installed are intact. On a cold winter day the fireplace in the living room is used to this day. In addition to the two large bathrooms, there was a commode and lavatory on the second floor and a commode in the basement. A furnace in the basement heated the entire house and an air conditioner was added in Mrs. Anderson's lifetime. Mr. Anderson died in 1943 and Mrs. Anderson in 1960. Anderson's daughter, Vera Cook Durland, lived in the house with her husband George Durland, until their deaths in 1978 and 1979. Her daughters, Mary Cook Vinson and Dorice Cook Saltz, sold the house to Pasco County in 1983. The Pasco Fine Arts Council moved into the building in 1986, and in April 1996, the Anderson house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. National park Services.