COUNTY SPOTLIGHT: COLUMBIA COUNTY
10
Summer 2013 Newsletter of the FCIAAO
Hon. J. Doyle Crews, CFA
The site of Lake City was a
illage 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 in-
clude Lake DeSoto, Lake Isabella, Alligator Lake, Lake Hamburg, Gwen Lake,
Lake Harper and Watertown Lake.
The
ook place near Lake City in Febru-
ary 1864. It was the only major battle in Florida during the war. Union casual-
ties 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
unction, served by the Sea-
board Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line, Georgia Southern Line, and the Florida Railroad Line.
Florida Agricultural College, one of the four schools that formed the
was origi-
nally located in Lake City before consolidation to Gainesville in 1905.
By 1950, the population of Lake City was 7,467 people and forestry (turpentine, lumber, and pulp-
wood) had become a mainstay of the local economy.
In 1958, the Columbia Amateur Radio Society was formed. This was a group of amateur radio opera-
tors 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 document-
ing 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.
Lake City and
re known as "The
Gateway to Florida" because
uns through them,
carrying a large percentage of
tourist and commercial
traffic. Lake City is one of the most northernmost sizable
town/city in Florida on Interstate 75 and the location where I-
10 and I-75 intersect.
s the southernmost east-
west major interstate highway and traverses the country from
o
nd
the US Highway versions of I-75 and I-10) have inter-
sected in Lake City since 1927, long before the Interstate High-
ways were built. Interstate traffic also passed though Lake City
during that time. The city relies on travelers for a considerable
part of its economy.
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