| Throughout the sixteenth century Spanish explorers like DeSoto plundered the region, then Franciscan priests
founded missions and finally ranchers established a
large cattle ranch on Payne's Prairie. During the early
1700s the English and their Indian allies destroyed
these missions and later the Seminole Indians made
settlements around Micanopy.
Gainesville Fl in Alachua served as a
major Confederate Commissary and was the site of two
battles during the Civil War. Two main schools were established, the Union
Academy for African Americans, and the East Florida
Seminary for whites. By the end of Reconstruction,
Alachua County had a population of over 18,000, while
Gainesville with 1400 residents was a mercantile center
for cotton and vegetable crops.
During the next twenty-five years the County continued to prosper as
the citrus and phosphate industries gave Alachua a secure economic base.
After two major fires in the 1880s, Gainesville rebuilt with all brick
structures and constructed an imposing new red brick courthouse to
signify it has town from a town to a city.
By the early 1900's Gainesville, the City was one of the state's
largest. Gainesville now had an opera house, paved streets, city
water, telephones and electric lights. East Florida Seminary expanded,
becoming a military school, and a new public school was erected.
Merchants like Dutton, Miller, and Baird built fine new homes near the
downtown area to create fashionable districts in the southeast and along
(what is now) University Avenue. New towns like Archer, High Springs,
Melrose and Hawthorne, spawned by the railroad expansion and the citrus
and phosphate boom, welcomed tourists, investors, and speculators. ,
Alachua County entered the Twentieth Century with a population
of some 32,000 people, and a growing economy centered in the phosphate,
cotton and vegetable industries. One of the most significant events in
the history of the County occurred in 1905 when Gainesville was chosen
as the site for the University of Florida. When the University opened a
year later it had only 102 students, fifteen faculty and two unfinished
buildings. Twenty years later the student body numbered 2000 and
attended classes in thirteen Gothic-style buildings including a library,
a gymnasium and an auditorium. By the 1930s the University had become
the most important staple in the County's economy and helped it weather
both the land boom collapse of the mid-1920s and the long depression of
the 1930s.
During these years before World War II the County's population
remained fairly constant at nearly 40,000, but Gainesville's inhabitants
soared to almost 14,000, nearly four times its 1900 size.
The postwar era brought Alachua County a tremendous population growth
and economic expansion. The influx of thousands of veterans seeking an
education transformed both the University and Gainesville. The
University expanded to over 9000 students, admitted coeds in 1947, built
a medical school in the next decades, and by 1970 had a student body of
23,000. By the end of the century the University would enroll 44,000
students, be admitted to the prestigious Association of American
Universities, and become one of the major research institutions in the
entire south. By 1970 Alachua County had 104,000 inhabitants with
three-fourths of them residing in or around the Gainesville city limits.
During these years Gainesville's downtown area became a professional and
government center as the retail stores and merchants moved to large
malls which were constructed in the northwest and southwest areas,
especially around I-75. The University is currently housing well over
60,000 students, has various Medical Buildings, Veterinarian
Building and Law Building among others..
As a fitting climax to these revitalization efforts Money Magazine
in 1995 named Gainesville as the most livable city in America.
If you are looking
for a realtor a cut above the rest, you have found her.
Clara has her Broker's license and GRI-2 designation.
She is an expert in the area and is concerned with finding
you what you need.
Call Clara - Clara cares!
386-965-48733
or Email: MCO@atlantic.net
|