Alachua 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 ...

in the north central portion 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. 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 Gainesville, the home of 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 ...

History

Prehistory and early European settlements

The first people known to have entered the area of Alachua County were

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 ...

, who left artifacts in the Santa Fe River basin before 8000 BC. Artifacts from the Archaic period (8000 - 2000 BC) have been found at several sites in Alachua County. Permanent settlements appeared in what is now Alachua County around 100 AD, as people of the wide-ranging

Deptford culture The Deptford culture (800 BCE—700 CE) was an archaeological culture in southeastern North America characterized by the appearance of elaborate ceremonial complexes, increasing social and political complexity, mound burial, permanent settlement ...

developed the local

Cades Pond culture The Cades Pond culture is defined as a Middle Woodland Southeast period archaeological culture in north-central Florida, dating from around 100 to 600 CE. Location The Cades Pond culture is found in an area roughly corresponding to present-day ...

. The Cades Pond culture gave way to the

Alachua culture The Alachua culture is a Late Woodland Southeast period archaeological culture in north-central Florida, dating from around 600 to 1700. It is found in an area roughly corresponding to present-day Alachua County, the northern half of Marion Coun ...

around 600 AD. The

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The va ...

-speaking

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 lived in the Alachua culture area in the 16th century, when the Spanish entered Florida. The Potano were incorporated by the colonists in the Spanish mission system, but new infectious diseases, rebellion, and raids by tribes backed by the English led to severe population declines. What is now Alachua County had lost much of its indigenous population by the early 18th century. In the 17th century, Francisco Menéndez Márquez, Royal Treasurer for

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida () was the first major European land-claim and attempted settlement-area in northern America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and th ...

, established the

La Chua ranch The La Chua ranch was the largest cattle ranch in Spanish Florida in the 17th century. Cattle ranching became an important part of the economy of Spanish Florida over the course of the 17th century. The La Chua ranch was founded in the middle of th ...

on the northern side of what is now known as

Payne's Prairie Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, encompassing a 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 (whi ...

, on a bluff overlooking the Alachua Sink. ''Chua'' may have been the

Timucua language Timucua is a language isolate formerly spoken in northern and central Florida and southern Georgia by the Timucua peoples. Timucua was the primary language used in the area at the time of Spanish colonization in Florida. Differences among the n ...

word for

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

. Lieutenant Diego Peña reported in 1716 that he passed by springs named Aquilachua, Usichua, Usiparachua, and Afanochua while traveling through what is now

Suwannee County 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 ...

. In the twentieth-century,

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

J. Clarence Simpson assumed the named springs were in fact

sinkholes A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

. The Spanish later called the interior of Florida west of the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River () is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders 12 counties. The drop in elevation from River s ...

''Tierras de la Chua'', which became "Alachua Country" in English. Around 1740, a band of

Oconee people Oconee was a tribal town of Mikasuki language, Hitchiti-speaking Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands during the 17th and 18th centuries. First mentioned by the Spanish Florida, Spanish as part of the Apalachicola Province on the Chat ...

led by

Ahaya Ahaya (c. 1710 – 1783) was the first recorded chief of the Alachua band of the Seminole tribe. European-Americans called him Cowkeeper, as he held a very large herd of cattle. Ahaya was the chief of a town of Oconee people near the Chattahooche ...

, who was called "Cowkeeper" by the English, settled on what is now Payne's Prairie. Ahaya's band became known as the Alachua Seminole. In 1774, botanist

William Bartram William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American naturalist, writer and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title Bartram's ''Travels'', which chronicled his explorations of the S ...

visited Ahaya's town, ''Cuscowilla'', near what Bartram called the Alachua Savanna.

King Payne King Payne (died 1812) was a son of the Seminole high chief Cowkeeper and succeeded him as leading chief of the Seminoles upon his death in 1783. He led his people against the Spanish and Americans from Georgia and established a number of towns ...

, who succeeded Ahaya as chief of the Alachua Seminole, established a new town known as Payne's Town. In 1812, during the

Patriot War of East Florida The Patriot War was an attempt in 1812 to foment a rebellion in Spanish East Florida with the intent of annexing the province to the United States. The invasion and the occupation of parts of East Florida had elements of filibustering but was al ...

, an attempt by American adventurers to seize Spanish Florida, a force of more than 100 volunteers from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

led by Colonel

Daniel Newnan Daniel Newnan (1780 – January 16, 1851) was an American politician and military commander in Spanish Florida (fighting against Seminole people), North Carolina and Georgia. Early years and education Born in Salisbury, North Carolina in 178 ...

encountered a band of Alachua Seminole led by King Payne near

Newnans Lake Newnans Lake (or Newnan's Lake) is a lake located off State Road 20, east of Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a populat ...

