INTRODUCTION HISTORICAL OVERVIEW First Spanish Period, 1513-1763 British Period, 1763-1783 Second Spanish Period, 1784-1821 Territorial Period, 1821-1844 Statehood, 1845-1860 Civil War, 1861-1865 Reconstruction, 1866-1879 Post-Reconstruction, 1880-1897 Turn-of-the-Century, 1898-1916 Land Boom Period, 1921-1928 The Great Depression Era, 1929-1940 1948-present SURVEY CRITERIA SURVEY RESULTS ARCHITECTURAL STYLES         Frame Vernacular Craftsman Ranch Masonry Vernacular Folk Victorian Minimal Traditional Colonial Revival Gothic Revival Queen Anne FIELDWORK CREDITS

INTRODUCTION

This project is one of several historic preservation-related projects undertaken by Alachua County and the Alachua County Historical Commission. The current project involves a historic structures survey that located and documented historic resources located within the unincorporated areas of Alachua County. It was funded by the County with assistance from the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources.

Other preservation-related projects funded by Alachua County with assistance from the Division of Historic Resources include phases I and II of an archeological survey. No previous formal survey has been conducted in the unincorporated areas of the County but a majority of the historic resources located in the unincorporated towns and cities have been documented. Many of these communities have National Register Districts and individually listed properties that represent the development of these areas. Prior to this survey, however, most of the remaining historic buildings in the County have been undocumented.

Only a handful of buildings located in the unincorporated areas of the County were previously listed in the Florida State File (FSF). The FSF is located within the Division of Historical Resource, Florida Department of State, and serves as a clearinghouse for information on the cultural resources of the state. The FSF in an archive repository in which historic resources are documented on survey forms with accompanying maps and photographs. This information is stored at the FSF but evaluations of significance of these properties are not undertaken by the FSF's staff. For the purposes of the FSF, "historic" means at least 50 years old, regardless of historical role or current condition, and standing structures of this age are eligible to be listed on the FSF. It should be pointed out that the FSF is not a state historic register, but an inventory which is intended as a planning tool and as a central repository of archival data for Florida's built environment.

Only five properties located in the unincorporated area have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The present project initially included and examination of historic literature; windshield and pedestrian survey; taking of photographs; confirmation of building dates; preparation of data for Florida Site File forms; and analysis of the properties and recommendations in report format. The initial estimate for the survey included approximately 1500 buildings; however, the initial windshield survey identified approximately 1100 buildings and the final number surveyed was 967 (this total includes 5 updated site forms).

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

A number of different native units occupied North Florida when the Spanish explorers set foot in Florida for the first time in the sixteenth century. The two main groups were the Timucua and the Apalachee. The Apalachee inhabited the area west of the Aucilla River and the Timucua resided in the area between the Aucilla River east to the Atlantic coast and south to the central lakes district of current Lake and Orange counties. The various Timucua-speaking groups were politically independent and ruled by powerful chiefs. Warfare and raiding between villages was common.

At the time of Christopher Columbus' expedition to discover new trade routes and territories in 1492, Florida's native population totaled approximately 350,000, including about 150,000 Timucua-speaking people in the North Florida area. Although it is unclear how these numbers compare to other regions of the country, it is apparent that Florida was not an empty landscape without a discernible culture.

First Spanish Period, 1513-1763

These early Spanish explorers, Ponce de Leon, Panfilo de Narvaez, and Hernando de Soto attempted to colonize Florida in the first half of the sixteenth century. The de Soto expedition reached North Florida in 1539 where he followed earlier routes crossing the Santa Fe, Suwannee, and Aucilla rivers. When he reached the Santa Fe River, de Soto referred to it as "the River of Discord." De Soto engaged in bloody battles with the Native Americans tribes that populated the area and the colonization attempts initially failed.

The Spanish continued settlement of Florida with the founding of St. Augustine by Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565. Along with his political imperative, Menendez had been ordered by the Crown to implement a massive missionizing effort that was planned to control the native population to provide an organized and free labor pool that could be used to accomplish various tasks. The Spanish also fervently believed it was their duty to convert the Native peoples. The mission effort hoped to make the Indians allies rather than opponents. The initial effort was undertaken by the Jesuits but was abandoned until the first Franciscan friar arrived in St. Augustine in 1578.

The major mission sites were located along the "Camino Real," (later called the Old Spanish Trail) which ran through Alachua, Columbia, Suwannee, Lafayette, and Madison counties. This trail was established in the early-1600s through the Timucua Province and was connected to the Apalachee Province.

Mission sites in the interior were extensive and there was a dramatic change in native cultural and agricultural practices. The Spanish introduced horses, cattle, and pigs and imported oranges, lemons, figs and sugarcane. In Alachua County, two mission sites included the San Francisco de Potano and the Santa Fe de Toloc. The latter was established between 1606 and 1616 along the Alachua Trail (Robinson Sinks vicinity). Bubonic plague and other outbreaks reached the mission in 1613-1617 but the Spanish mission system remained strong until the latter part of the seventeenth century. Raids from the English who had settled in South Carolina and the devastating infectious diseases brought into the culture by the Spanish subjects weakened the Spanish hold on Florida and its Native population. An attack on the Santa Fe de Toloca mission by the English in 1702 destroyed the mission.

In order to protect their claim to Florida, the Spanish erected the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine but the raids into the territory and on the missions continued to intensify. By 1713, Spanish citizens in Florida totaled under 1,000 and the native people had largely disappeared as a result of disease and war. It was into this region that bands of Creeks from Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina migrated. Collectively known as the Seminoles, this group of natives absorbed the remaining native tribes still existing in the interior. "Seminoles" is believed to have been derived from the Spanish term "cimarron" which evolved from marooned soldiers to domestic animals that had gone wild. These Indians settled in the area raising crops and the cattle left over from the Spanish haciendas. One such band, the Oconee, settled around Alachua at the site of the former mission of Santa Fe with Cowkeeper as their leader.

With the establishment of the Georgia colony by the English in 1733, armed conflict between the Spanish and English appeared inevitable. The French and Indian War (1754-1763) resulted from a battle for power between the French and English over North America. The Spanish, along with numerous Indian tribes in Florida, allied themselves with France. In a strategic move, England easily took control of Havana forcing Spain to give up Florida in exchange for retaining Cuba. Spanish citizens and many converted and freed ex-slaves, left Florida for Cuba. In order to adequately govern Florida, the British divided Florida up into East and West Florida with the Apalachicola River as the dividing boundary. In order to attract settlers, the British government offered free land and posted advertisements throughout its colonies but by 1771, East Florida's white population was only 288 and the slave population was 900.

British Period, 1763-1783

When the American Revolution began in 1776 Florida was under British rule and Loyalists, anxious to avoid the growing conflict, came to Florida in hopes of establishing plantations with slave labor. The Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolution, was signed in 1783 and England relinquished control of the Floridas back to Spain. At the time of the exchange, East Florida had a population of 17,375 largely due to the influx of Loyalists.

Second Spanish Period, 1784-1821

William Bartram's Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida is one of the most extensive and poetic images of Florida from the colonial period. Undertaken during the English rule of Florida, the journey was initiated on behalf of the British botanist, John Fothergille. Bartram, also a botanist, traveled for four years collecting specimens, drawing botanicals, and keeping a journal. Published in 1791, the book was translated into several languages and inspired the Romantic poets including Emerson, Wordsworth, and Coleridge.

