2014 Summer Newsletter

COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: DIXIE COUNTY

Dixie County, which is located in the Northwestern portion of Florida, was founded on April 25, 1921. In April of 1773 William Bartram started his four year journey of the southern parts of America. During his journey, he came to an Indian village on the east side of the Suwannee River where he stayed for several days. Bartram crossed the river into pre- sent day Dixie County. He witnessed "large handsome canoes, which were formed out of the trunks of Cypress trees, some of them

Hon. Robert A. Lee

commodious enough to accommodate twenty to thirty warriors. In April of 1818 Andrew Jackson led the largest army ever to invade Flor- ida , to the Old Town (now Dixie County), Florida area to push the Indi- ans south of the Suwannee River. 1822 Florida Territory was organized. General Andrew Jackson was appointed Florida's first Territorial Gover- nor.

1845 Florida was admitted to the union, making it the 27th state to join the union. At this time, Madison County, Florida extended from the Florida/Georgia state line south to the Gulf; and west from the Suwan- nee River to the Aucilla River. In 1856 the lower half of Madison County would be divided into Taylor and Lafayette Counties.

December 12, 1856, James W. McQueen, House of Representatives, from Madison County (lived in Old Town) introduced the bill to create two new counties. It was passed. (Mr. McQueen is buried in the Old Town Cemetery.)

2013 Preliminary Tax Roll At-A Glance Real Property Parcels 16,313

This bill was signed by Governor Hardee to form Dixie County from the Southern portion of Lafayette County. Two of the elected Lafayette County Com- missioners finished off their terms in the newly formed Dixie County at the request of the Governor. The county seat is Cross City, and if you look at an aerial view of the County, Cross City appears to be in the

Tangible Accounts

198

Just (Market) Value

$1,604,096,472

Taxable Value

$504,884,011

dead center of Dixie. Some of the surrounding counties are Lafayette to the North, Taylor to the North- west, Gilchrist to the East and Levy to the Southeast. Dixie is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico to the Southwest as well as having the Steinhatchee River on its West and the Suwannee River on the East. Of the approximate 864 square miles, 704 is land and 160 is water. Dixie allows for many adventures to explore. Fresh and Saltwater fishing is plentiful here. There are also several little known springs around the county and often during the winter months manatees can be viewed here. Fanning Springs is always at 72 degrees for those who like water activities. Birding can be done all year long with various species able to be viewed during certain seasons. With three types of hunting enviro-systems (private clubs, state managed and Federal wildlife refuges) Dixie has been

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Summer 2014 Newsletter of the FCIAAO