Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329, up from 12,046 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, composed of Columbia County, as well as a principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida. Lake City is 60 miles west of Jacksonville. Lake City has the moniker The Gateway to Florida because it is adjacent to the intersection of Interstate 75 and Interstate 10.
History
Timucua and Spanish Florida
In 1539, Hernando de Soto and his Spanish expedition arrived in Tampa Bay. The de Soto expedition proceeded north from Tampa Bay looking for gold. His expedition met a large Native American group called the northern Utina, possibly near present-day Lake City, who were part of the western Timucua people. Some northern Utina were led by powerful chiefs. In the 17th century Spanish missionaries established missions in this area, west of the site of present-day Lake City. Called Santa Cruz de Tarihica, it was used by the Spanish to develop agriculture and bring Native Americans within their sphere.
Alligator
In the 18th century, a Seminole community called Halapata Telofa (also spelled Alapata Telophka) occupied this area, which translated into English, was "Alligator Town". Historians do not know when it was established, but its existence was documented by the US Army in 1821. A February 1821 report, by Captain John H. Bell, mentions that the mico (chief) of Alligator Town had recently died and missed a gathering of chiefs. The most famous resident of Alligator Town was Halpatter Tustenuggee ("Alligator Warrior"), also known as Chief Alligator. He led Seminole warriors in the Second Seminole War (1835–1842) to resist their people's relocation to the Arkansas Territory (now known as Oklahoma).
After Florida became the Florida Territory of the United States in 1821, American settlers formed their own settlement adjacent to Alligator Village and called it Alligator. Following the 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek, the residents of Alligator Village relocated to the banks of the Peace River (Peas Creek) in the newly established Seminole reservation, leaving Alligator Town. When Columbia County was formed in 1832 from Duval and Alachua counties, Alligator was designated as the seat of the county government.
During the Second Seminole War, several forts were established in the area, including Fort White on the Santa Fe River, and Fort Alligator, also called Fort Lancaster, in present-day downtown Lake City. By 1845, the last of the Seminole left the area of present-day Lake City or were forcibly removed by the US Army.
In 1847, Company C of the Florida Volunteers, which was composed of Lake City members, served in the Mexican–American War.
In November 1858, a railroad was completed connecting Jacksonville to Alligator, which opened the town to more commerce and passenger traffic. Alligator Town was incorporated and its name changed to Lake City in 1859; M. Whit Smith was elected as the town's first mayor.
Civil War
During the American Civil War the railroad between Lake City and Jacksonville was used to send beef and salt to Confederate soldiers. During the summer of 1862, the 8th Florida Infantry Regiment was mustered in at Lake City. The unit was soon deployed to Virginia and fought as part of the Army of Northern Virginia.
In February 1864, Union troops under Truman Seymour advanced west from Jacksonville. His objective was to disrupt Confederate supplies, and obtain African-American recruits and supplies. Confederate General Joseph Finnegan assembled troops and called for reinforcements from P. G. T. Beauregard in response to the Union threat. On February 11, 1864, Finnegan's troops defeated a Union cavalry raid in Lake City. In 1928 a memorial for the battle was established in downtown Lake City.
The Civil War badly damaged Florida's railroads, including the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad. The railroad was rebuilt by carpetbagger George William Swepson and was renamed the Florida Central Railroad in 1868. In 1869, the Pensacola and Georgia Railroad was merged with a railroad from Jacksonville to Lake City to form the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad.
1874–1949
thumb|Florida Agricultural College in the late 1880s
In 1874, a fire destroyed most of the wooden buildings in Lake City. Hotel Blanche was built in 1902 as an attraction for expected tourists. The hotel was Lake City and Columbia County's major hotel and central business center from 1902 to 1955. The population of Lake City in 1900 was 4,013; in 1905 was 6,509; and 1910 was 5,032.
1950—
By 1950, the population of Lake City was 7,571. The forestry products industry (turpentine, lumber, and pulpwood) had become a mainstay of the local economy. was formed by a group of amateur radio operators who enjoyed the ability to communicate worldwide. This radio club continues to exist. Lake City's centennial was celebrated in 1959 with parades, fireworks, and A Century in the Sun, a 58-page book documenting 100 years of progress. 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.