. After several days of intermittent fighting, Colonel Newnan's force withdrew. King Payne was wounded in the fight and died two months later. The Alachua Seminole then left Payne's Town and moved farther west and south, but other bands of Seminole moved in. A second American expedition in 1813 of U. S. Army troops and militia from Tennessee, led by Lt. Colonel

Thomas Adams Smith Thomas Adams Smith was an American military officer and, later, a government official, in the first half of the 19th century. He commanded troops in the "Patriot War" in Spanish East Florida. He commanded the Regiment of Riflemen and then the N ...

, found some Seminoles, killing about 20, and burned every Seminole village they could find in the area. In 1814, a group of more than 100 American settlers moved to a point believed to be near the abandoned Payne's Town (near present-day

Micanopy Micanopy (c. 1780 – December 1848 or January 1849), also known as Mick-e-no-páh, Micco-Nuppe, Michenopah, Miccanopa, and Mico-an-opa, and Sint-chakkee ("pond frequenter", as he was known before being selected as chief), was the leading ...

) and declared the establishment of the District of Elotchaway of the Republic of East Florida. The settlement collapsed a few months later after its leader, Colonel Buckner Harris, was killed by Seminole. The remaining settlers returned to Georgia.

Early American settlements

In 1817, F. M. Arredondo received the 20-mile square Arredondo Grant in the southern part of what is Alachua County. By the time Florida was formally transferred from Spain to the United States, people from the United States and from Europe were settling in the area. Wanton's Store, near the site of the abandoned King Payne's Town, attracted settlers, primarily from Europe, who founded

. The 1823

Treaty of Moultrie Creek The Treaty of Moultrie Creek, also known as the Treaty with the Florida Tribes of Indians, was an agreement signed in 1823 between the government of the United States and the chiefs of several groups and bands of Native Americans living in the p ...

required the Seminole to move a reservation south of what is now

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making it the 43rd-most popul ...

, and the flow of settlers into the area increased. Many settlers occupied former Seminole towns, such as Hogtown. Alachua County was created by the Florida territorial legislature in 1824. The new county stretched from the border with Georgia, south to Charlotte Harbor. The original

was Wanton's (per the store, as the name Micanopy had not been adopted). In 1828, the county seat was moved to Newnansville, near the current site of the city of Alachua. As the area's population increased, Alachua County's size was reduced to organize new counties. In 1832, the county's northern part, including Newnansville, was separated to create Columbia County, forcing the county seat to move to various temporary locations, then to Spring Grove, from 1836 to 1839. In 1834, Hillsborough County was created, which included the area around

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

down to Charlotte Harbor. In 1839, that part of Columbia County south of the Santa Fe River was returned to Alachua County, and Newnansville was restored as the county seat.

Hernando County Hernando County () is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 194,515. Its county seat is Brooksville, and its largest community is Spring Hill. Hernando County is in ...

was created in 1843 from that part of Alachua County south of the Withlacoochee River; Marion County was created in 1844; and

Levy County Levy County ( ) is a county located in the North central Florida part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,915. Its county seat is Bronson. It has been included in the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan ...

was created in 1846 from that part of Alachua County west of the

Suwannee River The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River or Swanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the Southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrog ...

. It would be another 80 years before Alachua County was again reduced in size. In 1853, the residents of Alachua County realized that the route of the planned

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 ...

connecting Fernandina to

Cedar Key Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 687, down from 702 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of ...

would bypass Newnansville. A general meeting at Boulware Springs was called to consider moving the county seat to a new town on the expected route of the railroad. The motion to move the county seat was hotly contested by the residents of Newnansville, but Tillman Ingram, a plantation owner in Hogtown who owned a sawmill there, offered to build a courthouse in the new town. The offer was for such as favorable price that the move was approved. At tha time, the name "Gainesville" was chosen for the new town. The county seat was moved to Gainesville in late 1856, upon completion of the new courthouse.

Lynchings and disenfranchisement

During the post-Reconstruction period, White Democrats regained control of the state legislature and worked to restore White supremacy. Violence against Blacks, including lynchings, rose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as Whites imposed

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

and discriminatory laws, disenfranchising most blacks, which forced them out of the political system. Alachua County was the site of 21 documented

lynchings Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of in ...

between 1891 and 1926.Nicole Dan, "Newberry Lynchings: Should They Be Memorialized?"
WUFT-TV, December 6, 2017; accessed March 20, 2018 The first three documented lynchings, in Gainesville in 1891, involved two Black men and a White man, who were associated with the notorious Harmon Murray. Ten lynchings took place in

Newberry Newberry is a surname, a variant of Newbury. Notable people with the surname include: * Booker Newberry III (1956–2023), American singer and keyboardist * Brennan Newberry (born, 1990), American professional stock car racing driver * Brian Ne ...

