Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making it the 43rd-most populated city in Florida. Ocala is the principal city of the Ocala metropolitan area, which had a population of 375,908 in 2020.
Home to over 400 thoroughbred farms and training centers, Ocala is considered the "Horse Capital of the World". Notable attractions include the Ocala National Forest, Silver Springs State Park, Rainbow Springs State Park, the College of Central Florida, and the World Equestrian Center.
History
thumb|left|The Fort King reconstructed fortress in Ocala Florida
Ocala is named after Ocale (also Cale, Etocale, and other variants), a Timucua village and chiefdom recorded in the 16th century, the name of which is believed to mean "Big Hammock" in the Timucua language. Another possible meaning of the name is "song or singer of admiration or glorification". Spaniard Hernando de Soto's expedition recorded Ocale in 1539 during his exploration through what is today the Southeastern United States. The site of Ocale has not been found, but historians believe it was located in southwestern Marion County, near the Withlacoochee River. References to Ocale, Olagale, and Etoquale occur in 16th and early 17th century sources, but do not specify a location. A Spanish mission named San Luis de Eloquale was established by 1630. Milanich believes the mission was near the Withlacoochee River. Eloquale is not named in a 1655 list of missions, and Ocale (and its variants) disappeared from history.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Creek people and other Native Americans, as well as free and fugitive African Americans sought refuge in Florida. The Seminole people formed. After foreign colonial rule shifted between Spain and Great Britain and back again, in 1821, the United States acquired the territory of Florida. After warfare to the north, in 1827, the U.S. Army built Fort King near the present site of Ocala as a buffer between the Seminole, who had long occupied the area, and white settlers moving into the region. The fort was an important base during the Second Seminole War and later served in 1844 as the first courthouse for Marion County.
The modern city of Ocala, which was established in 1849, developed around the fort site. Greater Ocala is known as the "Kingdom of the Sun". Plantations and other agricultural development dependent on slave labor were prevalent in the region. Ocala was an important center of citrus production until the Great Freeze of 1894–1895. During the Reconstruction Era, Ocala was represented by several African Americans in the Florida House of Representatives and on the local level.
thumb|left|Downtown Ocala in 1883
Rail service reached Ocala in June 1881, encouraging economic development with greater access to markets for produce. Two years later, much of the Ocala downtown area was destroyed by fire on Thanksgiving Day, 1883. The city encouraged rebuilding with brick, granite, and steel rather than lumber. By 1888, Ocala was known statewide as the "Brick City".
In December 1890, the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, a forerunner of the Populist Party, held its national convention in Ocala. At the convention, the alliance adopted a platform that would become known as the "Ocala Demands". This platform included abolition of national banks, promoting low-interest government loans, free and unlimited coinage of silver, reclamation of excess railroad lands by the government, a graduated income tax, and direct election of United States senators. Most of the "Ocala Demands" were to become part of the Populist Party platform.
thumb|left|Fort King Street, circa 1920
In the last decades of the 20th century, the greater Ocala area had one of the highest growth rates in the country for a city its size.
Ocala Historic District
Many historic homes are preserved in Ocala's large residential Historic District, designated in 1984. East Fort King Street features many excellent examples of Victorian architecture. Ocala structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places include the Coca-Cola Building, E. C. Smith House, East Hall, Marion Hotel, Mount Zion A.M.E. Church, Ritz Historic Inn, and Union Train Station. The original Fort King site was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2004.
Geography
thumb|A portion of the [[Silver River (Florida)|Silver River located in Silver Springs State Park]]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The surrounding farms are famous for their Thoroughbred Horses<!-- breed names are capped -->, in terrain similar to Kentucky bluegrass. Ocala is also known for nearby Silver Springs, site of one of the largest artesian spring formations in the world and Silver Springs Nature Theme Park, one of the earliest tourist attractions in Florida.
The long Ocklawaha River passes east of Ocala, flowing north from Central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka.
Marion County is also home to the Ocala National Forest, which was established in 1908, and is now the second-largest national forest in the state. The Florida Trail, also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, cuts through Ocala National Forest. Silver Springs State Park was formed as Silver River State Park in 1987, from land the state purchased around the Silver Springs attraction to spare it from development. The state took over Silver Springs itself in 1993 and incorporated it into the park in 2013.
Climate
Ocala has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with hot, humid summers and mild winters.
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