During the eighteenth century, North Florida forests were still dominated by virgin longleaf pine forests but open cattle ranges for the Spanish haciendas and tilled land for agriculture also characterized the area. The Plains Bison was present in Florida until the early nineteenth century and the Florida Red Wolf continued to populate the North Florida region. Bartram traveled from the east coast of Florida and the St. John's River into the interior and through present-day Alachua County along the "old Spanish highway." Bartram describes this trail as being

"...from St. Augustine across the isthmus of Florida, to St. Mark's in the bay of Apalachee. Its course and distance from E. to W. is, from St. Augustine to Fort Picolata on the river St. Juan, twenty-seven miles; thence across the river to the Poopoa Fort, three miles; thence to the Alachua Savanna, forty-five miles; thence to Talahasochte on the river Little St. Juan (Suwannee River), seventy-five miles; thence down this river to St. Mark's, thirty miles: the whole distance from St. Augustine to St. Mark's, one hundred and eighty miles. But this road having been unfrequented for many years past, since the Creeks subdued the remnant tribes of the ancient Floridians...this ancient highway is grown up in many places with trees and shrubs; but yet has left so deep a track on the surface of the earth, that it may be traced for ages yet to come."

Bartram's first stop in Alachua County was the Indian town of Cuscowilla in the "Alachua Savanna". The chief, known as Cowkeeper, extended hospitality to the explorers and Bartram stayed for several days and described his experiences. Of noted interest was the Spanish influence that still existed in the tribe and the native custom of keeping slaves, both black and from other tribes. Bartram's landscape descriptions are eloquent and evoke vivid imagery of a long since disappeared Florida: "The extensive Alachua savanna is a level green plain, above fifteen miles over, fifty miles in circumference, and scarcely a tree or bush of any kind to be seen on it. It is encircled with high sloping hills, covered with waving forests and fragrant Orange groves, rising from an exuberantly fertile soil. The towering magnolia grandiflora and transcendent Palm, stand conspicuous amongst them. At the same time are seen innumerable droves of cattle; the lordly bull, lowing cow, and sleek capricious heifer. The. hills and groves re-echo their cheerful, social voices. Herds of sprightly deer, squadrons of the beautiful fleet Seminole horse, flocks of turkeys, civilized communities of the sonorous watchful crane, mix together, appearing happy and contented in the enjoyment of peace, till disturbed and affrighted by the warrior man. Behold yonder, coming upon them through the darkened groves, sneakingly and unawares, the naked red warrior, invading the Elysian fields and green plains of Alachua."

After traveling throughout the North Central Florida region, Bartram returned to the Alachua Savanna, and noted that the area would "accommodate in the happiest manner above one hundred thousand human inhabitants, besides millions of domestic animals; and I make no doubt this place will at some future day be one of the most populous and delightful seats on earth."

The War of 1812 began with the French's intentions to conquer the European continent. The United States became embroiled in the battle after conflicts over trade developed between the American government and Great Britain and France. Consequently, the United States declared war on Great Britain with its primary objective being the occupation of Canada. After two years of fighting, a peace treaty was signed with no clear winner. However, the emergence of General Andrew Jackson as a major military force was initiated after his decisive victory against the British in New Orleans, although the battle had taken place after the signing of the treaty.

In 1812, Georgia volunteers under the command of Colonel Daniel Newnan attacked the Seminoles in Florida presumably for retaliation against the Indians who were conducting raids into Georgia. However, reports from the period suggest that Newnan recruited volunteers under the premise of obtaining the rich Seminole lands. The military campaign culminated in an encounter with the Seminoles living near Payne's Prairie under the direction of King Payne and his half-brother Holata Micco (aka Billy Bowlegs). The Indians were attacked and sustained heavy casualties including the scalping of its warriors by the Georgia troops. Retaliation was imminent and Newnan was forced to retreat due to dwindling food and ammunition.

During this same period, another influx of Indian bands from Alabama and Georgia would strengthen the Seminole group in Florida. The band of Upper Creek Indians known as Red Sticks were defeated by Andrew Jackson and sought refuge in Florida. Here, they joined the Seminoles and by 1815 there were several thousand Indians living in Florida.

These bands, along with a number of escaped slaves, continued to conduct raids from Florida into Alabama and Georgia. To retaliate, Jackson destroyed the Negro Fort, a fort that had been commandeered by African-Americans after the English had abandoned it. Although Spain expressed interest in disbanding the stronghold, it was unable to pursue the matter and so Jackson sent General Edmund Gaines to oust the inhabitants. On July 27, 1816, the fort was shelled by Gaines' ship and an explosion in a magazine killed almost the entire force of over 200 blacks. Those who lived were returned to their former owners. Scattered black fugitives gathered near the Suwannee River where the Alachua Band had settled after Newnan's raids, near Old Town, and built villages near the Seminole Indian encampments under the leadership of Billy Bowlegs. By the 1820s, about 400 blacks were living with the Seminoles but only about 80 were confirmed runaway slaves.

Still under Spanish rule, Florida was invaded by General Jackson in 1818 and the First Seminole War (1818-1823) ensued. Shortly after this first battle, Billy Bowlegs died and his sister's son, Micanopy, succeeded him. Spain, recognizing its inability to deal with the American invaders and the ongoing conflict with the Indians and African-Americans, entered into negotiations to transfer Florida to the United States. Factions in the US., particularly in the South, advocated the procurement of Florida largely due to their desire to eliminate this area as a stronghold for escaped and armed slaves and to remove the Indian threat from their borders. On February 22, 1821, the treaty of cession was ratified and Florida was transferred to the control of the United States.

Territorial Period, 1821-1844

General Andrew Jackson took control of Florida as its first territorial governor and after quickly establishing a governing structure, resigned from his post. Both East and West Floridas were combined into one government and William P. DuVal, a judge from Pensacola, was charged with the governorship. Initially, two counties were formed with the Suwannee River being the dividing boundary.

Armed settlement of the area was encouraged and in the 1820s, Surveyor General Robert Buttern fixed the base and meridian lines from which all territorial land would be surveyed. Richard Keith Call, who would later serve as governor of Florida, was made receiver of public lands and the sale of land began in 1825. From 1822 to 1861, most of the modem counties in North Florida were created including the ninth county, Alachua County, which was established on December 29, 1824. The area covered by Alachua County extended from modern-day Baker to Sarasota Counties.

An initial act of the U S. territorial government was to formulate policy dealing with the Seminoles. In 1823 the Treaty of Moultrie Creek was signed and the Seminoles were restricted to roughly four million acres in the central portion of Florida, south of Gainesville to the Peace River. Despite the treaty, continued conflict between the Indians and the white settlers continued throughout the 1820s and 1830s. The trend of blacks escaping slavery to live among the Seminoles terrified the settlers who feared retaliation. The American settlers pushed for removal of all Indians and the return of any Black Seminoles to their owners. Tensions were heightened by the actions of white slave raiders from Georgia and Alabama who were paid to retrieve blacks who had escaped from southern plantations and were captured by the Seminoles.