, six of them in a mass lynching there in 1916. These lynchings were conducted outside the justice system, by mobs or small groups working alone. Nineteen of the victims were Black; two were White. (A 2015 report by the

Equal Justice Initiative The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is a non-profit organization, based in Montgomery, Alabama, that provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and ot ...

, based in Montgomery, Alabama, had identified 18 lynchings. The Historical Commission documented three more, including two white men.) In September 2017, the county commission approved plans to place markers with the names of the victims in the county. (See linked article for names of these individuals.) They are working with the Historical Commission and cities to discuss how best to achieve this. A state historical marker on the Newberry Lynchings was dedicated in 2019.

Contemporary history

On February 15, 2023, the board of county commissioners for Alachua County voted to support the proposed amendment to the Florida state constitution that is entitled, Florida Right To Clean And Healthy Waters, making Alachua the first county in the state to lend its support for adoption of the proposed amendment. The proposed amendment is the subject of a statewide, nonpartisan campaign to place adoption of it before all Florida voters on the 2024 ballot. The adoption was signed into effect by its chair, Anna Prizzia, after a unanimous vote by the board.

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 (9.7%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Bradford County - north * Union County - north *

Clay County, Florida Clay County is a County (United States), county located in the First Coast, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida along the west bank of the St. Johns River. As of 2020, the population was 218,245 and in 2023, that number increased to ...

- northeast * Putnam County - east * Marion County - southeast *

- southwest * Gilchrist County - west * Columbia County - northwest

Demographics

2023_Race_in_Alachua_County_by_Census_Tracts

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 278,468 people, 101,979 households, and 50,803 families residing in the county. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 247,336 people, 100,516 households, and 53,500 families residing in the county. There were 112,766 housing units in the county, an occupancy rate of 89.1%; of the occupied units, 54,768 (54.5%) were owner-occupied and 45,748 (45.5%) were renter-occupied. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . The racial makeup of the county was 172,156 (69.9%) White, 50,282 (20.3%) Black or African American, 906 (0.3%) Native American, 13,235 (5.4%) Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.7% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. 20,752 (8.4%) of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 100,516 households, 22.0% included children under the age of 18, 36.4% included a married husband and wife couple, 4.0% had a male head of house with no wife present, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.8% were non-families. 24.8% of all households included at least one child under the age of 18, and 19.6% included at least one member 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.91. The demographic spread showed 17.9% under the age of 18 and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older; 48.4% of the population identified as male and 51.6% as female. The median age was 30.1 years. The five year

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

completed 2011 gave a median household income of $41,473 (inflation indexed to 2011 dollars) and a median family income of $63,435. Male full-time year round workers had a median income of $42,865, versus $36,351 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 $25,172; 23.6% of the population was living 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 ...

Languages

, 86.43% of the population spoke

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

as their

primary language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

, while

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

was spoken by 6.38%, 1.18% spoke

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

, 0.57% were speakers of

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

, and 0.52% spoke

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

as their

native language A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period hypothesis, critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' ...

Education

The Alachua County School District and its 47 institutions serve the entire county. Alachua County is also home to the

and

Santa Fe College Santa Fe College is a public college in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida College System and offers both associate and baccalaureate degree programs. Established in 1965 by the Florida Legislature as Santa Fe Junior ...

Library

The Alachua County Library District is an independent special taxing district and the sole provider of public library service to approximately 250,000 citizens of Alachua County. This includes all of the incorporated municipalities in the county. It maintains a library headquarters and four branches in Gainesville. These locations include the Millhopper Branch in northwest Gainesville, the Tower Road Branch in unincorporated Alachua county southwest of Gainesville, the Library Partnership Branch in northeast Gainesville, and the Cone Park Branch in east Gainesville. The district also operates branches in the Alachua County municipalities of Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne, High Springs, Micanopy, Newberry, and Waldo, as well as a branch at the Alachua County Jail. The district's two bookmobiles visit more than 25 locations in the county from two to five times a month.

Library history

The Alachua County Library District traces its origins to 1905, when the Twentieth Century Club in Gainesville started a subscription library. The Gainesville Public Library, a subscription library operated by the Library Association, opened in 1906. The Twentieth Century Club donated the books from its subscription library, and the new library also received books from the library of the East Florida Seminary, which had been absorbed by the newly founded University of Florida. The Gainesville Public Library became a free library in 1918, supported by funds from city taxes from all residents, but it was available only to whites. The building was constructed with the aid of a Carnegie library grant. The library became a department of the Gainesville municipal government in 1949. It was not until 1953 and opening of the Carver Branch Library that the city's African Americans had access to a library, as public facilities were still segregated. The Carver Branch closed in 1969, after the main library's desegregation. In 1958, the city of Gainesville and Alachua County agreed to jointly operate the library for the county. Branch libraries opened in High Springs, Hawthorne, and Micanopy the next year, and a bookmobile was put into service. Alachua County joined with Bradford County to operate the Santa Fe Regional Library. After Bradford County withdrew from the Regional Library, the Alachua County Library District was formally established in 1986. The Millhopper and Tower Road branches opened in 1992, and the branches in Alachua, Archer, Newberry, and Waldo were all opened by 1997. The Library Partnership Branch opened in 2009, and the Cone Park Branch in 2011. A new, permanent location for the Cone Park Branch Library opened near the Eastside Community Center in Gainesville on December 14, 2013.

