LEGAL COMMUNITY
SPOTLIGHT
LIVING HISTORY
The man after whom the new federal courthouse
is to be named rose from poverty to become one
of Florida’s most influential jurists and one of
Planning, Protecting, Problem Solving . . .
BRUCE R. ABERNETHY, JR.
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR AT LAW
Florida Bar Board Certified in Wills, Trusts and Estates
15
the region’s largest landowners
It was a courthouse that brought a young lawyer named
Alto Lee Adams Sr. to Fort Pierce, and if, as expected,
the new federal courthouse is officially named in his
honor on March 16, Adams and his enduring legacy will
be forever associated with the area’s judicial system.
During his lifetime the former Florida Supreme Court
justice, rancher, landowner, businessman and community
leader left an indelible mark on the community he adopted.
The generations following in his path — the children and
grandchildren of his son, Alto Lee “Bud” Adams Jr., and his
daughter, Elaine Adams Harrison — continue his influence
by preserving the past as guardians of the land and as innovators
in ranching.
In 2005, City Commissioner Duke Nelson proposed that
the $42 million federal courthouse be named for Adams.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Tom Rooney, RTequesta,
sponsored the bill that passed that chamber with
broad bipartisan support. Senator Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is the
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sponsor of the bill in the U.S. Senate, where it is expected to
pass without opposition.
“Chief Justice Adams set the standard for judicial excellence
and community service, and he is remembered fondly
throughout St. Lucie County and the state of Florida,”
Rooney said. “The new federal courthouse will be a great
asset to the community, and it’s only fitting to dedicate the
courthouse in honor of Alto Adams Sr.”
MODEST BEGINNING
Adams, born in 1899 in DeFuniak Springs, did not come
from privilege, but it is easy to see how hard work, perseverance
and strong ties to the land span the generations of the
Adams family.
His father lived in post-Civil War rural Alabama and made
a hardscrabble living, finally moving to Walton County, in
the Panhandle, at age 30. He was “destitute,” Adams wrote in
“The Fourth Quarter,” the memoir he published in 1976.
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