Prior to the American settlement of Florida, blacks had experienced lenient slavery laws and a measure of personal freedom. Additionally, the Spanish had allowed slaves to be religious refugees and to negotiate their freedom if they converted to Catholicism. For over 300 years, these practices in Florida had contributed to the growth of Florida as a haven for escaped slaves and freemen. However, the transfer of Florida to the United States put in place a stricter lifestyle and fueled the flames of the conflict between the Americans and the Seminoles whose black allies were substantial in number.

Black settlements were set up near the Indian village and although many were considered to be slaves of the Seminoles, they led a very independent life more akin to tenant farming. This lifestyle of relative freedom as compared to white ownership and the protection afforded them by living among the Seminoles, continued to be attractive to the former slaves and free blacks.

The Black Seminoles remained loyal to the Alachua Indians and followed them to their new location in central Florida. Many of the blacks living with the Seminoles were bilingual and able to provide communications between the Americans and the tribes. They also adopted the Seminole dress and way of life. Micanopy's trusted advisor, Abraham, was a full-blooded black man formerly owned by Dr. Sierra of Pensacola (Figure 2). He was born in 1790 and was purportedly to have survived the Negro Fort disaster of 1816. He gained Micanopy' s confidence and became his interpreter, even accompanying the Seminole delegation to Washington in 1826.

In order to insure the safety of the settlers in the northern part of Florida and to protect against further attacks, forts were established every twelve miles under the direction of General Zachary Taylor who visited many forts in the area in 1837 (Figure 3). The forts located in Alachua County including the following:

• Clarke
• Crabbe
• Crane
• Croom
• Defiance
• Eleven-East Florida
• Gaines
• Gilleland
• Harllee
• Micanopy
• Mills
• Nancy
• Newman
• Russell
• Santa Cruz (San Cruz)
• Seven-East Florida
• Six-East Florida
• Tarver
• Wacahoota
• Walker
• Winder

(*compiled by James M. Gray in Florida Forts, a private publication printed in 1972. On file at the University of South Florida Special Collections Room.)

Some 80 forts were in use throughout eastern Florida. Forts were typically built of log as blockhouses with pickets surrounding the fort. Some forts were substantial with a large force to guard them; others were just military outposts were a few soldiers. Many communities grew up around the forts and in Alachua County the 1830 Census indicated a population of 2,886, of which roughly 41 % were slaves.

Due in part to his popularity stemming from the Seminole Wars, Andrew Jackson was elected president of the United States in 1829. The Indian Removal Act was passed that next year and the long process of removing all Indians to permanent reservations west of the Mississippi River began in earnest. In 1835, the discovery of a hunting party of Indians outside of the reservation set off a series of events that led to the first official military action of the Second Seminole War (1835-1848). A train traveling from Jacksonville to Micanopy in Alachua County was attacked by a band of Seminoles under Osceola. Sugar plantations near the eastern coast were attacked and settlers throughout the region began leaving their farms for safer areas. Fort King in Marion County was attacked by 80 Indians and the Indian agent and several other individuals were killed. The same day relief troops marching from Fort Brooke on Tampa Bay to Fort King were attacked by 180 Indians under the direction of Chief Alligator, Micanopy, and Jumper.

Headed by Major Francis Dade, the troops were attacked and 105 of the 108 soldiers were killed.

Transportation during this period was limited to Indian trails, the most prominent of which was the Alachua Trail (Figure 4: Alachua Trail Maps). This route was located along a natural northsouth geological formation known as trail ridge that is the second highest point in the state. It was formed as an offshore bar when the sea covered parts of Georgia and Florida. It traverses through these two states for approximately 200 miles until its terminus in Alachua County. This ridge was used as an early Indian route for centuries and was known as the Alachua Trail.

The Alachua Trail's earliest reference on maps was in 1748. It ran from the Altamaha River in Georgia via the St. Mary's River into Florida and terminated at the southern edge of Payne's Prairie in Alachua County. In North Florida, the Alachua Trail served as the primary north-south route from the late Spanish period to the end of the territorial period. The trail roughly followed the Bradford-Clay county line, then followed a southwesterly course and crossed Alligator Creek and the Santa Fe River onto Waldo, Windsor, Rochelle, and Micanopy.

Several major road construction efforts during this period provided transportation for the troops during the conflict between the major forts. The Bellamy Road was part of a federal highway project, the first one of its kind, that was initiated to link St. Augustine with Pensaco1a by way of Tallahassee. In 1823, a law was enacted that appropriated $20,000 for the construction of the road to follow the Old Spanish Trail to St. Augustine. The contracts for the road were awarded to two individuals. West from Tallahassee, Captain Daniel E. Burch of the Army Quartermaster Corps was the builder. Burch's father-in-law, John Bellamy, constructed the road from St. Augustine to Tallahassee. Bellamy, a former South Carolinian, was a wealthy planter who initiated the building of the road on December 21, 1824. The road was completed in 1826. A post road (or stage road) later called the Handcart Road was cut from Gainesville to Tampa during this time.

Skirmishes between the American settlers and the Native Americans continued to dominate the area between the Suwannee River and Newnansville between 1836 and 1839. American troops at Fort Gilleland at Newnansville experienced attacks in September of 1836 that culminated in a two hour battle on the 18th. The Tennessee Volunteers were immediately dispatched to the area.

Although outnumbered by the Americans, the Seminoles used surprise and an intimate knowledge of the landscape to their advantage during the early years of the war. The standard military procedure of bringing in large numbers of regular troops, militia, and Indian allies, building forts and roads, and attacking Indian villages, did not work in Florida's unmapped, swampy interior. In 1840, General Taylor even tried to import bloodhounds to track the Seminoles but the project was not successful. It took 2-3 years for the military to learn how to counter the guerilla warfare tactics of the Seminoles.

In 1837, tentative agreements were worked out between Jumper, Micanopy, and the Americans for the Indians to emigrate to the west. Although many of the Indians were willing to make the move, a large faction of Seminoles led by Osceola, fervently opposed such an act and forced the waiting Seminoles to disband prior to boarding the ships for the west.

In 1838, Osceola was captured in St. Augustine under a flag of truce and he subsequently died from a fever in 1838. Shortly thereafter, in 1839, a treaty with the Indian leaders and United States military was made at Fort King in Ocala. The Indians relocated to areas near the Peace River to the south. By the beginning of 1841, about three quarters of the Seminoles had been removed, from Florida. Many forts in the area had been abandoned due to disease or relocation of troops to the central part of the state. A formidable Native American fighting force remained in the area including Halleck Tustenuggee and 35 men who roamed the area north and east of Micanopy. Attacks continued to take place and white settlement in the territory was slow. The conflict ended in 1842 when the remaining Seminoles negotiated a peace with the U.S. government which guaranteed that those Indians who wished to stay in Florida could do so provided that they live in the area of southwest Florida south of the Caloosahatchee River.

In 1842, the armed Occupation Act went into effect. This bill gave title to land to any veteran who cleared acreage, built a house, and protected against Indians. Even with such incentives, North Florida and Alachua County was home to few white settlers. Governor Richard Keith Call described the area in 1841 as "an entire wilderness, of which the Indians have undisturbed possession." Houses of white settlers were situated intermittedly and many homes had been abandoned.

In 1843, Alachua County was divided to form Levy, Marion, and Benton (Hernando) Counties. The land office opened near Gainesville. The first county seat was Newnansville located in the northeast comer of the county.