On 10 June 2019, Lake City was hit by a cyber ransomware attack that rendered many of the city's communication systems inoperative. On 25 June 2019, the City's insurance company, the Florida League of Cities, paid 42 bitcoins—over US$480,000—for a mechanism to retrieve the City's files and data.
Geography
Lake City is located in northern Florida near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Interstate 75. Jacksonville is to the east, Tallahassee is to the west, Gainesville is to the south, and Valdosta, Georgia, is to the northwest.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Lake City has a total area of , of which is land, and or 3.20%, is water.
Climate
Lake City is part of the humid subtropical climate zone of the Southeastern United States. Due to its latitude and relative position north of Florida's peninsula it is subject at times to continental conditions, which cause rare cold snaps that may affect sensitive winter crops. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the city was on June 4, 1918, and the coldest temperature ever recorded was on February 13, 1899.
Demographics
Lake City first appeared in the 1850 U.S. Census as "Alligator", with a total recorded population of 131.
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable"
|+Lake City racial composition<br> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br>
!Race
!Pop 2010
!Pop 2020
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|White (NH)
|6,453
|5,886
|53.57%
|47.74%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|4,432
|4,312
|36.79%
|34.97%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)
|47
|37
|0.39%
|0.30%
|-
|Asian (NH)
|192
|314
|1.59%
|2.55%
|-
|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)
|0
|9
|0.00%
|0.07%
|-
|Some other race (NH)
|25
|91
|0.21%
|0.74%
|-
|Two or more races/multiracial (NH)
|247
|493
|2.05%
|4.00%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|650
|1,187
|5.40%
|9.63%
|-
|Total
|12,046
|12,329
|100.00%
|100.00%
|-
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Lake City had a population of 12,329. The median age was 37.8 years. 24.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.1 males age 18 and over.
99.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 4,771 households in Lake City, of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 28.8% were married-couple households, 21.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 40.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 5,298 housing units, of which 9.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%.
Religion
Around 40% of the people of Lake City are affiliated with a religion. Evangelicalism is the largest religious affiliation with 27.9% followed by Protestant (4.7%), Black Protestantism (3.5%), Catholicism (2.4%) and other religions (1.6%). 59.8% are not affiliated with any religion.
Mountaintop Ministries Worldwide, formerly End Time Ministries and commonly called End Timers, was established near Lake City by Charles Meade in 1984. The basis of the ministry was that Lake City would be the only place to survive Armageddon and believers were to stay in an underground bunker on Meade's property.
Ancestry/ethnicity
As of 2016, the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Lake City, Florida were:
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Largest single ancestries in 2016<br>(excluding Hispanic/Latino groups) !! Percent
|-
| English ||16.4%
|-
| Irish || 10.1%
|-
| German || 9.9%
|-
| Sub-Saharan African || 6.9%
|-
| Italian || 5.1%
|-
| American || 2.9%
|-
| French || 2.7%
|-
| Polish || 1.7%
|-
| West Indian || 1.5%
|-
| Scotch-Irish || 1.4%
|-
| Dutch || 1.1%
|-
| Norwegian || 1.1%
|-
| Scottish || 0.9%
|-
| Welsh || 0.6%
|}
Economy
thumb|right|Lake City VA Medical Center
thumb|right|[[Target Corporation distribution center]]
thumb|right|Lake City Medical Center
Lake City and Columbia County are known as "The Gateway to Florida" because Interstate 75 runs through 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. U.S. 41 and U.S. 90 (the U.S. highway versions of I-75 and I-10) have intersected in Lake City since 1927, long before the Interstate highways were built. The city relies on travelers for a considerable part of its economy.
Lake City is the location of the Osceola National Forest's administrative offices.
Since 2000, three 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 in 2008.
