Alachua, Florida
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Alachua ( ) is the second-most populous city in
Alachua County 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 ...
,
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 ...
, 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 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. Alachua has one of the largest bio and life sciences sectors in Florida and is the site for th
Santa Fe College Perry Center for Emerging Technologies


History

Evidence of habitation by pre-historic
Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...
exists in several documented locations within the San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park. In the historic era, the primary town for the
Potano The Potano (also Potanou or Potavou, Timucua: ''Potano'' "That is happening now") tribe lived in north-central Florida at the time of first European contact. Their territory included what is now Alachua County, the northern half of Marion County ...
tribe that lived throughout North Central Florida also was within San Felasco. This town became the site of the first Spanish doctrina (mission with a resident priest) in the Florida interior in 1606, Mission San Francisco de Potano, and it was the last to be abandoned by the Spanish in the early 1700s due to raids instigated by the British. Nearby to the north along the Santa Fe River was another mission, Santa Fe de Toloca, which was part of the mission chain stretching from St. Augustine to Pensacola. The area slightly northeast of the current city of Alachua was among the first settled by Americans in Florida in the early 19th century. Many participants in the
Patriot War The Patriot War was a conflict along the Canada–United States border in which bands of raiders attacked the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British colony of Upper Canada more than a dozen times between December 1837 and Decemb ...
that attempted to force the annexation of Florida to the United States from the Spanish resided there, including the Dell family. The exact date of first settlement is unknown, but the community first known as Dell's Courthouse then later renamed as Newnansville is, along with Micanopy, the oldest distinctly American settlement in the state. The Methodist church that started with the Dell family continues to this day and is the oldest in the state
First United Methodist Church of Alachua
Newnansville became the second county seat of Alachua County and one of the central locations for activity during the
Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...
, with the inclusion of Fort Gilleland within its borders. The influx of settlers seeking refuge within the city temporarily increased the population between 1,500 and 2,000, making it one of the largest cities in the state. When the first cross-state railroad, the
Florida Railroad The Florida Railroad was the first railroad to connect the east and west coasts of Florida, running from Original Town of Fernandina Historic Site, Fernandina to Cedar Key, Florida, Cedar Key. The line later became part of the Seaboard Air Line R ...
, bypassed Newnansville in the early 1850s, members of the County Commission voted by a slim margin to relocate the county seat along the rail line in a centrally-located, new city to be called Gainesville. Newnansville began to lose influence and, when the Savannah, Florida, and Western Railroad bypassed the city by about 1.5 miles to the southwest in the early 1880s, citizens began to relocate along the new rail line (eventually abandoning Newnansville and turning it into a ghost town) and established the city of Alachua. Alachua was founded in 1884, with its
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
opening in 1887. It was incorporated as a city on 12 April 1905, at which time it had a population of 526 people. A third rail line passed through the new city, and a booming cotton industry helped support the building of several lavish Queen Anne-style homes and brick businesses along Main Street at the turn of the century. Alachua stagnated when the
boll weevil The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. The boll weevil feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19 ...
nearly destroyed the American cotton industry in 1919–1920, then through the Great Depression in the 1930s. The main industries through the middle of the twentieth century were lumber and food processing, notably through Duke Lumber Company and Copeland Sausage Company, respectively.
Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...
passed slightly to the west of Downtown Alachua when it was built in the 1960s, providing new access and economic opportunity. Alachua faced another downturn with the closing of Copeland Sausage in 1976, and by the 1980s the buildings and businesses on Main Street were in poor shape. A concerted effort by the citizens and local government of Alachua focused on rehabilitating Downtown, and the construction o
Progress Corporate Park
with the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
led to the creation of the UF Innovate Sid Martin Biotech Incubator which has resulted in the formation of one of the State's largest bio and life science business sectors. The largest Hare Krishna community in the Western Hemisphere is located in Alachua, with satellite communities throughout North Florida.


Geography

Alachua is located at (29.779286, −82.479849). According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.08%) is water.


Cityscape

Alachua's Main Street runs along a North-South direction and is the heart of the City of Alachua Downtown Historic District, which is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. The rest of the Historic District lies mainly to the west of Main Street and consists of residential structures built primarily in the early 20th century. Main Street is bisected by US Highway 441, which runs East-West along the old Atlantic Coast Line railway. The Historic District lies south of US 441.Selected historic structures of note that are listed in the Register: ;Main Street Businesses
14925 Main Street
(1898)
14933 Main Street
(1898)
14920 Main Street
(1900)
Old Movie Theater
(c. 1910)
Old First National Bank
(1909)
Stringfellow Building
(c. 1900)
Bank of Alachua
(1904)
Old Cigar Factory
(c. 1900)
Sealey Dry Goods
(c. 1900)
Eddy Store
(c. 1900)
Williams Store
(c. 1900)
Enneis Motor Company
(c. 1915) ;Main Street Residences
Pierce-Bishop House
(1898)
Mizell-Stephens House
(1910)
David Waters House
(c. 1900)
Williams-LeRoy House
(1901) Businesses line US 441 heading west toward the
Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...
corridor and east toward Gainesville. Heading east on US 441 lies Progress Corporate Park, which is the heart of Alachua's bio and life sciences sector. The northern entrance of the San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park is accessible through the corporate park entrance and also via the San Felasco Parkway, constructed in 2019 to aid in expansion of the corporate sector.