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * *

Airports

Gainesville Regional Airport Gainesville Regional Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville, in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is owned by Gainesville-Alachua County Regional Airport Authority. The National Plan of In ...

- Gainesville * Flying Ten Airport-

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...

* Oak Tree Landing Airport-

High Springs 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 ...

* Gleim Field Airport- Gainesville

Politics and government

Statewide elections

Like many other counties containing large state universities, Alachua County regularly supports the Democratic Party. It has voted for the Democratic candidate for

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

in the past eight elections. The county last supported a Republican presidential candidate in 1988, when it narrowly went for

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

Voter registration

As of May 31, 2024, the county had a Democratic Party plurality, with large Republican and independent minorities.

County offices

Alachua County is administered by the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners, a five-member legislative body. The Constitutional county-wide elected officials include the Clerk of the Court, the Supervisor of Elections, the Property Appraiser, the Sheriff, and the Tax Collector. The School Board and the Soil and Water Conservation District are also elected county-wide. Prior to 2024, county commissioners were elected at-large, but a ballot measure passed in 2022 created single-member district seats.

Law enforcement

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office is the chief

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

for unincorporated areas of Alachua County. , the current sheriff is Chad D. Scott, a Democrat who won the General election in November 2024. In June 2007, ten employees in the sheriff's office, including the jail's director, were either fired or resigned while being investigated. the sheriff's office had at least one

Lenco BearCat The Lenco BearCat is a wheeled SWAT vehicle designed for military and law enforcement use. It is in use by numerous military forces and law enforcement agencies around the world. History Since 1981 the Massachusetts-based Lenco Industries, known ...

armored vehicle and two

helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

provided by the federal government under various programs. The office received criticism after the BearCat was used in a routine traffic stop. On August 9, 2021, a prison inmate, Erica Thompson, gave birth while being held in Alachua County Jail. Her baby died. Despite the mother's screams, jail staff did not provide or call for medical assistance. An investigation held that law enforcement did not violate any law or policy.

Landfills

Alachua County is the site of five closed landfills—Southwest Landfill, Southeast Landfill, Northwest Landfill, Northeast Landfill, and Northeast Auxiliary Landfill. Since 1999, all solid waste from Alachua County has been hauled to the New River Solid Waste Facility in Raiford, in neighboring Union County.

Communities

Unincorporated communities

Arredondo Arredondo is a surname of Spanish origin. Notable people with the surname include: Arts and entertainment * Claudio Arredondo (born 1962), Chilean actor * Héctor Arredondo (1970–2014), Mexican actor * Inés Arredondo (1928–1989), Mexican wri ...

* Bland * Campville * Cross Creek * Earleton * Evinston, partly in Marion County * Fairbanks *

Flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

* Fort Clarke *

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

* Grove Park *

Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

* Haile * Haile Plantation * Island Grove * Jonesville * Lochloosa *

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...

, partly in Bradford, Clay, and Putnam counties * Monteocha * Orange Heights * Pinesville * Rochelle * Rutledge *

Tioga Tioga may refer to: United States communities *Tioga, California, former name of Bennettville, California *Tioga, Colorado * Tioga, Florida * Tioga, Iowa * Tioga, Louisiana * Tioga, Michigan * Tioga, New York, a town in Tioga County *Tioga County, ...

* Traxler * Wacahoota, partly in Levy and Marion counties *

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

Historic communities

Alachua County had a number of populated places, usually with a post office, established in the 19th century or early 20th century, but which were abandoned or had a much reduced population by the middle of the 20th century. Notable historic communities include: * Hogtown was originally a Seminole village. It was abandoned after Gainesville was founded. The site of the former community was later annexed into the city of Gainesville. * Newnansville was the first county seat of Alachua County. It lost importance (and the county seat) after the railroads bypassed it, and it was abandoned by the early 20th century. *

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

was a suburb of Gainesville that was eventually annexed into the city of Gainesville. * Spring Grove was the second county seat of Alachua County, after Newnansville was included in the newly created Columbia County, until Newnansville was returned to Alachua County and restored as the county seat. It was abandoned sometime in the middle of the 19th century.

Notes

External links

Alachua County
{{authority control 1824 establishments in Florida Territory Florida placenames of Native American origin Charter counties in Florida Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida North Florida Populated places established in 1824