In 2011, The top employers in the Lake City area are:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! class="unsortable"|Rank
! Company name
! Business description
! # employees
|-
| 1
| Columbia County School System
| Education/schools/training & development Centers
| 1,400
|-
| 2
| VA Medical Center
| Healthcare
| 1,200
|-
| 3
| Anderson Columbia Co., Inc.
| Asphalt/paving
| 775
|-
| 4
| PCS Phosphate
| Manufacturer
| 706
|-
| 5
| HAECO
| Aircraft maintenance
| 635
|-
| 6
| Wal-Mart Supercenter
| Retail sales
| 505
|-
| 7
| Lake City Medical Center
| Healthcare
| 430
|-
| 8
| Sitel
| Call center
| 358
|-
| 9
| Shands at Lake Shore
| Healthcare
| 353
|-–
| 10
| CCA - Lake City Correctional Facility
| Correctional facility
| 279
|-
| 11
| City of Lake City
| Government
| 260
|-
| 12
| S&S Food Stores
| Convenience stores
| 249
|-
| 13
| Columbia County Manager
| Government
| 248
|-
| 14
| Florida Gateway College
| Education
| 225
|-
| 15
| Health Care Center of Lake City
| Healthcare
| 163
|-
| 16
| Publix Super Markets, Inc.
| Grocery stores
| 151
|-
| 17
| Corbitt Manufacturing Co., Inc.
| Manufacturer
| 115
|-
| 18
| New Millennium
| Manufacturer
| 82
|-
| 19
| Target Food Distribution Center
| Distribution
| 78
|}
Arts and culture
Olustee Battle Festival
Every February on Presidents' Day weekend since 1976, Lake City has hosted the Olustee Battle Festival and reenactment of the Battle of Olustee spanning three days. The festival begins with a memorial service at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Lake City to honor those who died from both sides on day one and ends with a reenactment at the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park on day three. From day one to day three various activities from live entertainment to exhibits are on display in downtown Lake City and the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park.
Alligator Warrior Festival
The Alligator Warrior Festival is held each year on the weekend of the 3rd Saturday in October to recognize the early history of Columbia County prior to the Civil War. The first Alligator Festival was held in 1995 at Olustee Park in downtown Lake City. Starting in 2010 the annual festival has been held at O'Leno State Park south of Lake City where the appropriate facilities exist for a full-scale battle reenactment, historic camping and large crowds. The town is notable for producing high-performing football players at the collegiate and professional level at a high ratio, considering its small population. The city council consists of five members, with four representing four city districts, while the mayor serves at-large throughout all of Lake City. The administration of Lake City consists of the city manager's office, the assistant city manager, Human Resources, Procurement, Finance and Technology.
The Lake City Police Department was founded around 1861 during the Civil War. The first fire department was established in 1883 to complement the police department. Argatha Gilmore was the Chief of Police in 2009 after serving 25 years with the Tallahassee Police Department.
<gallery class="center" widths="180px">
File:LCPDCityHall2017.jpg|Lake City Police Department vehicle
File:Lake City Comm Hist Dist City Hall02.jpg|City Hall
</gallery>
Education
The Columbia County School District, the only school district in the entire county, operates nine elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools and an alternative school. High school football is a major focus for the town.
- Yatil Green, NFL wide receiver, Miami Dolphins
- Harold Hart, NFL player
- Bertram Herlong, bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee
- Timmy Jernigan, NFL defensive tackle
- Michael Kirkman, MLB pitcher, World Series, Texas Rangers
- Kimberly Dianne Leach, last victim of serial killer Ted Bundy
- Trey Marshall, NFL safety
- Martha Mier, pianist and composer
- Dwight Stansel, state representative and farmer
- John Franklin Stewart, MLB, second base
- Pat Summerall, NFL placekicker, television sportscaster
- Jasin Todd, former Shinedown guitarist
- Laremy Tunsil, NFL offensive lineman
- Reinard Wilson, NFL linebacker
- Chubby Wise, fiddler
References
External links
- City of Lake City official website
- Florida Index, historical newspaper for Lake City, Florida fully and openly available in the Florida Digital Newspaper Library