History of the city of Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville has a long history that dates back by around 700 AD. Its first settlers were the people of Alachua culture.  A Spanish merchant named Don Fernando de la Maza Arredondo was given a Spanish land were Gainesville is situated.  Spanish colonists then use Payne’s Prairie as a cattle ranch which is named La Chua. The ranch was then destroyed by raiders but eventually gave the name to the Alachua band who settled in the 18^th century.

The modern Alachua county seat was moved to Newnansville and used the name Gainesville in the year 1853. It was named after Seminole Indian War General Edmund P. Gaines. Florida achieved statehood in 1845 when the population began to grow. This happened due to the proposed Florida Railroad which bypassed Newnansville. After a month, a man named Major James B. Bailey sold over sixty acres of his land to be used for this city. It was known that his house remained the oldest house in Gainesville.  The place was then restructured and is now a nursing home for elders.

The original city was composed of a courthouse, a school, and has a passenger train. The first school was built in 1856 and the first passenger train was conducted on the year 1859. In the year 1860, Alachua county had a population 0f 8000 and the main city of Gainesville had 232 people. The civil war has greatly affected the development of Gainesville. It slowed down its development when it became the site of a Confederate storehouse and witnessed two battles. The first one was February 15, 1864 while the second was August 17, 1864. When the civil war was over, the town was reconstructed and thrived to prosperity. The first school founded was East Florida Seminary for white students and the Union Academy for African Americans. During this time, Gainesville becomes the center of a largest cotton shipping station. Gainesville reached 2000 of its population. By 1880’s, citrus and vegetable farming was their main crop but ended when the great freeze happened in 1894-1899. Although, they tried to replace the crops with phosphate and lumbering business. The economy did not do well.

In 1880’s, two major fire broke in Gainesville that forced the town to rebuilt its structures to a new red brick courthouse. It was known before that Gainesville’s old buildings are made of woods thus they are prone to fire. This development signaled the town to becoming a city as major public improvement followed. There was a public water system built, telephone and electricity. The streets were built with bricks all over. Gainesville became the largest city after it almost reached 4000 population in 1900’s.

In 1905, a significant event happened in the city of Gainesville when it was chosen as the site of University of Florida. The University helped Gainesville emerged from economic downfall during World War 1. The University has a Gothic style when it first opened to students. In the World War 2, the University had expanded and the population began to grow. Neighborhood parks were built to attract residents and students studying in the university. It has become one of the main attractions in Gainesville.

By the year 1970, Gainesville became a professional center and government buildings were built. New residents were attracted to the old Victorian houses and wanted to preserve the neighborhood. This inspired the people to give financial support in restoring the old buildings like the old post office, hotels and other landmarks as they are already historical. This made Gainesville rich in culture and history.