Lake City, Florida

Journey through a 150 years

Cleo RobertsonAnthropology 110-0112/12/2008

The Geography

Lake City is located in the state of Florida, in the United States.

The location of Lake City was a Seminole village named Alpata Telophka, meaning "Alligator Town".

The Area of the city is11.1 sq mi.

Map of Lake City

Early History

Before the British and the Americans the Spanish controlled and had great influence over the natives and introduced new plants and animals to the Florida landscape, such as orange and peach trees, cotton plants, cows, horses, and hogs.

Florida was traded to Great Britain in 1763

Before British ownership there were no white settlers.

By 1821 when the United States purchased of Florida there was a great deal of conflict between the white settlers and native Indians.

Much of the conflict was caused by run away slaves, the slave owners raided the Indians villages to retrieve their slaves.

The Beginning

In 1817 the native settlers of Alligator Town were Seminole Indians, led by Chief Halpatter Tustennuggee also known as Chief Alligator form whom the town got its original name, Alligator Town.A white American town called Alligator was established by the year 1830, adjacent to the Seminole town. In 1832 Columbia County was founded and Alligator Town became the county seat.The two towns were later incorporated and the name Lake City was the official name in1859.The name of the town was changed because the mayor’s wife refused to hang her lace curtains in a town called Alligator.

Lake City’s Welcome Sign

Historic signpost

Developing the City

By 1859 the Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroads were built through the city it became a transportation hub and the economy was on the rise. The Civil War (1861–1865) inhibited the economy

In the period between 1876 and1900 Lake City enjoyed strong growth and development.

The reconstruction of the railroad lines has caused Lake City to become a tourist hotspot.

Agricultural products of the area included tobacco, corn, peanuts, cotton, melons, and other fruits and vegetables.

Approaching the 20th Century

Detail - Panoramic-view of Lake City, 1885

The 20th Century

The Court House in Lake City

Centered in the

panoramic map is the

County Courthouse, labeled with

a 2.

Continuing Growth of the City

Transportation was developing more and more, Lake City was now served by the Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line, Georgia Southern, and the Florida Railroad. The forestry industry (turpentine, lumber, pulpwood) had become important to the local economy.The population in 1950 was 7,467.

The Present

It is Columbia County's economic and governmental center.

It boasts the fastest growing population in Florida, in 2006 the population was reported as 11,953. Six years prior (2000) the population was 9,980.

Lake City is also known as the “Gateway to Florida” because of it’s accessibility to Interstates I-75 and I-10.

Demographics

From the 2000 census the racial makeup of the city was 59.32% White, 37.46% African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. 2.82% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race. The population density was 944.8/sq mi (364.9/km²). There were 4,536 housing units at an average density of 429.4/sq mi (165.8/km²). The violent crime rate, on a scale from 1 to 10, is 5.

Economy

The median income for a household in the city is $26,161, and the median income for a family is $31,920. 20.5% of the population is below the poverty level. Lake City has three hospitals and over 2,000 hotel rooms. There are many big name chain stores located in Lake City like Super Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot and several large retail clothing chains. 

A Bit of History

Lake City is the home for the Osceola National Forest, the location of the Olustee Battle Festival and reenactment since 1976. The Olustee Battle was Florida’s largest Civil War Battle it took place near Lake City.In 1959 Lake City celebrated it’s Centennial with parades, fireworks and book documenting one hundred years of progress, called “A Century in the Sun”.Alligator Fest is hosted in Mid-October each year to commemorate the history of the town before the Civil War.

Depictions of the Olustee Battle

Alligator Fest Activities

Into the Future

Lake City still has the charm of a small community; however progressive planning and development is turning Lake City into a current and flourishing community with the ability to support modern conveniences and amenities.

Bibliography

Ichetucknee Springs Projection Study.http://www.geoplan.ufl.edu/projects/springs/stud4/index.html(Cited December 12, 2008).

O’Leary, C., History of Lake City and the Battle Olustee http://www.homeslakecityflorida.com/Lake%20City.htm

(Cited December 12, 2008).

Lake City, Florida. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_City,_Florida

(Cited December 13, 2008).

Romine, S., 2007 Lake City-On line http://www.lakecity-online.com/ (Cited December 14, 2008).