Lake City, Florida

Lake City is the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, in the United States. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 12,614. In addition, it is the Principal City of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is composed of Columbia County, and had an estimated 2006 population of 67,007. The city's Sesquicentennial occurred in 2009.

History
The site of Lake City was a Seminole village named Alpata Telophka or Hvlpvtv Tvlofv, meaning "Alligator Village". By 1830, a Euro-American town called Alligator was established, adjacent to the Seminole town. The city was incorporated and changed to its current name in 1859. The name was changed because the mayor's wife, who had recently moved to the town, refused to hang her lace curtains in a town named Alligator. Local bodies of water include Lake DeSoto, Lake Isabella, Alligator Lake, Lake Hamburg, Gwen Lake, Lake Harper and Watertown Lake.

The American Civil War Battle of Olustee took place near Lake City in February 1864. It was the only major battle in Florida during the war. Union casualties were 1,861 men killed, wounded or missing; Confederate casualties were 946 killed, wounded or missing.

Southern Business & Development magazine has ranked Lake City | Columbia County number eight Best Small Market since 2000.

By the early 20th century, Lake City had become an important railroad junction, served by the Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line, Georgia Southern Line, and the Florida Railroad Line.

One of the four schools that formed the University of Florida was originally located in Lake City before consolitation to Gainesville in 1905.

By 1950 the population of Lake City was 7,467 people and forestry (turpentine, lumber, and pulpwood) had become a mainstay of the local economy.

In 1958, the Columbia Amateur Radio Society was formed. This was a group of amateur radio operators that enjoyed the ability to communicate all over the world. Amateur radio is a hobby that attracts a wide range of people interested in all facets of radio communications. Involvement in amateur radio allows people to practice their public speaking skills as well as the advancement of one's knowledge of radio theory, electronics, and emergency management. This radio club still exists today.

Lake City's Centennial was celebrated in 1959 with parades, fireworks and a 58-page book documenting one hundred years of progress, “A Century in the Sun”. The citizens of the town dressed in period attire, complete with whiskers. A good-natured clash arose between the men with additional facial hair and the women who did not like it.

A 15 year research project on a well known aspect of Lake City's history has just been placed on line by its author, James M. Gray, a former Florida resident, for everyone to examine and read at no cost.

There is a local legend dating back to the 1920s about a man drilling for oil south of Lake City and accidentally finding the petrified remains of prehistoric men, women and children about 60 feet under the ground.

Local people came to call this site "The Lake City Tombs."

The man's name was Edmund Mazuel and the location of his dig was just north of the S & S store on US 441 South near Columbia High School.

Like all good legends, this story had many elements of intrigue and mystery. Here are five of them:


 * Edmund Mazuel's real name was Edmund Robillard. Through his marriage to Marchiones Noel Mazuel, he acquired her surname plus wealth and royal status.


 * Mazuel turned "The Lake City Tombs" into a tourist attraction and built a small empire on the lure of his tombs. One account even said a Roman princess came to Lake City to see the Tombs and gave him many thousands of dollars to improve the site.


 * Some people who didn't like Mazuel falsely reported that The Tombs were actually just a cover, that he was really a Nazi Germany spy who used a short wave radio to report to Berlin on any American troop movements on US 441.


 * Though many locals considered the Lake City Tombs to be a hoax, no less an authority than Lake City Reporter owner /editor Herbert L. Dodd made an on-site inspection in 1928 and wrote, "I am fully convinced that there is no fake as regards to the genuineness of the petrified bodies." From the Lake city reporter, March 2008, Morris Williams

On April 4, 2004, Lake City Weather dot Com was born. The main reason for the creation of this website was because the owner became very tired of hearing about the weather conditions from Gainesville, FL. Many people do not realize that all weather information for Lake City that comes from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, FL, is actually data from Gainesville Regional Airport! With a high end personal weather station, several computers and a server, Lake City Weather dot Com was born. Bringing REAL TIME LIVE weather data right here in Lake City, Florida. Many weather sites pull data from this site such as The Weather Channel, National Weather Service Jacksonville, and various other new sources in North Florida. This site is FREE to the public and any business/news organizations.