Eight years of war had caused many settlers to bypass Florida for more peaceful locations farther north. With the initiation of the armed Occupation Act, the expansion of white settlement to all areas of Florida was inevitable. Predictably there were skirmishes between the Indians and settlers which eventually led to the Third Seminole War (18551858) which was fought entirely in southern Florida.

To further confuse land matters, litigation resulting from the Arredondo Grant had been in the courts since 1828 and would continue to be unresolved until 1849. Holding up titles to approximately 20,000 acres of land in and around Alachua County for 21 years, the Arredondo Grant was described as "situated 52 miles more or less west from the city of St. Augustine, Florida, and west of the western margin of the river St. Johns, bounded on every side by the vacant land the place known as Alachua being towards the center, which place was formerly inhabited by a tribe of Seminole Indians who had abandoned it.

The grant was executed in 1817 to Fernando de la Maza Arredondo & Son, merchants of the Havana, Cuba who wanted to use the lands for the "growing of cattle and the culture of provisions." When Florida was ceded to the United States, the treaty required proof that all terms of grants had been completed prior to the grants being accepted by the new government. Although the Arredondo family filed their claim with the United States, inaction by the new government prompted the family to file suit in 1828. Although the Superior court decided on the side of the Arredondo family, the United States appealed the judgment with a team of lawyers including Richard Keith Call. The Arredondo family also, procured a team of lawyers including Daniel Webster. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Arredondos in 1832. More lawsuits ensued. Certain interests in the lands had been sold to various purchasers who were "floating" in the grant but not specifically located. The owners filed suit to partition the land. In 1845, the area within the Arredondo Grant was surveyed and the maps were made available in 1849. This litigation prevented permanent settlement to areas considered some of the best in Florida. After the map was drawn in 1849, a public sale of land was advertised in New York, New Orleans, Charleston, and Savannah. Subsequent settlement was rapid.

Statehood, 1845-1860

By statehood in 1845, the remaining Seminoles were transferred to South Florida and white settlement grew and the economy prospered. During the 1850s, settlers from Georgia and South Carolina continued to press into the region. The cotton trade was well established in Alachua County by this period and the area shared features of the plantation society that characterized the Deep South aristocracy. In the 1850s, there was a discussion of changing the county seat to a more centralized location. The Florida Railroad, promoted by Senator David Yulee, was planned to connect Fernandina and Cedar Key with steamer connections to New York and New Orleans. The proposed route was to pass through the present-day Gainesville area.

By 1852, the Gainesville area citizens began laying out a town in hopes it would be the new county seat. This group persuaded the State Legislature to pass an act for a countywide vote to select a county seat. In 1853, the election was held at Boulware Springs. The name of the county seat was purportedly named in honor of General Gaines, known for his participation in the Seminole Wars. The Gainesville land included a plot of 103 1/4 acres, 63 1/4 purchased from Major Bailey in 1854 and an additional 40 acres from Nehemiah Brush in 1856. The cost for all was $642.51.

Courts continued to be held in Newnansville until the public buildings were erected in Gainesville in 1856. The Alachua County Courthouse was described as, "a large, two story white clapboard with a porch jutting out from the entrance on each of its four sides.

As planned, the railroad was begun in 1855 and by 1858 it had reached Waldo. The railroad then passed through the Gainesville area and reached Cedar Key by 1860. Businesses and residences were constructed around the courthouse square.

Virginians- and South Carolinians moved into Florida to cultivate cotton and sugar and large numbers of slaves were also transferred to the area. In the 1860 Census of Gainesville, 97 of the 223 white residents were from South Carolina compared to 45 born in Florida and 35 from Georgia. The South's "peculiar institution" of slavery was necessary to the plantation culture and cotton economy of the area. By 1860, Alachua County boasted almost cultivated 46,000 acres that produced approximately 21,500 bales of Sea Island cotton. By 1860, the county's population was 8,232 persons of which over one-half were slaves.

Cotton production was limited to two types of cotton. The short staple type could be produced upwards to 1,500 pounds per acre in Florida whereas the average output in the South for this variety was a little over 500 pounds per acre. Similarly, the finest cotton elsewhere in the South. This latter type was originally grown in the Bahamas and then was transported to the coastal islands of Georgia where large plantations at Sapelo and Skidaway Island grew the cash crop. Florida planters quickly saw the advantages of planting Sea Island cotton in their virgin soil. Although the yield was half that of the short staple variety, the market value was doubled. Sea Island cotton was so valuable due to its length of fiber, which was used in the finest of fabric and sewing thread. European markets paid top dollar for this type of cotton but very little of the cotton was directly transported overseas and, instead, was sold to the northern markets who in turn offered it to the international trade.

The finest variety, Sea Island cotton, was particularly suited to Florida's soil and a typical plantation could yield an average of 600 pounds per acre compared to an average 300 pounds. Settlers from South Carolina migrated to Florida and brought with them their plantation culture as well as their political belief in favor of slavery and states' rights. The Democratic State Convention, consisting of this faction, met in 1856. The gubernatorial candidate Madison Starke Perry, an Alachua County planter from South Carolina and fervent secessionist, won the election. John Brown's raid in 1859 that threatened a full-blown slave insurrection was blamed on the Republican party and the Governor warned that Florida should prepare for the "emergency of the approaching Presidential election" that pitted Republican Abraham Lincoln against a split Democratic party.

The lucrative cotton crop and the plantation system was at the center of several large scale farming operations established in Alachua County. In addition to the well-known Haile Plantation (Figure 5) other cotton plantations included the Bailey's holdings near Gainesville, the plantation of Madison Starke Perry (Governor 1857-1861) located in Rochelle, and the Yulee plantation near Archer, which was owned by US. Senator and railroad developer David Yulee. With the flourishing plantation system of agriculture, the slave population increased in Florida, and by 1860 over half of Alachua County's population were slaves. The Scott-Phifer plantation in Grove Park was substantial and was listed in 1860 as having 61 slaves working on 400 improved acres of land. With the completion of the first railroad in Florida from Fernandina to Cedar Key in 1860, Gainesville became the center of the cotton trade in the region with several large-scale ginning operations there.

Civil War, 1861-1865

War preparation soon began in Florida shortly after the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in November of 1860. Alachua County was the seventh largest slaveholding county in Florida and its strong ties to South Carolina and the planter culture ran deep. On January 10, 1861, secession was voted favorably in the Florida Legislature with a vote of 62-7 with representatives Judge James Dawkins of Gainesville and Dr. John Pelot of Micanopy voting for secession. Judge Dawkins served on the committee formed to write the ordinance of secession. Seven states sent delegates to Alabama and on February 4, 1861 the Confederate States of America was formed. Just days after the outbreak of hostilities in March of 1861 at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, the Confederate War Department requested that some 12,000 troops be organized. Due to Florida's small population, only an initial 500 men were requested from the state.

The period of the Civil War brought increased activity to Alachua County. The rich agricultural lands of the interior of Florida and industries including leather works, sawmills, and turpentine camps provided materials desperately needed by the Confederate Army. The supplies that Florida was to contribute were so valuable to the war effort that immense Union manpower was devoted to establishing a blockade along the Florida coast.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Florida's population totaled only around 140,000 people, roughly one-half of whom were slaves. Florida's economy was agrarian based with only three sizable cities, Jacksonville, Pensacola, and Key West. Consequently, the opening of hostilities between the South and the Union crippled the cotton trade.

