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. [1] and was built around the Plantation of Madison Starke Perry.
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. [1] and was built around the Plantation of Madison Starke Perry.
Rochelle was at a junction on the Florida Southern Railway (later, the Plant System), with lines running to Gainesville, Ocala and Palatka. Originally known as Perry, or Perry Junction, the community was renamed Gruelle in 1881 after N. R. Gruelle, General Manager of the Florida Southern Railway (the station was still listed as Perry on the first timetable issued by the railway after it reached Gainesville in 1881).
In 1884, the community name was changed again, to Rochelle, the maiden name of Governor Perry's wife. [2] [3] The town was described as having a hotel, two or three stores, a sawmill, and an express-office in 1883, [4] and a population of 150 in 1884. [5]
Citrus growing became important in the area, and in 1885 the town had two sawmills, two churches, two schools (Rochelle School, also known as the Martha Perry Institute, for whites, and a school for blacks), and a couple dozen houses. The Great Freeze of 1894–1895 destroyed the citrus industry in the area, and the town declined afterwards. The Rochelle School closed in 1935. [6]
Today, the only remnants of the former town are now the schoolhouse, the General Pacific plant, a radio tower, and some houses and barns. The 16-mile Hawthorne Trail has a trail head at the Witness Tree Junction near the Rochelle Vicinity Historic Marker, and follows the trail of the old railroad railbed. [7]
Rochelle is located at 29°35′47″N82°13′04″W / 29.59639°N 82.21778°W (29.59639, -82.21778). [8]
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.
Alachua is the second-largest city in Alachua County, Florida and the third-largest in North Central Florida. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 10,574, up from 9,059 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Alachua has one of the largest bio and life sciences sectors in Florida and is the site for the Santa Fe College Perry Center for Emerging Technologies.
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area with a population of 350,903 in 2022.
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, up from 1,417 at the 2010 census, with an area of 7.38 sq mi (19.1 km2). It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
High Springs is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in Alachua County and seventh-largest in North Central Florida. The population was 6,215 at the 2020 census, up from 5,350 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
LaCrosse is a town in Alachua County, Florida, 15 miles (24 km) north of Gainesville. The LaCrosse is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 US census, the town population was 316, down from 360 in 2010 US Census.
Micanopy is a town in Alachua County, Florida, United States, located south of Gainesville. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population as of the 2020 census was 648, up from 600 at the 2010 census.
Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail is a paved rail trail in Florida.
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 Old Gainesville Depot is a historic site at 203 Southeast Depot Avenue in Gainesville, Florida. It is located along the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail State Park.
Windsor is an unincorporated community in Alachua County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 256.
State Road 26 is a 62.172-mile-long (100.056 km) east–west route across North Central Florida.
The Florida Southern Railway was a railway that operated in Florida in the late 1800s. It was one of Florida's three notable narrow gauge railways when it was built along with the South Florida Railway and the Orange Belt Railway. The Florida Southern was originally chartered to run from Lake City south through central Florida to Charlotte Harbor. However, with the influence of Henry B. Plant, it operated with two discontinuous segments that would be part of the Plant System, which would later become part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railway.
Hague is an unincorporated community in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is located on Alachua County Road 237 between U.S. Route 441 and the Deerhaven Subdivision line of the CSX Railroad, between the cities of Alachua and Gainesville.
Campville is a community in eastern Alachua County, Florida, north of Hawthorne. The community grew up along the route of the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad, with a sawmill, a store, a church, a school and a score of homes in the area when a post office was established in 1881. It was named for three brothers by the name of Camp who ran a large sawmill in the area. The population was about 300 in 1928, when a brick factory, several tree nurseries, and four stores were located in the community. The brick factory was also founded by the Camp brothers and bricks produced there can be seen in Gainesville's old downtown buildings. The bricks are a tan buff color. The post office was closed in 1966.
The Tampa and Jacksonville Railway was a railroad in North Central Florida in the first half of the 20th century, with a length of 56 miles (90 km) at its greatest extent. It operated under several names in the half century of its existence.
Grove Park is an unincorporated community in Alachua County, Florida, United States, on Florida State Road 20 west of Hawthorne.
The historic communities of Alachua County were populated places and/or places with a post office that were established in the 19th century or early 20th century in what is now Alachua County, Florida, but which were abandoned, annexed into an incorporated municipality, or had a much reduced population by the later part of the 20th century.
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's High Springs—Croom Line was a historic rail line in northern Florida. The line dates back to the late 1800s and was used for both passengers and freight.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Municipalities and communities of Alachua County, Florida, United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
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