Gilchrist County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the north central part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Organized in 1925 from the western part of Alachua, it is the last county to be formed in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,864. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Trenton. Gilchrist County is included in the

Gainesville, Florida 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, Florida, Gainesv ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Gilchrist County was created in 1925, the last county organized in Florida. It was originally set to be named Melon County due to watermelons being one of the main exports from the area; however, the death of Albert W. Gilchrist,

Governor of Florida The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Government of Florida#Executive branch, executive branch of the government of Florida and is the comman ...

from 1909 to 1913, prompted its renaming to Gilchrist County instead. It was formed by residents of what was then western Alachua County, as they believed they were not getting adequate representation on the county commission. With the poor roads of the time, they felt it took too long to get to the county seat of Gainesville. They disagreed about a proposed law that would require fencing in cattle in the rural area. They also believed that they would be better off by getting their own share of racetrack revenues, which the state distributed by county."Gilchrist County, Florida"
EReference Desk, 2004-2018 Much of the county was farmland and timberland when formed, and it is largely rural. Several natural springs are adjacent to the Santa Fe River, including

Ginnie Springs Ginnie Springs is a privately owned park in Gilchrist County about northwest of High Springs, Florida, USA. It is located on the south side of the Santa Fe River, to which it is connected. The water is clear and cold and there are accessible c ...

, Hart Springs, and Gilchrist Blue Springs, the last of which became a Florida state park in 2017.

Historic buildings

Historic buildings in Gilchrist County include: * First Baptist Church, on East Wade Street * Gilchrist County Courthouse * Trenton Depot * Jennings Lake Seventh-Day Adventist Church * The old

Trenton Church of Christ The old Trenton Church of Christ is an historic one-story Churches of Christ, Church of Christ church building located on the southeast corner of U.S. Route 129 in Florida, South Main Street and Southeast 1st Avenue, just south of the Gilchrist ...

on South Main Street. * Gilchrist County Jail, built in 1926, operated from 1928 to 1968.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in Florida by land area and fourth-smallest by total area.

Adjacent counties

Columbia County, Florida Columbia County is a County (United States), county located in the North Central Florida, north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 69,698, up from 67,531 at the 2010 ...

– northeast *

Alachua County, Florida 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. History Prehistory and ear ...

– east *

Levy County, Florida Levy County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the North central Florida part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 42,915. Its county seat is Bronson, Florida, Brons ...

– south *

Dixie County, Florida Dixie County is a county located in the Big Bend region of the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,759. Its county seat is Cross City. History Dixie County was created in 1921 from the s ...

– southwest *

Suwannee County, Florida Suwannee County is a county located in the north central portion of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,474, up from 41,551 in 2010. Its county seat is Live Oak. Suwannee County was a dry county until August 201 ...

– northwest *

Lafayette County, Florida Lafayette County is a county located in the north central portion of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,226, making it the second-least populous county in Florida. The county seat is Mayo. Lafayette County is a ...

– northwest

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,864 people, 6,701 households, and 4,463 families residing in the county. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 14,437 people, 5,021 households, and 3,715 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,906 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.52%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.00%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.37% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.69% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. 2.80% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. In terms of ancestry, 16.9% were English, 13.9% were Irish, 13.7% were American, and 11.4% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. There were 5,021 households, out of which 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.00% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.00% were non-families. 21.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.40% under the age of 18, 14.20% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,328, and the median income for a family was $34,485. Males had a median income of $27,359 versus $21,946 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $13,985. About 10.90% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 17.60% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The ''Trenton State Farmer's Market'' is located on State Road 47, north of Trenton."Trenton State Farmer's Market"
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans maintain a majority of registered voters in Gilchrist County.

Statewide elections

Library

The Gilchrist County Public library is part of the Three Rivers Regional Library System, which also serves

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas have shifted over the years), or the extent of the area i ...

, Lafayette, and

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

counties.

Communities

Cities

* Fanning Springs (shared with Levy County) * Trenton (county seat)

Town

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

Census-designated place

* Spring Ridge

Other unincorporated communities

* Wilcox * Wilcox Junction

Transportation

Major highways

* * * *

Notable people

* Easton Corbin, country music singer *

Wyatt Langford Wyatt Michael Langford (born November 15, 2001) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Langford played college baseball for the Florida Gators. He was selected fourth overall by the ...

, Texas Ranger's Leftfielder

Notes

References

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Gilchrist County Board of County Commissioners

Gilchrist County Supervisor of Elections

Gilchrist County Property Appraiser

Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office

Gilchrist County Tax Collector

Special districts

Gilchrist County Public Schools

Suwannee River Water Management District
ead link August 26, 2016

Judicial branch

Gilchrist County Clerk of Courts

Office of the State Attorney, 8th Judicial Circuit of Florida
serving Alachua,

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, Gilchrist, Levy and Union Counties
Circuit and County Court for the 8th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Museum and Library Resources

''The Gilchrist County Journal,''
the local newspaper for Gilchrist County, Florida fully and openly available in th
Florida Digital Newspaper Library
{{Coord, 29.73, -82.80, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-FL_source:UScensus1990 Florida counties 1925 establishments in Florida Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida North Florida Populated places established in 1925