Two companies were formed in Alachua who joined various other companies from around the South at Pensacola to protect the major forts there. Florida remained skeptical of how much of a Confederate presence would be dispatched to the state given the long virtually defenseless coastline and the strong Federal installations at Pensacola and Key West. Raids of the coast continued throughout 1863 and 1864.

Coastal raids by Federal troops began in earnest by 1862. Cedar Key and Fernandina were taken by Union troops and a blockade of Florida was established by mid-1862 to cut the supply lines of the Confederate Army. Inadequate railroad lines further hindered Florida's ability to transport food and supplies. Prior to the War, Florida maintained only 400 miles of lines, none of which were connected to other states but the idea of a route for invasion into the interior prompted the citizens of Alachua County to take action.

A meeting of Alachua County citizens determined that the railroad was an avenue for invasion and portions of the railroad should be destroyed. David Yulee, president of the railroad and former senator, initially agreed to the idea but later became "bitterly opposed" to the plan. On March 10, 1862, the First Florida Battalion received orders to remove the rails. Along with the Alachua Rebels, the group destroyed some ten miles of track between Fernandina and Baldwin including bridges and trestles. A month later, an injunction was obtained by Yulee to prevent further destruction. A bitter battle between Yulee and Governor Milton resulted in the governor calling Yulee a traitor. The Confederate War Department was relatively uninterested in the tracks and considered the railroad of little military importance "in consequence of both termini of the road being in possession of the enemy." Milton, on the other hand, wanted to use the rail to connect Florida and Georgia in order to get troops between the states if necessary.

Alachua County and the North Florida region was not considered to be a major theater of war but was considered to be most valuable as a supplier of food. Crops such as corn, beef, pork, rice, potatoes, peas, molasses, and sugar were demanded by the Confederate government through the Confederate Impressment Act of 1863. Large herds of cattle from South Florida were assembled on Payne's Prairie. Food and other supplies were impressed at a fixed rate determined by a board. Commissary warehouse depots were set up at several communities including Gainesville. Wagon yards were also established in Gainesville and charged with collecting and distributing supplies across the state. The Confederate Tax of 1863 also demanded that a 10% in-kind tax on agricultural products be collected. Although other taxes on products and services were enacted, only that on the agricultural products was actually enforced.

Alachua County organized a committee that levied an assessment on the population and published the names of those who paid and those who did not. The committee was comprised of Judge Dawkins, James Baily, and Cornelius Rain who initially purchased 1800 yards of material and distributed this among the county's ladies to make clothing. This created great conflict in the organized Confederate companies from the area who were appalled that poor people were being taxed on their account. Out of the communities taxed, only Waldo met its obligation.

Five days before the Battle of Olustee, the "most important battle of the war in Florida," Union raiding parties entered Gainesville and were engaged by a company of the Second Florida Cavalry heading for Lake City. The Battle of Olustee took place about 13 miles from Lake City on February 20, 1864. The Federal invasion's objectives were to recruit African-American soldiers, and procure cotton, lumber, and turpentine, as well as to cut the supply lines to the Confederacy. However, the Confederate troops defeated the Union Army and captured badly needed armaments.

Six months later another skirmish took place in Gainesville after a Union raiding party entered the city on August 17th. The Yankees were met by home guards consisting of 3040 older men and young boys under the command of Captain Thomas F. King. Federal troops forced the ragtag group to retreat and began to plunder the town. A Confederate force under the direction of Captain Dickinson forced the Union troops to retreat and captured 100 African-American slaves, 260 horses, several stands of arms, one 12-lb howitzer, and 28 Union soldiers.

The War was going badly for the South and the pressure to capture the interior of Florida continued. A Federal invasion was again planned and two campaigns were coordinated. One at St. Marks headed for the capitol and one at Cedar Key headed through Levy County. Four hundred men, half of whom were African-Americans, left Cedar Key on February 8, 1865. An engagement led by Captain Weeks for the Union troops met the Confederates at Levyville. Led by Captain John J. Dickison, the 90-man Confederate troop held off the Union troops until both forces withdrew. The intended raid upon the capitol was thwarted by the engagement at the Battle of Natural Bridge, another Confederate victory.

Although the interior was saved from Union invasion, and Tallahassee became the only Southern capitol not captured by the U.S. forces, the Confederacy surrendered in early 1865. The dishonor felt among many of the Confederate leaders and supporters after the surrender was immeasurable. In April, Florida's Governor Milton committed suicide and by May 20, Tallahassee was an occupied city.

Reconstruction, 1866-1879

Some 14,000 men from Florida entered the Confederate service, one-third of whom died. Floridians also served on the Union side. Approximately 2,500 soldiers, one-half of whom were African-Americans, fought against the Confederacy. But the strong Confederate loyalties and a frontier steeped in Southern tradition forced Florida into continued conflict with the U.S. throughout the years of Reconstruction. Although Lincoln had favored leniency when dealing with the reinstatement of the Southern states into the Union, upon his assassination, various political factions demanded the South pay for its secession efforts. On May 22, 1865, Florida was placed under martial law. Milton's successor was removed from office and arrested along with the former Florida senatorial delegation.

Lawlessness and chaos reigned in Alachua County as well as throughout North Central Florida. The tracks of the Florida Railroad had been destroyed and it would take another two years to link the coasts again. The major cities were occupied by Federal troops including forces comprised of African-Americans, which further antagonized the former Confederates and sympathizers. Pillage, robbery, and intimidation tactics necessitated the dispatching of Federal troops in Gainesville. The Freedmen's Bureau was created in 1865 with bureaus established in Gainesville to assist the former slave population. Life on the plantations changed dramatically after the war. Slaves were many times offered a percentage of what they produced if they stayed on the plantation but many decided to leave. Some former slaves, however, remained on the plantation and were given compensation for their employment.

Efforts to establish a government resulted in tentative steps towards enfranchisement of the African-American population. However, these were diluted by the enactment of the so-called "Black Codes," laws specifically intended for African-Americans. Restrictions upon the former slave population included vagrancy laws, regulation of weapons, and provisions for schools to be paid for by a tax on African-American males. Due to the these actions which were considered "unreasonable," Florida was again put under military rule in 1867 and tentative steps were taken to create a new state government.

On July 25, 1868, Florida was officially declared admittance back into the Union. Problems between the so-called "carpetbaggers" and "old settler Democrats" flared. Accusations of corruption within the Freedmen's Bureau by the Confederate loyalists caused great conflict sometimes ending in violence. Resistance to changes in the social system continued to plague the Reconstruction period until 1877 when Governor George Franklin Drew, a Democrat and Confederate sympathizer, was elected.

The Freedman's Bureau opened up 87 African-American schools and encouraged former slaves to attend school and submit applications to receive land under the Homestead Act of 1866. This law ended all cash sales of land in five public land states of the South and reserved the land for homesteaders. Ex-Confederates were not eligible. Over 3,000 African-Americans filed claims but were often intimidated by the white population and abandoned the land. By October of1876 the law was repealed.

