By 1800, Black Seminoles and "maroons", or fugitive slaves, had settled in the present-day City of Center Hill, which was initially called "Abraham's Old Town", near the Wahoo Swamp.

Maroons who fought for England joined the Black Seminoles after the runaway slaves fled to Florida, a free territory under Spanish rule, to avoid remaining in slavery following the American Revolution.

[2] Accompanying them was Seminole chief Micanopy, who made Peliklakaha his residence[8] after the death of Payne.

[10] Others were of African descent, specifically from the Kongo region,[11] and some Seminoles, including one of Micanopy's wives, lived in Peliklakaha.

[2] After hearing that Francis L. Dade and his men were to cross through the territory, Abraham anticipated an attack on Peliklakaha and convinced Micanopy to move Seminole soldiers to the Fort King Road.

[20] General Eustis would later commission a painting depicting the burning of Peliklakaha,[16] which later was hung in the Library of Congress.

Halleck Tustenuggee and his warriors retreated, and the United States Army burned the camp.

A few days later, Halleck Tustenuggee, two of his wives, and two of his children voluntarily surrendered to Worth at Warm Springs.

[4] According to Broward Mill, the past president of the Sumter County Historical Society, Center Hill was known for its string bean production in the early part of the 20th century.

[25] In 1988, area farmers still sent their bell peppers, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, and watermelons to Center Hill for packing and shipping.

From the receipt of the grant to 1997, residents complained about the officers issuing traffic tickets, especially for speeding.

[27] The investigators found dozens of artifacts, including iron pieces, stoneware, glass beads, nails, and pottery.

[17] On July 31, 2001, a 500-pound (227-kilogram) Siberian tiger named "Tie" fatally attacked Vincent Lowe, a worker at the Savage Kingdom exotic animal park who was attempting to earn state certification to work with the cats,[28] while Lowe was repairing the cage.

[29][30] The first was in March 1997, when another Siberian tiger escaped from its cage and mauled a worker before being killed by members of the Sumter County Sheriff's Department.

[29][31] In February 1999, state game officials discovered substandard cage wiring; the ranch corrected the issue by May 1999, the last inspection before the incident.

[28] On July 6, 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture ordered that Savage Kingdom's license be revoked permanently.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters.

The city was once called the "Green Bean Capitol of the World," and is known locally to this day for the high quality of its soil.

[40] Beginning in 1999, Central Beef disposed of 130,000 US gallons (492,103 liters) of wastewater containing high levels of sodium and fecal material per day into neighboring fields.

A 2003 consent order attempted to address the issue of contamination, but the company, citing insufficient funds to line the ponds around Central Beef, failed to stop the pollution.

On August 24, 2006, the DEP arrested Chernin on charges of hazardous waste disposal and felony commercial littering.