Geography
Lake City is located at 30°11′N 82°38′W (30.1896, -82.6397). Lake City is near the intersection of Interstate highways I-10 and I-75. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.1 square miles (28.7 km²). 10.6 sqmi of it is land and .5 sqmi of it is water. The total area is 4.69% water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 9,980 people, 4,043 households, and 2,429 families residing in the city. The population density is 944.8 per square mile (364.9/km²). There are 4,536 housing units at an average density of 429.4 per square mile (165.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 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 are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 4,043 households out of which 28.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% are married couples living together, 20.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% are non-families. 33.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 15.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.34 and the average family size is 3.01.

In the city the population is spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $26,161, and the median income for a family is $31,920. Males have a median income of $27,369 versus $21,290 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,697. 20.5% of the population and 16.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.8% of those under the age of 18 and 16.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.



Economy
Lake City and Columbia County, Florida are known as "The Gateway to Florida" because Interstate 75 runs though them, carrying a large percentage of Florida's tourist and commercial traffic. Lake City is the northernmost sizable town/city in Florida on Interstate 75 and the location where I-10 and I-75 intersect. Interstate 10 is the southernmost east-west major interstate highway and traverses the country from Jacksonville, Florida to Santa Monica, California. US 41 and US 90 (the US Highway versions of I-75 and I-10) have intersected in Lake City since 1927, long before the Interstate Highways were built. Interstate traffic also passed though Lake City during that time. The city relies on travelers for a considerable part of its economy.

Agricultural products of the area include tobacco, corn, peanuts, cotton, melons, timber and pulpwood.

Lake City is the location of the Osceola National Forest's administrative offices.

The Lake City Municipal Airport is a local center of business. The airport is classified as a General Aviation facility, but two on-site operations are somewhat unique. TIMCO is an aircraft modification and rehabilitation operation for large (B-727, 737) civilian and military aircraft. The United States Forest Service uses C-130 transport aircraft in support of its forest fire-fighting operations in the southeast US.

Since 2000, four companies have begun large operations in Lake City: Hunter Panels, New Millennium and United States Cold Storage. Target built their first company-owned and third-party-operated perishable food distribution center in Lake City during 2008.

The top employers in Lake City are:



Recreation
Open to the Public at no charge. Enjoy Target Shooting, and as always Practice Firearm Safety. Fun for all at this wonderful outdoor range. Target stands are available, but you'll need to bring your own targets & refreshments. When you go remember to leave only your foot prints. Located at Forest Rd. 278 just follow the signs from S.R. 100 A
 * ''' Lewis D. Whitaker Osceola Shooting Range:

Olustee Battle Festival
Every February since 1976, Lake City has hosted the Olustee Battle Festival and reenactment of the Battle of Olustee. The 31st Annual event was February 13 & 14th, 2009. The Miss Olustee Pageant is held two weeks prior to the Battle Festival. Highlights include:
 * Memorial service at Oak Lawn Cemetery: to honor those who died from both sides (Friday morning)
 * Olustee Festival & Craft Show: Arts, Crafts, Foods, Exhibits, & two stages with continuous live entertainment Friday and Saturday.
 * Battle of the Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimac: Friday night on Lake DeSoto.
 * Dancing: Friday night-Trails End Dance; Saturday afternoon-Street Dance; Saturday night-Blue-Grey Square Dance
 * Running Races: Blue-Grey 5-K and 1 Mile Kids Fun Run early Saturday morning
 * Olustee Festival Parade: Saturday mid-morning
 * Olustee Battle Reenactment: Hundreds of re-enactors come from all over the country to participate in this historical event
 * Columbia County Historical Museum: "Angels of Mercy" drama Friday afternoon; museum open all weekend
 * Olustee Battlefield State Park: open 9am-6pm all weekend

Alligator Festival - Alligator Warrior Festival - Reenactment of the Battle of San Felasco Hammock
This festival at O'Leno State Park celebrates early 19th Century history, from 1800 to 1859, in north Florida, especially that of Alligator/Lake City and Newnansville/Alachua and is held on the weekend (Fri-Sun) following the 2nd Thursday of October.