Large landowners, suffering a loss of labor needed for their cash crops and AfricanAmericans, unable to procure land, tentatively entered into share cropping agreements where both the landowners and the laborers shared the proceeds. Although it may have initially believed to be a solution to the problem, long term abuses undermined the share cropping system and tied laborers to continued servitude.

Post-Reconstruction, 1880-1897

Attention was then turned to progress in the New South. Improvement in transportation, agriculture diversification, and a new industry, the tourist, were the keys to development and economic prosperity for Florida during this period.

Travel in Florida by steamer was first introduced in 1827 down the Apalachicola River. During the Second Seminole War, steamers were used extensively to transport troops and supplies down the rivers. A mail route was established on the Suwannee and Santa Fe Rivers from Cedar Key to Fort Whitt in Columbia County and then on to Columbus in Suwannee County. Steamboat activities were used extensively during the construction of the railroads in the 1880s. The steamboat "The Alert" carried passengers and crops from Melrose to Waldo on a canal constructed for the trip. Figure 6: Steamboat "The Alert"

In order to be competitive, however, Florida would need to expand its railroads and in the early 1880s, a plan was devised to provide cash flow to the State, which would be invested in railroad improvements. The Disston Land Sale of 1881 consisted of Florida selling four million acres to a syndicate led by Hamilton Disston of Philadelphia. Although controversial, this plan pumped needed cash into the government and freed up the public lands that had been tied up in debt by the collapse of the railroads during and immediately after the War Between the States. It also heralded in the new era of development of the state. Railroad building and development became the top priorities of the new administration. Another boost came when the International Telegraph Line from Washington to Punta Rassa came in the 1870s and the road cut to build the line became known as Wire Road.

By the 1880s the expanding railroads were taking business away from the steamers (Figure 7). The railroads resulted in a population increase in Alachua County and the development of railroad towns near the train stops. The entire state benefited from this and between 1880 and 1885, the state experienced a population growth of25%.

Due to the boom of the railroads and the possibility of new markets, diverse agricultural crops and industry were established in the County. Cotton was still the primary crop during this, period but other crops such as citrus, tobacco, and a variety of vegetables began to attract even more settlers.

Citrus communities situated near the railroad included Island Grove and Melrose. Island Grove was established in the 1880s with the first post office opening in 1884. Citrus defined the community as well as fishing due to its close proximity to Orange Lake and Cross Creek. Melrose, established prior to the Civil War, boasted three stores and a real estate office by the mid-1880s. The. main crop was citrus until the late 1890s.

In southeastern Alachua County, two railroads, the Peninsular Railway and the Florida Southern Railway, met at Waits' Crossing, which would later become a part of Hawthorne. By October 1881 the Florida Southern Railway, which ran from Palatka to Gainesville, made stops in places known as McMeekin, Wait's Crossing, Magnesia Springs (near Grove Park), Gruelle (Rochelle), Perry, Tarver, and Gainesville.

Many communities grew up around former plantations and new communities at railroad crossings began to flourish. At Evinston, Captain W.D. Evins gave the land for the right of-way for the narrow gauge Florida Southern Railroad in 1882. A post office was established and citrus became the important crop there until the freezes of the 1890s.

By the mid-1880s, the Madison Starke Perry plantation had grown into a budding community called Rochelle. It had a hotel, two schools, two churches, two general stores, a cotton and gristmill and by 1888, 24 trains passed through daily.

Grove Park was platted in 1884 out of the original 400 improved acres associated with the Scott Plantation by John Dent, and WHH Holdridge. In 1888, the Alachua County Immigration Association printed a promotional pamphlet that described Grove Park as a train station and post-office on the Florida Southern Railway, with a population of 250, two stores, hotel, schoolhouse, church, saw and planing mill; it is regularly laid out in blocks with streets 60 to 80 feet wide, well graded, and on many of them are set live oak trees." Additionally, Grove Park was near the popular Magnesia Springs. This recreational area was well known in Alachua County prior to the coming of the railroads but by this period, with a regular whistle stop, Magnesia Springs gained more attention. Known for its "curative properties," the Springs was developed in the 1920s with swimming pools, pumping station, bathhouses, and a restaurant.

Other communities along the main transportation routes of the County also flourished. Traxler, on the old Bellamy Road, was founded by the son of South Carolinian settlers in the 1880s when a general store was opened. A post office was established in 1891 and a cotton gin, grist mill, and church characterized the small settlement.

The idea of Florida as a luxurious resort place for the wealthy began with the railroads of Henry Flagler and Henry Plant. By the time Flagler's East Coast Railroad reached Miami in 1896, all eyes were focused on the coastal communities of South Florida. The drainage of the Everglades begun by the Internal Improvement Fund in 1906 and initiated to reclaim lands for agriculture and development, further focused money and promotion on the southern region of the state. While South Florida was opening up by the development of exclusive tourist resorts, Alachua County was struggling with diversifying its agricultural crops, adding new industry, and enjoying the "boom" created by the railroads. Agriculture during this time consisted mainly of (citrus and watermelons). Many orange groves contained trees planted during Spanish rule. In 1895, two freezes destroyed much of the orange crop in the region. That next year, the "Big Storm" of 1896 came in from the Gulf via Cedar Key. The wide swath of destruction included considerable damage to the towns including High Springs.

Turn-of-the-Century, 1898-1916

Agricultural interests and industries played roles in the growing economy and population of the County at the turn of the century. By the end of the nineteenth century, naval stores, turpentine, and lumber had become major industries in the County and North Florida in general. Naval stores, consisting of the production of pitch and tar, were burgeoning due to the demand for caulking of wood sailing vessels. At first, small and medium-sized logging operations cut the timber and locally run mills prepared the logs for commercial profit. As the great stands of white pine in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan were depleted, the northern industry began looking toward the virgin longleaf, or yellow pine, Florida forests. Previously, this wood was considered too hard to be milled into workable lumber. However, this type was well suited for house and bridge construction and the benefits of the resource outweighed any previous reservations.

Operators would own or lease land and establish one or more turpentine camps, which consisted of houses for the workers, a commissary, and a still. In the beginning, the Santa Fe River provided the means for transporting the logs. River men would walk along the banks or ride the logs to keep them flowing. Logs would be collected at the mill by pilings in the river. This industry was the principal manufacturing group in the state and employed one-half of all wage earners listed for that period. The lumber boom, begun around 1880, was exhausted by 1930 when all the virgin pine had been cut.

Several communities around sawmills included Hague and Campville (Figure 9). At Campville, a sawmill played an important role in the development of this town in the late nineteenth century. Other industries in the community included the Campville Brick Company, a turpentine still, and citrus and pecan nurseries.

The development of shade tobacco in the late 1890s heralded in a new era for "King Tobacco." Experiments showed that tobacco leaves grown in artificial shade were comparable to those being imported from other countries. By 1914, the three leading industries in Florida were tobacco, lumber and timber, and turpentine and rosin. By the late 1930s, an average of 14,000,000 pounds of tobacco was grown in the region.

Mineral extraction was another early twentieth century industry to reach North Florida. Minerals such as phosphate, limestone, mineral water, clay, sand, peat, and flint could be found in Alachua County. By 1925, phosphate for fertilizer production was the major bulk product of the state. Phosphate mining began in Florida in 1879 near Hawthorne. This promising industry would later account for Florida being ranked first in the nation in the production of phosphate and producing some 30% of the world total. In the late 1880s, hard-rock mining began to be developed as technology advanced in the areas in and around Alachua County.

