FLAGLER COUNTY HISTORY Flagler Beach's Wadsworth Park dedicated in 1980

The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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Frances Wadsworth, the widow of Billy Wadsworth, and Circuit Judge Kim Hammond, unveil the plaque at Wadsworth Park on Dec. 5, 1980, at the dedication of the park.
Frances Wadsworth, the widow of Billy Wadsworth, and Circuit Judge Kim Hammond, unveil the plaque at Wadsworth Park on Dec. 5, 1980, at the dedication of the park.

William Littledale (Billy) Wadsworth was born on May 6, 1914. According to the website, flaglercountyfamilies.com, Wadsworth graduated from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, and joined the U.S. Army in 1939. He was a member of the Cost Artillery Corps, Anti-Aircraft Division, in 1943.

After the war he graduated from Stetson Law School and was named Flagler County prosecuting attorney in August 1949, served as a representative to the Florida Legislature from 1957 to 1967, and in 1966 was elected circuit court judge, an office he held from 1967 until his death in September 1978.

While he was serving in the Legislature, he was described by Tick Tuttle, Capitol Press Bureau chief at the time: "He always looked rumpled, rather like an unmade bed looking for a sleeper. But Wadsworth's mind is far sharper than his attire. And his humor contains little barbs or nuggets of wisdom. He's the closest thing the Legislature has to Will Rogers."

For more information on Wadsworth, go to flaglercountyfamilies.com/fam-wadsworth-william

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler Beach's Wadsworth Park dedicated in 1980