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Coordinates: 29°41′N 82°22′W / 29.683, -82.367

Alachua County, Florida
Logo of Alachua County, Florida
Logo
Map of Florida highlighting Alachua County
Location in the state of Florida
Map of the U.S
Florida's location in the U.S.
Founded February 29, 1824
Named for Chua (Timucuan word for "sinkhole")
Seat Gainesville
Largest city Gainesville
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

969.12 sq mi (2,510 km²)
874.25 sq mi (2,264 km²)
94.88 sq mi (246 km²), 9.8%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

278,468
282.91/sq mi (109.24/km²)
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.alachuacounty.us

Alachua County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The 2020 census population for the county is 278,468. Its county seat is Gainesville, Florida[1]. Alachua County is the home of the University of Florida and is also known for its diverse culture, local music, and artisans. Much of its economy revolves around the university.

History[]

The Alachua area appears to have been the first area occupied by the immigrant Oconees, the original Seminoles, about 1740. Their first town was situated on or near the old Alachua plain, now called Payne's Prairie in homage to "King" Payne, chief of the Alachua settlements upon his death in 1812.

The meaning of Alachua is suggested by a passage in the journal of Lieutenant Diego Peña, who on his expedition to Apalachee and Apalachicola in 1716, traversed the region, and of the area between the Ichetucknee and Suwannee Rivers in southern Suwannee County remarks:

The 21st day I left the said site (adjacent to the Itchtucknee River) and camped at a place they call Aquilachua this day I marched five leagues. In this day's march no creeks were encountered but there are good springs of water, and the first (is) named Usichua, (and) the other Usiparachua, and another Afanochua.

That the springs without effluent streams were sinkholes is consistent with the area, which has many. The names of these watering places all possess the terminator chua, which suggests that chua is the Timucuan name for sinkhole. This inference is not inconsistent with the general opinion of residents of the county, that the name Alachua means sinkhole.[2]

Alachua County proper was created in 1824. The original county seat was Newnansville located near the current site of the city of Alachua. In 1853, the new railroad from Fernandina to Cedar Key bypassed Newnansville, and Gainesville, a new town that was located on the railroad, began to draw business and residents away from Newnansville. Gainesville became the county seat the following year.[3]

Geography[]

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 969.12 square miles (2,510.0 km2), of which 874.25 square miles (2,264.3 km2) (or 90.21%) is land and 94.88 square miles (245.7 km2) (or 9.79%) is water.[4] Alachua County is part of the Gainesville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Adjacent Counties

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1840 2,282
1850 2,524 10.6%
1860 8,232 226.1%
1870 17,328 110.5%
1880 16,462 −5.0%
1890 22,934 39.3%
1900 32,245 40.6%
1910 34,305 6.4%
1920 31,689 −7.6%
1930 34,365 8.4%
1940 38,607 12.3%
1950 57,026 47.7%
1960 74,074 29.9%
1970 104,764 41.4%
1980 151,348 44.5%
1990 181,596 20.0%
2000 217,955 20.0%
2010 247,336 13.5%
[5][6][7]

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 217,955 people, 87,509 households, and 47,779 families residing in the county. The population density was 249.31/sq mi (94.93/km²). There were 95,113 housing units at an average density of 108.79/sq mi (42.01/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 73.47% White, 19.30% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 3.54% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.40% from other races, and 2.02% from two or more races. 5.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 11.2% were of German, 9.8% English, 9.3% American, 9.1% Irish and 5.0% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 88.9% spoke English and 5.6% Spanish as their first language.

There were 87,509 households out of which 25.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.80% were married couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.40% were non-families. 29.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county the population was spread out with 20.20% under the age of 18, 23.20% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 19.30% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,426, and the median income for a family was $46,587. Males had a median income of $31,971 versus $26,059 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,465. About 12.20% of families and 22.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.40% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over.

Alachua County (Gainesville)

Alachua County Judicial Center in Gainesville

Education[]

The entire county of Alachua is served by the Alachua County School District, which has some 47 different institutions in the county. Alachua county is also home to the University of Florida and Santa Fe College.

