07/23/2025
Sheriff J.L. Hobby: Defender of Old Florida
Sheriff J.L. Hobby was a true pillar of Seminole County — a no-nonsense lawman with an honest, old-school philosophy rooted in service, integrity, and a fierce commitment to the people he swore to protect. He believed in the safety and success of the everyday citizen — not in bureaucracy, not in backroom deals, but in doing what was right, no matter the cost.
Politically, Hobby stood firm against unchecked growth. He championed the rights of small businessmen and farmers, favoring the orange grove, the swamp, and the celery field over highways, high-rises, and sprawling subdivisions. He saw the warning signs early — strangers arriving in droves, acres of native land quietly swallowed up by shell companies and straw buyers.
To some, he became a problem. He refused to play along. His loyalty remained with the native sons and daughters of Seminole County — not with developers or distant power brokers. As a result, he was targeted. Politically attacked by Governor Claude Kirk, maligned by Wackenhut operatives, and buried under false accusations, Sheriff Hobby found himself in the middle of a deeper war — not over laws, but over values.
Would Old Florida be preserved — or would she be sold to the highest bidder?
Through it all, he never lost the trust of the people. Despite endless hearings and public smears, Hobby was legally exonerated and morally vindicated. In 1968, in a sweeping show of support, the people reelected him in a landslide. But with a quiet sense of resolve — and perhaps wearied by the battle — he declined to serve, stepping aside and yielding the office to the second-place candidate.
He returned to his roots, to the railroad, to a simpler life that had always meant more to him than power ever could.
With his departure, a chapter closed — and Florida would never be the same.