Tung nuts for the development of paints and varnishes were a new crop being developed in several counties after the turn of the century. Tung oil at this time was produced entirely in China and imported into the United States where it was used as the first coating on automobiles and lacquers for furniture. But in the late 1910s research at the University of Florida prompted the initiation of an established tung oil industry in Alachua County (Figure 10). Some 14,000 trees were planted in 1923 and by 1927, 300,000 treys had been cultivated. This burgeoning industry was the first of its kind developed in the United States region during the 1930s. Approximately 16,000 acres of tung trees were planted in the area during this period.

Cotton was, also still being produced throughout the region. Cotton gins were located in every major settlement in Alachua County. In 1916,3,500 bales of long staple cotton were baled. Sea Island cotton had been virtually abandoned as a variety after the arrival of the boll weevil. This insect decimated the cotton crops throughout the South. Other crops such as corn, potatoes and watermelons were important vegetable crops in the region during the first three decades of the twentieth century.

The moss industry also had a presence in Alachua County. History of its usefulness as a commercially viable product can be traced back to William Bartram's travels through the area in 1773 when he noted its valuable ness as stuffing for mattresses, chairs, and saddles. The Native Americans used moss extensively for clothing and early settlers used it for braid and cord. Throughout the nineteenth century, mills located in the North Florida area accepted moss from local individuals who used the "vegetable hair crop" to supplement their income. Individuals would sometimes arrange for "swamp leases" whereby thy gatherer would have rights to all the moss located in a certain area.

The moss mills that dotted the North Florida landscape began with one in Gainesville established 1882. By 1905, Alachua County had four moss mills. Known moss manufacturing companies that existed in Gainesville were the Vego Hair Manufacturing Company from 1937-1965; the Southern Moss Hair Company from 1951-1955; and the Florida Moss Ginning Company in 1954. In Hawthorne, the Deluxe Cypress Moss Manufacturing was in existence in 1948. The moss industry continued to exist in Florida through the 1960s but business continued to drop until the industry went defunct due to the profusion of foam rubber and plastics that offered a cheaper method of stuffing mattresses and upholstery.

The role of the University of Florida in the history of Alachua County began to unfold prior to the Civil War when in 1849 an act was passed providing for the establishment of common schools in Florida. A school was established prior to the Civil War called the Gainesville Academy, which was later taken over by the State and renamed the East Florida Seminary. In 1883, the Florida State Agricultural College was located in Lake City, the county seat of Columbia County. By 1889, 150 students attended the college. By 1905, the situation regarding higher education had become critical in Florida. Some eight schools including the University of Florida at Lake City and the East Florida Seminary at Gainesville were being funded by the state. Consolidation for the schools was considered appropriate and plans made to appoint a panel to choose sites for two colleges, one east of the Suwannee River and one to the west of it. The most heated decision regarded the location of the men's college. Although the university had been situated in Lake City since 1889, Gainesville posted a generous offer to the board. The delegates from Lake City pointed out the number of buildings already on site including the recent gymnasium provided by a gift from railroad magnate, Henry Flagler. They promised 871 acres in land and a check for $40,000. Gainesville also offered $40,000 and the use of the high school building but only 517 acres of land. The final vote is said to have come down to the offer of free water by the City of Gainesville. The college was subsequently relocated to Gainesville in 1906 amidst vehement protests. Figure 11: early campus map of UF School materials were loaded onto wagons and taken to the railroad depot through crowds of protesters but the threatened violence did not ensue.

Land Boom Period, 1921-1928

The rapid growth period of the 1920s took place primarily in South Florida but the effects of this so-called Boom Period reached every comer of the state. In 1920, Florida citizens totaled just under a million but by 1925 this number had increased to almost 1,300,000. All of Florida benefited from the unprecedented influx of money and people, which accompanied the Florida land boom. Many factors contributed to the boom including the mild winter climate advertised extensively throughout the nation, the use of the automobile and the increased mobility of Americans, and Florida's lack of a state income tax or inheritance tax. Alachua County boasted a network of roads and railroads by this time.

The development of the highway system also came to fruition during this period. Prior to 1924, only 748 miles of surfaced road existed but by 1930, over 3,000 miles were maintained. One of the first roads to be paved roughly followed the trail ridge and the ancient Alachua Trail, the north-south route taken by Native Americans. The ridge, more than 100 miles long, continued to influence the development of roads into the twentieth century. US 301 follows the general contour of the formation. By 1925, US 1 stretched from Maine to Miami and travelers from allover the United States saw the beauty of the Florida coast for the first time.

Travel during this period along Florida's roads was treacherous. The open-range philosophy at the time ensured livestock wandering on the roads. Nine-foot wide roads did not allow for two cars to pass each other. In 1915, the State Road Department was created by the legislature after urging by the Florida Good Roads Association. This important activist group was established at the turn of the century. That next year, the Federal Aid Road Act was passed by Congress, which paved the way for a partnership between State agencies and federal funding. A state gasoline tax was enacted to help fund road building in Florida. During the 1920s, the "tin can tourists" dominated the roads and set up camps all over Florida, one of which was situated in Gainesville.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Ku Klux Klan continued to have a presence in Alachua County, although their influence had declined since Reconstruction: Between 1918 and 1930 fifty lynchings of blacks by whites took place around the state. A combination lynching and race riot occurred at Rosewood, the community near the sawmill town of Sumner, in Levy County in January of 1923. At least six African Americans and two whites were killed.

The Great Depression Era, 1929-1940

The influx of people into South Florida during the 1920s, Dade County especially, was unprecedented and soon overwhelmed the available resources. In 1925, a series of unrelated events combined together to mark the beginning of the end of the Boom Period and the harkening in of the Depression that was to hit Florida three years before the rest of the county. Real estate speculation inflated prices, transportation services could not keep up with the need to move building supplies, and Florida began to be depicted negatively in northern papers. When the 1926 hurricane struck in September, it sealed the fate of the period. Some 400 people were killed in the storm. Another hurricane in 1928 ruined any chances of a renewal for the area. Some 2,000 people lost their lives in the second storm, many of which were African American laborers from the Bahamas.

The onslaught of the Great Depression in Florida resulted in a severe decline in property values, bankrupt local governments, and exceptionally high unemployment. The failure of banks, railroads, and large corporations crippled the economy. The discovery of the Mediterranean fruit fly in orange groves severely damaged that industry by forcing the destruction of some seventy-one percent of all the trees in the state.

The years of the Depression brought with it some memorable people and experiences. The County Home Extension Service was created to provide improved sanitary and household conditions in the rural areas of the United States. Local demonstration agents traveled Alachua County teaching individuals new agricultural practices, canning and cleaning techniques, and other household tasks. By the 1930s, this program proved to be a welcomed distraction for the rural folk who wanted to improve the everyday difficulty of life. Demonstration agents began circuit riding throughout the local area bringing with them techniques and tools for improved health standards and homemaking skills.

Money began to trickle back into the state with the legalization of pari-mutuel betting and a tax on the industry in 1931. Although horse racing had been a part of the gentry culture of North Florida, it was fairly new to South Florida when it was introduced in 1925.

