Alachua County is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida since 1906, when the campus opened with 106 students.
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in 2020.
Hawthorne is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States, incorporated in 1881. Indigenous peoples of the Americas had been living in the area since around 100 CE; Hawthorne grew around their trading trails. Throughout its history, Hawthorne has been known for its agriculture, railroad, and rural lifestyle. Hawthorne's population was 1,478 at the 2020 census, with an area of 7.38 sq mi (19.1 km2).
[File:Mount Olive Church.jpg|thumb|Mount Oliver Church, Micanopy, FL]]]]
Newberry is a city located in the southwest corner of Alachua County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,342 as of the 2020 Census. Much of the city borders neighboring Gilchrist County, to the west. The current Mayor is Jordan Marlowe.
Jonesville is an unincorporated community in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is located roughly at the intersection of County Road 241 and State Road 26. Jonesville has no city government but is an informal name for a region on Newberry Road between Gainesville and Newberry.
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, encompassing a 21,000-acre (85 km2) savanna in Alachua County, Florida lying between Micanopy and Gainesville. It is also a U.S. National Natural Landmark. It is crossed by both I-75 and U.S. 441. It is in the center of the Paynes Prairie Basin. The basin's primary source of drainage is Alachua Sink. During occasional wet periods, the basin will become full. A notable period occurred from 1871 to 1891 when the Alachua Sink was temporarily blocked. During this period, shallow draft steamboats were a frequent sight on Alachua Lake in the center of the prairie. The region was also historically known as the Alachua Savannah. Its drainage has been modified by several canals. Since 1927, Camps Canal has linked the basin to the River Styx which leads to Orange Lake and eventually the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Johns River. That reduced the basins water intake by half. Additional changes to the prairie's environment have been detrimental to its hydrology. In 1970, the state of Florida acquired the land and has been in the process of restoring the environment to a more natural condition ever since.
North Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida which comprises the north-central part of the state and encompasses the North Florida counties of Alachua, Marion, Putnam, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, and Union. The region's largest city is Gainesville, home of the University of Florida and center of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which is the largest metro area in North Central Florida. As of 2020, the region had a population of 575,622 people.
Melrose is an unincorporated community in Alachua, Bradford, Clay, and Putnam counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It lies on State Road 26, approximately 17 mi (27 km) east of Gainesville and approximately 50 mi (80 km) southwest of Jacksonville. The town lies on Lake Santa Fe.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park is a Florida State Park and historic site located on the former homestead of Pulitzer Prize-winning Florida author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953). A National Historic Landmark, it is located in Cross Creek, Florida, between Ocala and Gainesville at 18700 South County Road 325.
San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park in Alachua County, Florida. It is located northwest of Gainesville, Florida on CR 232, just south of the town of Alachua.
Newnansville, Florida was one of the first American settlements in the interior of Florida. It became the second county seat of Alachua County in 1828, and one of the central locations for activity during the Second Seminole War, during which time it was one of the largest cities in the State. In the 1850s, the Florida Railroad bypassed Newnansville, resulting in the county seat being moved to the new town of Gainesville in 1854. Consequently, Newnansville began to decline, and when a second railway bypassed the town in 1884, most of its residents relocated and formed the new City of Alachua. By 1900, Newnansville was deserted.
The Boulware Springs Water Works is a historic site in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is located at 3400 Southeast 15th Street. On June 20, 1985, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is also the western terminus of the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail.
The Historic Haile Homestead, also known as Haile Plantation House or Kanapaha, is a historic site and museum in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is located at 8500 SW Archer Rd. SR 24. On May 2, 1986, the plantation house was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.The Homestead is unique in the Nation for its "Talking Walls." For a reason lost to time the Haile family and friends wrote over 12,500 words on the walls, dating back to the 1850s.
Rochelle is an unincorporated community in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It was found in the 1830s on a former native settlement and mission site. and was built around the Plantation of Madison Starke Perry.
Windsor is an unincorporated community in Alachua County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 256.
Norman Hall is an historic academic building on the eastern campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. It was designed by architect Rudolph Weaver in the Collegiate Gothic style, and built in 1932. It originally housed the university's research and development primary and secondary schools, but now is the principal building of the university's College of Education. It is located on U.S. 441, near the southwest corner of S.W. 3rd Avenue and S.W. 12th Street in Gainesville. On January 26, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
State Road 26 is a 62.172-mile-long (100.056 km) east–west route across North Central Florida.
Morningside Nature Center is a 416-acre nature park located in Gainesville, Alachua County in the U.S. state of Florida and overseen by the City of Gainesville. It features a living history farm meant to simulate a North Florida family homestead from the mid to late 1800s. The farm includes an original Florida Cracker cabin built by Irish immigrants around 1840, which was moved to Morningside in 1976. The farm also features a one-room schoolhouse, along with newer farm buildings constructed as authentically as possible and a cash crop field that grows period-appropriate crops like corn, sugarcane, and cotton. The livestock on the farm are heritage breed and period appropriate to the time period. Visitors can view a Jersey cow, Ossabaw Island hogs, Dorking roosters and hens, and Gulf Coast sheep. On the first Saturday of every month September-May, volunteers dress in period attire and teach visitors about rural life in historical Alachua County. The farm is open year-round Monday-Saturday 9am-4:30pm, but it is closed on Sundays. Every Wednesday afternoon from 3-4pm September through May, visitors can visit the farm to participate in the Barnyard Buddies program to feed the animals hay and vegetables provided by park staff. This program is free of charge, but donations of carrots, squash, apples, sweet potatoes, and melons are accepted, however, please give these items to staff and not directly to the animals.
The 7th Florida Infantry Regiment was a Civil War regiment from Florida organized at Gainesville, in April, 1862. Its companies were recruited in the counties of Bradford, Hillsborough, Alachua, Manatee, and Marion.