Places[]

Cities[]

  1. Alachua
  2. Archer
  3. Gainesville
  4. Hawthorne
  5. High Springs
  6. Newberry
  7. Waldo

Towns[]

  1. LaCrosse
  2. Micanopy

Unincorporated[]

  1. Campville
  2. Cross Creek
  3. Evinston, extends into Marion County
  4. Fairbanks
  5. Grove Park
  6. Hague
  7. Haile
  8. Haile Plantation
  9. Jonesville
  10. Melrose, extends into Bradford, Clay, and Putnam counties
  11. Rochelle
  12. Santa Fe
  13. Windsor

Politics[]

Like many other counties containing large state universities, Alachua County regularly supports the Democratic Party. It has voted for the Democratic candidate for president in the past eight elections. The county last supported a Republican presidential candidate in 1988, when it narrowly went for George H. W. Bush.

United States presidential election results for Alachua County, Florida[9]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 50,972 35.63% 89,704 62.71% 2,371 1.66%
2016 46,834 36.00% 75,820 58.28% 7,446 5.72%
2012 48,797 40.40% 69,699 57.71% 2,277 1.89%
2008 48,513 38.51% 75,565 59.99% 1,889 1.50%
2004 47,762 42.90% 62,504 56.14% 1,062 0.95%
2000 34,135 39.80% 47,380 55.25% 4,242 4.95%
1996 25,316 33.97% 40,161 53.90% 9,039 12.13%
1992 22,813 29.87% 37,888 49.61% 15,671 20.52%
1988 30,153 50.08% 29,396 48.82% 664 1.10%
1984 30,609 53.46% 26,584 46.43% 60 0.10%
1980 19,804 38.56% 26,849 52.27% 4,711 9.17%
1976 15,546 34.87% 27,895 62.58% 1,137 2.55%
1972 22,536 56.54% 17,245 43.26% 80 0.20%
1968 9,670 34.02% 10,060 35.39% 8,696 30.59%
1964 11,151 45.27% 13,483 54.73% 0 0.00%
1960 10,072 52.05% 9,279 47.95% 0 0.00%
1956 7,939 53.54% 6,889 46.46% 0 0.00%
1952 8,432 58.47% 5,990 41.53% 0 0.00%
1948 2,403 23.60% 3,745 36.78% 4,034 39.62%
1944 1,690 22.70% 5,755 77.30% 0 0.00%
1940 1,372 16.97% 6,714 83.03% 0 0.00%
1936 890 15.67% 4,788 84.33% 0 0.00%
1932 983 21.90% 3,506 78.10% 0 0.00%
1928 132 2.35% 1,965 35.01% 3,515 62.63%
1924 528 18.90% 1,995 71.40% 271 9.70%
1920 1,119 24.52% 3,310 72.52% 135 2.96%
1916 440 17.29% 2,030 79.76% 75 2.95%
1912 221 12.77% 1,304 75.33% 206 11.90%
1908 686 33.79% 1,239 61.03% 105 5.17%
1904 543 28.24% 1,277 66.41% 103 5.36%
1900 334 19.02% 1,346 76.65% 76 4.33%
1896 645 28.73% 1,545 68.82% 55 2.45%
1892 0 0.00% 1,447 84.27% 270 15.73%



Landfills[]

Alachua County is the site of five closed landfills—Southwest Landfill, Southeast Landfill, Northwest Landfill, Northeast Landfill, and Northeast Auxiliary Landfill.[10] Since 1999, all solid waste from Alachua County has been hauled to the New River Solid Waste Facility in Raiford, in neighboring Union County.[11]

See also[]

  • Alachua County Library District
  • Florida State Parks in Alachua County
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Alachua County, Florida

Notes[]

External links[]

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Government links/Constitutional offices[]

Special districts[]

Judicial branch of State[]

Conservation and environmental organizations[]

Tourism links[]


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Alachua County, Florida. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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