The New Deal of the Roosevelt Administration, which began in 1933 provided additional relief to the state. The 1935 state legislature session assumed responsibility for a welfare program. Money was procured for skilled labor and materials for public works, and new taxes generated money for rural schools. Programs of the Works Projects Administration included some forty-two schools, twenty-seven water works, six sewer systems, and over 6,000 miles of highways and streets. The New Deal also provided the first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933. Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects undertaken during the Depression years provided employment and civic improvements to the citizens of Alachua County.

Railroad tracks in much of the region began to be taken up as commerce and passenger traffic began to be transported by the automobile. This proved to be the demise for many small towns that had relied upon the railroad to provide much needed business. Additionally, the timber industry was declining due to the depletion of the area's resources, and turpentine stills and sawmills were not as profitable as they had once been.

World War II and Post-War Period, 1941-1947

The 1940s, particularly after the War, brought in a new era for Alachua County. The influx of soldiers resulted in a business boom. Many soldiers and their families remained in Florida after the war, which was part of a larger migration boom in the state.

War preparations resulted in an economic boom that brought Florida and the rest of the country out of the Great Depression. With the outbreak of hostilities in 1941, Florida was rapidly transformed from a vacation spot to a military installation. Naval air stations at Jacksonville, Key West, Tampa and Pensacola resulted in an influx of service men and their families. The conversion of tourist facilities to this war effort took place wherever motels, hotels, and resorts provided readily available barracks housing to the servicemen.

The rapid population growth after World War II resulted in a 46% increase for the decade after the war. family members of servicemen stationed or trained in Florida had visited during the war years and many former military personnel moved to Florida upon the ending of hostilities. This influx resulted in a dramatic shift from a mostly rural and unpopulated state to the rapid development of cities and transportation networks. Although concentrated in the central and southern portions of the state, this immigration brought with it the necessity for travel-related enterprises. Roadways were constructed and improved in the northern portion of the state, welcome stations erected along the more active roads, and motels and retail stores dotted the main routes into Florida. Through Alachua County, Highway 441 was one of the main roads into the heart of the state. Communities existing along the routes experienced a boom of their own. Towns along US 441 such as High Springs and Alachua catered to the tourists and immigrants.

1948-present

The confusion and sheer number of automobiles on the road continued to be a problem to many of the rural communities of Alachua County. By 1950 over a million cars per year were entering Florida for recreation. The open-range philosophy of the time and the free roaming livestock resulted in a number of traffic accidents. In order to combat this, the Warren Fencing Act took effect July 1, 1950, finally ending the open-range philosophy of the region. Counties had previously been able to institute optional "no-fence" laws and many communities continued to defy the law well into the second half of the twentieth century, particularly in areas remote from the roadways.

Roadway improvement was a big consideration for Florida and the country as a whole. The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 allowed the use of federal funds in acquiring right-of-ways for projects to be built in the next five years. Upgrading highway systems in the late 1950s was a priority of President Eisenhower. In the highly populated areas, federal urban renewal programs, public housing and other welfare reform projects, and the development of the interstate systems had a profound effect on the character of the cities. For Alachua County, little of the development pressures so characteristic of South Florida were felt in the area until the interstate system, developed during the 1950s and 1960s, resulted in a site-specific boom for the exit areas off the interstate. Welcome stations along the old routes closed as larger and flashier ones opened up along Interstate 75. With the opening of the major tourist attractions of the state such as Busch Gardens and Walt Disney World in the 1960s and 1970s, development and tourism began focused on central and south Florida.

SURVEY CRITERIA

All surveys conducted in association with the Division of Historic Resources, Florida Department of State, are required to base evaluations on significance of each historic resource on the criteria established by the National Register. This criteria is the established method of site evaluations throughout the United States. It provides a uniform, yet subjective, method of analysis throughout the preservation field.

Each property was evaluated in terms of its potential eligibility as a contributing resource to a historic district. Whether of not a potential historic district exists in the area is not taken into account at this juncture because this evaluation is based solely on the property's ability to convey its historic appearance as it stands today. Consequently, a building may be denoted as contributing due to its intact appearance but stands in an area where there is limited potential for a designated historic district due to a lack of clustered historic buildings or large amounts of nonhistoric infill construction.

Criteria for Evaluation:

The following is taken from criteria published by the United States Department of the Interior to evaluate properties for possible inclusion in the National Register. The quality of significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, objects that possess integrity of locations, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and:

• That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to broad patterns of our history; or
• That are associated with lives of persons significant in the past; or
• That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
• That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

SURVEY RESULTS

The area surveyed consists of all the unincorporated area of Alachua County. Typically, these areas are rural or located near the city limits of a municipality. Most of the resources surveyed date from the 1880's to the mid-twentieth century and are associated with the overall development of Alachua County. The design of the buildings and the materials used in their construction are consistent with contemporary national and statewide architectural trends. Most buildings show the influence of national styles, but, due to time and money constraints, are the product of local craftsmen and materials.

The pattern of architectural development in Alachua County followed the general trends of construction that occurred throughout the north central area of Florida. As the railroads came through the area in the 1880's, towns grew up and around former plantation areas and quite a few buildings remain from this period. As demonstrated by the results of the survey, most buildings date from the early part of the twentieth century. With the advent of the Florida land boom of the 1920's, Alachua County prospered although this change was not as dramatic as South Florida. The results of this survey reflect this trend. With the end of the Florida land boom, development and construction tapered off during the 1930's. The 1940's witnessed a rebirth of development and investment in Florida with new residences and new businesses constructed in the project area catering to the new World War II-era military population. After 1950, the widespread use of the automobile was reflected in Alachua County's architecture with the establishment of the interstate system through the heart of the area. Shopping centers, the erosion of the centralized business districts of the small municipalities, and development of the rural landscape are indicative of trends throughout rural America.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLES

Frame Vernacular

Craftsman

Ranch

Masonry Vernacular

Folk Victorian

Minimal Traditional

Colonial Revival

Gothic Revival

Queen Anne

FIELDWORK

Fieldwork for the survey portion of this project was conducted in several phases between December of 1999 and June of 2000. At the initiation of the project, Quatrefoil Consulting received United States Geological Survey (USGS) maps from the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department. Other maps were also received including once depicting the corporate limits of Gainesville. Most of the USGS maps were originally flown prior to 1960 and then usually updated in the 1980s or 1990s.

This "windshield" survey earmarked about 1100 resources that appeared to be historic. It should be noted that there are several incorporated communities located in Alachua County that contain a large number of historic buildings. Many of these communities have been expanding their city limits by annexation over the last few years since their historic surveys were originally undertaken. The result of this is that there are many buildings that are now located within the city limits of the towns that have not been surveyed.

Another important note to the survey are the buildings that were not surveyed due to inaccessibility. The windshield survey maps depict all buildings that were constructed prior to 1950, however, if the building was inaccessible and not readily seen from the public right-of-way, the building was not surveyed. If a building was set back from the road but could be seen through the use of binoculars, the building was surveyed. However, the information may be incomplete or inaccurate due to the distance of the building from the surveyor.

The location of each property was plotted on the appropriate USGS map by field recorder numbers. Field recorder numbers are the numbers assigned to each resource surveyed. FSF numbers were assigned by the Florida Master Site File office to those resources that had not be previously surveyed and included 8AL3781 through 8AL4741.

CREDITS