Gilchrist County Formed

1925 Gilchrist County was formed from the western part of Alachua County on December 4, 1925. The county was named for Albert Waller Gilchrist, the twentieth Governor of Florida (1909-1913). At the time the citizens who lived in the West End of Alachua County felt forgotten by their county commissioners, for several reasons the county would not build a road from Fanning Springs to Gainesville, they disagreed about the no-fence law and distribution of racetrack money fairly.

The citizens group who wanted the new county planned for it to be called Melon County because there were so many watermelons grown in the area and exported by the train to all parts of the country. The Legislature in Tallahassee decided it would be named after former Governor Gilchrist instead. At the time Governor Gilchrist was very ill and was in a hospital in New York.

On December 4, 1925, Governor John W. Martin signed a law creating the county.

Gilchrist County was the 67th and last county formed in Florida. The county is made up of 354 square miles and had a population of around 4,000 during the time it was formed.

• By Cindy Jo Ayers