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About Marion County |
When the US Government
acquired Florida in 1821, scouts were sent to survey the
peninsula. They found that there was a vast population
of Seminole and Timucuan Indians. The government
wanted to populate the Florida peninsula with white
settlements, but the Seminole Indians were a major
obstacle. In 1825, the government
created an agency to oversee the Seminoles, in
what would become Marion County.
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Fort King |
Due to the animosity caused by relocating the Seminoles out of north
Florida, conflicts increased between the whites and Seminoles. A
military outpost was established by the U.S. Army to protect the
northern boundary of the Indian reservation created by the U.S. Two
companies of the U.S. Fourth Infantry under Capt. James M. Glassell
explored the area, and camped on a site near present-day Fort King
Street and Northeast 36th Avenue. The site was called Cantonment King,
or Camp King, in honor of the detachment's former commander, Col.
William King. Fort King was a central location during the Second
Seminole War.
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Marion County Is Formed |
Pioneers in Marion County came to the area for free land offered
under the Armed Occupation Act during the 1840s. Six military roads
converged on Fort King, making it an obvious meeting place. Soon a
store, a post office, the county's first courthouse, and a church sprang
up near the fort. There were no homes, however, because a provision of
the Armed Occupation Act outlawed any personal dwellings within two
miles of the fort. As a result, log cabins were scattered throughout the
dense, uncleared woodlands.
Between 1842 and 1844, the county was still a part of Alachua, Mosquito
(Orange) and Hillsborough counties. The closest county seat was in
Alachua, a difficult 50 miles from Fort King. As a result, early
settlers began to get restless for a new county.
Gabriel Priest, the first state senator from Marion, represented Alachua
County when he introduced the bill to create the new county. The
territorial legislative council authorized the formation of Marion
County, and the law was signed by Richard Keith Call, the territorial
governor, on March 25, 1844.
The following are brief histories of the five incorporated cities of
Marion County.
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| The Timucuan Indians were found in the area
of Marion County and practiced worship of the sun
thusly, Marion County is known as "Kingdom of the Sun"
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City of Ocala |
Families wanting the protection of Fort
King had settled around a nearby spring as early as 1837. Today the
spring flows through culverts under the Ocala Lincoln-Mercury parking
lot just south of the downtown square.
After Marion County was formed, efforts began to choose a new, permanent
county seat to replace the temporary quarters in Fort King. The county
commission passed a resolution on February 19, 1846, declaring that the
"county seat of this county shall be known as Ocala " and designating
the settlement around the spring.
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City of Belleview |
The City of Belleview was named by John P. Pelot for his
daughter Belle. Pelot was an early settler who owned most of the land in
the area. Located in the southern end of Marion County, it was
incorporated as a city in 1885. Although Belleview is less than two
square miles in size, it is located in the hub of growth, with the city
of Ocala to the north and The Villages to the south. Belleview is the
county's second largest city with approximately 3,500 residents.
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City of Dunnellon |
What began as seven small farming
communities boomed in 1889 with the discovery of phosphate in the area.
A period of prosperity followed and the town developed a railroad,
school, post office, electric lights, connected water and a wooden
bridge over the Withlacoochee River. Native vegetation and wildlife,
scenic nature trails and tranquil gardens, Dunnellon has plenty of the
natural beauty typical of the region. Surrounded by two beautiful rivers
(the Withlacoochee and the Rainbow) and steeped in a proudly preserved
history, Dunnellon embodies Old Florida character and charm.
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called the "Treasure of Florida's Nature Coast," Dunnellon is
home to Florida's second largest artesian spring, Rainbow
Springs, which feeds roughly 500 million gallons of crystal
clear water each day into the scenic Rainbow River.
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City of McIntosh |
Twenty miles north of Ocala on U.S. 441 near the
Alachua County border, is the city of McIntosh. This small town (just
over 400 residents) is a quaint, turn-of-the century village, and is
located on the shores of Orange Lake, so named for the grove of wild
oranges which sprang, some say, from seeds discarded by Spanish
explorers 400 years ago.
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City of Reddick |
Several towns, including Reddick, were developed along
the Florida Southern railroad route in 1880. Reddick was named after
John M. Reddick, a planter who attracted the railroad with an offer of
land. North of Ocala on Route 25A, the city of Reddick is in the
northwest corner of the county and is known for its natural beauty and
surrounding horse farms. The noticeable growth in other areas of the
county seems to have touched Reddick lightly, much to the pleasure of
many residents.
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Special thanks to Bettie Debary of the Marion County
Museum of History for her contributions.
If you would like to learn more about Marion County's history then
please visit the Marion County Museum of History located in the
McPherson Complex behind the Building Department.
Call Bettie DeBary for tours and hours at 694-2529 |
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