Lake City's started out as the Seminole community of Alligator Village (Hvlpvtv Tvlofv) in Spanish Florida. Historians don't know when it was established but its existence is documented by the U.S. army in 1821. Spanish Florida had long been a place of freedom for slaves escaping from the Bristish colonies and the United States. Also, many of the refugees from the Creek War moved to Spanish Florida to live among or near the Seminole in the aftermath of the Creek War, because they had been forced to surrender their land to the U.S.A. in the Treaty of Fort Jackson. In a February 1821 report by Captain John H. Bell, he mentions that the recent death of the chief (micco) of Alligator Village prevented his attendance at a gathering of chiefs. After Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, pioneer and immigrant settlers from the United States formed their own settlement adjacent to Alligator Village and called it Alligator Town. Then, following the 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek, the residents of Alligator village relocated to the banks of Peace Creek in the newly established Seminole reservation, leaving Alligator Town on its own. When Columbia County was formed in 1832, Alligator Town became the seat of the county government. Alligator Town was renamed Lake City in 1859.

The most famous resident of Alligator Village was Alligator Warrior (Hvlpvtv Tvstvnvke). He was a son of a daughter of Micanopy (King) Payne (Mekk-Onvpv Pin) and lead Seminole warriors in the 2nd Seminole War (1835–1842) to prevent the relocation of Florida's Indians to the Arkansas Territory (now know as Oklahoma). Although Alligator Warrior was certainly a leader of warriors, the U.S. military mistakenly referred to him as a chief because they did not understand Seminole culture.

The Alligator Warrior Festival tries to educate and entertain by demonstrating how Native American, European, African and mixed-descent settlers lived in early 19th Century Florida. Living-history reenactors portraying 1830's Seminoles, U.S. soldiers, pioneer militia and settlers give presentations in their period camps and reenact the 18 September 1836, Battle of San Felasco Hammock, which is the 2nd Seminole War battle that took place closest to O'Leno State Park. The festival also includes Native American musicians and dancers, a drum arbor with dance ground and tee pee camp, as well as other musicians, demonstrators of early 19th Century skills such as blacksmithing, barrell making, spinning and weaving, and traders selling historic replicas, skillfully handcrafted arts, manufactured souvenirs, and food.

The first Alligator Festival was held in 1995 at Olustee Park in downtown Lake City. The event was not held from 2000 to 2001 while Olustee Park was being completely rebuilt. The renovated Olustee Park was no longer suitable for the event so it was held at Wilson Park from 2002 to 2003. Needing a larger space, it was held at Gateway College from 2003 to 2007. The organizational committee reorganized into a non-profit corporation in 2007. Then, for the city's sesquicentennial (150th) celebration in 2009, the event was held at the old memorial stadium because use of the college grounds became unaffordable. Starting in 2010 the annual festival is being held at O'Leno State Park, in Columbia County, where the appropriate facilities exist for a full scale battle reenactment, historic camping and large crowds.

"Normal" recreational facilities
1 Public outdoor Rifle and Pistol range—9 Soccer Fields—26 Ball Fields –- 7 Tennis Courts –- 8 Raquet Ball Courts –- 1 Skating Rink –- 2 Golf Course –- 4 Local Parks –- 1 Bowling Alley –- 6 screen Movie Theater –- 1 Public Swimming Pool –- 1 YMCA –- 1 Amateur Theatre –- 3 State Parks –- 2 Auto Racing Tracks –- 2 Country Clubs—Hunting - Fishing—Water Sports

Notable natives

 * Michael Kirkman - MLB Pitcher, World Series, Texas Rangers
 * Stuffy Stewart (John Franklin Stewart) - MLB, 2nd Base
 * Reinard Wilson - NFL linebacker
 * Pat Summerall - NFL placekicker, television sportscaster
 * Gerard Warren - NFL defensive tackle
 * Jasin Todd   - former Shinedown  guitarist
 * Jerome Carter - NFL safety
 * Martha Mier  - pianist and Composer