Demographics

Alachua is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.


2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,574 people, 3,873 households, and 2,557 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 9,059 people, 3,466 households, and 2,152 families residing in the city.


2000 census

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 6,098 people, 2,348 households, and 1,751 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,501 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 67.56%
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 ...
, 29.08%
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 ...
, 0.15% Native American, 1.12% Asian, 1.13% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races.
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 were 3.61% of the population. In 2000, there were 2,348 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.97. In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $38,075, and the median income for a family was $49,542. Males had a median income of $36,315 versus $28,018 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 city was $18,299. About 14.0% of families and 16.0% 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 22.3% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

The median household income in Alachua according to the US Census Bureau is $72,491, which is above both the average Alachua County median household income of $57,566 and the state of Florida median household income of $67,917. Alachua offers the lowest residential electric utility rate in Florida.


Top employers

The local economy is highlighted by one of the largest bio and life science business clusters in Florida and a growing number of distribution centers located primarily in the southwest section of the city near its interchange with I-75. According to Alachua's 2023 Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:


Education

Alachua is served by the School Board of Alachua County, which operates two elementary schools
W.W. Irby Elementary
(K–2)
Alachua Elementary
(3–5)
A.L. Mebane Middle School
and Santa Fe High School in the city, and the Alachua County Library District, which operates a branch library in the city. Alachua is home to th
Alachua Learning Academy
a K–8th grade public charter school. Th
Santa Fe College Perry Center for Emerging Technologies
is located in Alachua across the street fro
Progress Corporate Park
which houses one of the largest bio and life science business clusters in the state.BiotechnologyAgriScience
an
veterinary assisting
magnet programs at A.L. Mebane Middle School and Santa Fe High School are intended to help students prepare for the Biotechnology Laboratory Technology, A.S. degree at Santa Fe College. Alachua is considered to be one of the locations in the United States with the most book ban challenges to its public school system.


Culture

Alachua has a very activ
recreation program
centered around the facilities at Hal Brady Recreation Complex and Legacy Park. Youth activities that are offered include baseball, softball, tackle football and cheerleading, girls volleyball, soccer, and basketball. Adult activities include Zumba and karate as well as open gym availability a
Legacy Park Multipurpose Center
Senior activities offered at th
Cleather Hathcock Community Center
include bingo, arts and crafts, and food distribution in partnership wit
St. Matthew Baptist Church
There are several regular events and festivals held in Alachua: * Fourth of July Celebration (The Largest Small Town Fireworks Display in America) * Movies in the Park * Legacy Park Concert Series * Legacy Park Summer Camp * Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration * Nutcracker Under the Stars by Dance Alive National Ballet
Holiday Nights on Main
including Christmas tree lighting, parade and charity ball * Trick or Treat on Main Street
Tour de Felasco
* Alachua Main Street Fall Festival


Media


Print

The newspaper '' Alachua County Today'' has its headquarters in the city of Alachua. The paper serves all the communities within Alachua County, but it focuses on smaller municipalities outside Gainesville.


Points of Interest


Alachua Hare Krishna Temple

Alachua Skate Park

Alachua Splash Park

Hal Brady Recreation Complex

Legacy Park Recreation Complex

Main Street Alachua

Mill Creek Farm Retirement Home for Horses

Mill Creek Preserve
* Newnansville Town Site * San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park
San Felasco Tech City

Santa Fe River Preserve
* Turkey Creek Preserve


Notable People

* Josiah T. Walls,
Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...
politician * Matthew M. Lewey, pioneer African American newspaper publisher
Albert Leonidas (A.L.) Mebane
pioneer African American educator during Segregation Era * Philip Dell, former Speaker of the
Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...
and President of the
Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...
* Rod Smith, former Florida state senator and gubernatorial candidate * Chuck Clemons, Florida congressman * Clovis Watson Jr., former Florida congressman and Alachua County Sheriff * Craig Fugate, former Administrator of
FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
(Federal Emergency Management Agency) * Michael Alan Singer, author * Miranda Uhl, gold medal-winning American
Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...
swimmer * Hewritt Dixon, former NFL running back * Mike Peterson, former NFL linebacker, inductee into University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame *
Adrian Peterson Adrian Lewis Peterson (; born March 21, 1985) is an American former professional football running back who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football hist ...
, former NFL running back, inductee into
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
* Tracy Ham, former NFL and CFL quarterback, inductee into both College Football and
Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...
* Dwayne Dixon, former college WR coach, inductee into Arena Football Hall of Fame and University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame * Linval Joseph, NFL defensive tackle * Lenny DiNardo, former
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher * Kirby Snead, MLB pitcher


References


External links


City of Alachua official website

City of Alachua Facebook page
{{Authority control Cities in Alachua County, Florida Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida Populated places established in 1884 Cities in Florida Florida placenames of Native American origin 1884 establishments in Florida