Alachua County (/əˈl
Alachua County is included in the Gainesville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is known for its diverse culture, local music, and artisans. Much of its economy revolves around the university.
History
Early history
The first people known to have entered the area of Alachua County were Paleo-Indians, who left artifacts in the Santa Fe River basin prior to 8000 BCE. Artifacts from the Archaic period (8000 - 2000 BCE) have been found at several sites in Alachua County. Permanent settlements appeared in what is now Alachua County around 100 CE, as people of the wide-ranging Deptford culture developed the local Cades Pond culture. The Cades Pond culture gave way to the Alachua culture around 600 CE. The Timucua-speaking Potanos lived in the Alachua culture area in the 16th century, when the Spanish entered Florida. The Potano were incorporated in the Spanish mission system, but disease, rebellion, and raids by tribes backed by the English led to severe population declines and the depopulation of what is now Alachua County by the early 18th century.
In the 17th century Francisco Menéndez Márquez, Royal Treasurer for Spanish Florida, established the La Chua ranch on the northern side of what is now known as Payne's Prairie, on a bluff overlooking the Alachua Sink. Lieutenant Diego Peña, who traveled across northern Florida in 1716, reported passing by springs named Aquilachua, Usichua, Usiparachua, and Afanochua. Assuming the named springs were in fact sinkholes suggests "chua" was the Timucua word for "sinkhole". Around 1740 a band of Oconee people led by Ahaya, who was called "Cowkeeper" by the English, settled on what is now Payne's Prairie.
The various Native American people moving into Florida at this time, primarily Muscogee (called "Creek" by the English), were becoming known as "Seminoles", and Ahaya's band became known as the Alachua Seminoles. In 1774 William Bartram visited Ahaya's town, Cuscowilla, near what Bartram called the Alachua Savanna. King Payne, who succeeded Ahaya as chief of the Alachua Seminoles, established a new town known as Payne's Town. In 1812, during an attempt by American adventurers to seize Spanish Florida, a force of over 100 volunteers from Georgia led by Colonel Daniel Newnan ran into a band of Alachua Seminoles led by King Payne near Newnans Lake. After several days of intermittent fighting, Colonel Newnan's force withdrew. King Payne was wounded in the fight and died two months later. The Alachua Seminoles left Payne's Town and moved further west and south, but other bands of Seminoles moved in. A second American expedition in 1813 killed many of these Seminoles and burned every Seminole village they could find in the area.
In 1814 a group of more than 100 American settlers moved to a point believed to be near the abandoned Payne's Town (near Micanopy) and declared the establishment of the District of Elotchaway of the Republic of East Florida. The settlement collapsed a few months later after its leader, Colonel Buckner Harris, was killed by Seminoles, and the settlers returned to Georgia.
American settlement
In 1817 F. M. Arredondo received the 20-mile square Arredondo Grant in the southern part of what is Alachua County. By the time Florida was formally transferred from Spain to the United States, people from the United States and from Europe were settling in the area. Wanton's Store, near the site of the abandoned King Payne's Town, attracted settlers, primarily from Europe, who founded Micanopy. The 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek required the Seminoles to move a reservation south of what is now Ocala, and the flow of settlers into the area increased. Many occupied former Seminole towns, such as Hogtown.
Alachua County was created by the Florida territorial legislature in 1824. The new county stretched from the border with Georgia south to Charlotte Harbor. The original county seat was Wanton's (the name Micanopy had not been adopted, yet). In 1828 the county seat was moved to Newnansville located near the current site of the city of Alachua.
Alachua County was soon reduced in size. In 1832 the county's northern part, including Newnansville, was separated to create Columbia County, forcing the county seat to be moved to various temporary locations. In 1834 Hillsborough County, including the area around Tampa Bay down to Charlotte Harbor, was created. In 1839 that part of Columbia County south of the Santa Fe River was returned to Alachua County, and Newnansville was restored as the county seat. Hernando County was created in 1843 from that part of Alachua County south of the Withlacoochee River, Marion County was created in 1844, and Levy County was created from that part of Alachua County west of the Suwannee River in 1846. It would be another 80 years before Alachua County was again reduced in size.
In 1854, the new railroad from Fernandina to Cedar Key bypassed Newnansville and Gainesville, a new town on the railroad, began to draw business and residents away from Newnansville. Gainesville became the new county seat that same year.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 969 square miles (2,510Â km2), of which 875 square miles (2,270Â km2) is land and 94 square miles (240Â km2) (9.7%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- Bradford County - north
- Union County - north
- Putnam County - east
- Marion County - southeast
- Levy County - southwest
- Gilchrist County - west
- Columbia County - northwest
Demographics
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 247,336 people, 100,516 households, and 53,500 families residing in the county. There were 112,766 housing units in the county, an occupancy rate of 89.1%; of the occupied units, 54,768 (54.5%) were owner-occupied and 45,748 (45.5%) were renter-occupied. The population density was 282.91/sq mi (109.24/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 172,156 (69.9%) White, 50,282 (20.3%) Black or African American, 906 (0.3%) Native American, 13,235 (5.4%) Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.7% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. 20,752 (8.4%) of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 100,516 households, 22.0% included children under the age of 18, 36.4% included a married husband and wife couple, 4.0% had a male head of house with no wife present, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.8% were non-families. 24.8% of all households included at least one child under the age of 18, and 19.6% included at least one member 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.91.
