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Florida Counties

In 1821, there were only two Counties in Florida: Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east. From these two Counties were formed 67 today.In 1968, the electors of Florida granted local voters the power to adopt charters to govern their counties. Charters are formal written documents that confer powers, duties, or privileges on the county. To date, there are 19 charter Counties in Florida. Collectively these Counties are home to more than 75 percent of Florida's residents.

Alachua County, Florida

Alachua County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Gainesville
Year Organized: 1824
Square Miles: 874

Court House:

P.O. Box 2877
Gainesville, FL 32602-2877

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The meaning of Alachua is suggested by a passage in the journal of Lieutenant Diego Peña, who on his expedition to Apalachee and Apalachicola in 1716, traversed the region, and of the area between the Ichetucknee and Suwannee Rivers in southern Suwannee County remarks:

" The 21st day I left the said site (adjacent to the Itchtucknee River) and camped at a place they call Aquilachua this day I marched five leagues. In this day's march no creeks were encountered but there are good springs of water, and the first (is) named Usichua, (and) the other Usiparachua, and another Afanochua. "

That the springs without effluent streams were sinkholes is consistent with the area, which has many. The names of these watering places all possess the terminator chua, which suggests that chua is the Timucuan name for sinkhole. This inference is not inconsistent with the general opinion of residents of the county, that the name Alachua means sinkhole.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

The Alachua area appears to have been the first area occupied by the immigrant Oconees, the original Seminoles, about 1740. Their first town was situated on or near the old Alachua plain, now called Payne's Prairie in homage to "King" Payne, chief of the Alachua settlements upon his death in 1812.

During the early 1700s, the English and their Indian allies destroyed these missions. Later, the Seminole Indians made settlements around Micanopy. In 1774, British naturalist William Bartram visited the Alachua region twice and described the region's natural beauty and scenic wonders. Spain had a difficult time controlling the vast territory of Florida and, unable to stop the influx of American settlers, finally ceded the area to the United States in 1821.

Alachua County proper was created in 1824. The original county seat was Newnansville located near the current site of the city of Alachua. In 1853, the new railroad from Fernandina to Cedar Key bypassed Newnansville, and Gainesville, a new town that was located on the railroad, began to draw business and residents away from Newnansville. Gainesville became the county seat the following year.

A Guide to Alachua County's History : Historical Overview

Prepared by Ben Pickard
Alachua County Historic Trust
Matheson Museum, Inc.

Long before the Spaniards arrived in Florida, Alachua County's unique combination of fertile soil, broad prairies, clear lakes and abundant game had spawned a complex Indian civilization called Timucuan. Throughout the 16th century, DeSoto and other Spanish explorers plundered the region, then Franciscan priests founded missions and finally ranchers established a large cattle ranch on Paynes Prairie.

More at

A Guide to Alachua County's History

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 969.12 square miles (2,510.0 km2). 874.25 square miles (2,264.3 km2) of it is land and 94.94 square miles (245.9 km2) of it (9.79%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Union County
Northeast: Bradford County; Clay County
East: Putnam County
Southeast: Marion County
Southwest: Levy County
West: Gilchrist County
Northwest: Columbia County

Cities and Towns:

- Alachua	city	Incorporated Area
- Archer	city	Incorporated Area
- Gainesville (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Hawthorne	city	Incorporated Area
- High Springs	city	Incorporated Area
- La Crosse	town	Incorporated Area
- Micanopy	town	Incorporated Area
- Newberry	city	Incorporated Area
- Waldo	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."