The demographic spread showed 17.9% under the age of 18 and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older; 48.4% of the population identified as male and 51.6% as female. The median age was 30.1 years.
The five year American Community Survey completed 2011 gave a median household income of $41,473 (inflation indexed to 2011 dollars) and a median family income of $63,435. Male full-time year round workers had a median income of $42,865, versus $36,351 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,172; 23.6% of the population was living below the poverty line.
Languages
As of 2010, 86.43% of the population spoke English as their primary language, while Spanish was spoken by 6.38%, 1.18% spoke Chinese, 0.57% were speakers of Korean, and 0.52% spoke French as their native language.
Education
The entire county of Alachua is served by the Alachua County School District, which has some 47 different institutions in the county. Alachua county is also home to the University of Florida and Santa Fe College.
Library
The Alachua County Library District is an independent special taxing district and the sole provider of public library service to approximately 250,000 citizens of Alachua County, Florida. This includes all of the incorporated municipalities in the county. It maintains a Headquarters Library and four other branches in Gainesville. These locations include the Millhopper Branch in northwest Gainesville, the Tower Road Branch in unincorporated Alachua county southwest of Gainesville, the Library Partnership Branch in northeast Gainesville, and the Cone Park Branch in east Gainesville. The district also operates branches in the Alachua County municipalities of Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne, High Springs, Micanopy, Newberry, and Waldo, as well as a branch at the Alachua County Jail. The district operates two bookmobiles which visit more than 25 locations in the county from two to five times a month.
Library history
The Alachua County Library District traces its origins to 1905, when the Twentieth Century Club in Gainesville started a subscription library. The Gainesville Public Library, which was a subscription library operated by the Library Association, opened in 1906. The Twentieth Century Club donated the books from its subscription library, and the new library also received books from the library of the East Florida Seminary, which had been absorbed by the newly founded University of Florida. The Gainesville Public Library became a free library in 1918, supported by funds from city taxes, and in a building constructed with the aid of a Carnegie grant. The library became a department of the City of Gainesville in 1949. A branch of the Gainesville Public Library, the Carver Branch Library, was opened in 1953 to provide library services to the African-American population of Gainesville. The Carver Branch closed in 1969, after the main library had been desegregated. In 1958, the City of Gainesville and Alachua County agreed to jointly operate the library for the whole county. Branch libraries were opened in High springs, Hawthorne and Micanopy the next year, and a bookmobile was put into service. Alachua County joined with Bradford County to operate the Santa Fe Regional Library. After Bradford County withdrew from the Regional Library, the Alachua County Library District was formally established in 1986. The Millhopper and Tower Road branches opened in 1992, and the branches in Alachua, Archer, Newberry and Waldo were all opened by 1997. The Library Partnership Branch opened in 2009, and the Cone Park Branch in 2011. A new, permanent location for the Cone Park Branch Library was opened near the Eastside Community Center in Gainesville on December 14, 2013.
Transportation
Major highways
Airports
- Gainesville Regional Airport-Gainesville
- Flying Ten Airport-Archer
- Oak Tree Landing Airport-High Springs
- Gleim Field Airport-Gainesville
Politics
Voter registration
According to the Secretary of State's office, Democrats are a plurality of Alachua County's registered voters.
Statewide elections
Like many other counties containing large state universities, Alachua County regularly supports the Democratic Party. It has voted for the Democratic candidate for president in the past five elections. The county last supported a Republican presidential candidate in 1988, when it narrowly went for George H. W. Bush.
Landfills
Alachua County is the site of five closed landfillsâ€"Southwest Landfill, Southeast Landfill, Northwest Landfill, Northeast Landfill, and Northeast Auxiliary Landfill. Since 1999, all solid waste from Alachua County has been hauled to the New River Solid Waste Facility in Raiford, in neighboring Union County.
Communities
Unincorporated communities
See also
- Alachua County Library District
- Florida State Parks in Alachua County
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Alachua County, Florida
Notes
External links
Government links/Constitutional offices
- Alachua County / Board of County Commissioners
- Alachua County Supervisor of Elections
- Alachua County Property Appraiser
- Alachua County Sheriff's Office
- Alachua County Tax Collector
Special districts
- Alachua County Public Schools
- Suwannee River Water Management District
- St. Johns River Water Management District
- Alachua County Library District
Judicial branch of State
- Alachua County Clerk of Courts
- Office of the State Attorney, 8th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Union Counties
- Circuit and County Court for the 8th Judicial Circuit of Florida
Conservation and environmental organizations
- Alachua County Environmental Protection Department
- Alachua Conservation Trust
Tourism links
- Alachua County Convention and Visitors Bureau