The Atlas of Florida is our source for Florida city and county names. If your community is not included here, it may be listed in the other sources cited below. Alachua (1824) -- Alachua is either a Muskogee or Timucua word for sinkhole. Right: an 1883 map showing townships, railroads and county roads in Alachua and surrounding counties. Baker (1861) -- James McNair Baker, Fourth Municipal District, Confederate Senator. Bay (1913) -- Named after St. Andrews Bay. Bradford (1861) -- (was New River, 1858-1861) Captain Richard Bradford, killed at Battle of Santa Rosa Island during Civil War. Brevard (1855) -- (was St. Lucia 1844-1855) Doctor Ephriam Brevard, writer of the so-called Mecklenberg (N.C.) Declaration of Independence, or Theodore Washington Brevard, state comptroller, 1854, 1855-1860. Broward (1915) -- Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, governor 1905-1909. -top-Calhoun (1838) -- John C., U.S. Senator from South Carolina. Charlotte (1921) -- The Bay of Charlotte Harbor.
Clay (1858) -- Henry Clay, U.S. Senator from Kentucky. Collier (1923) -- Barron Collier, landowner and developer. Columbia (1832) -- Christopher Columbus. -top-Dade (1836) -- Major Francis L. Dade, killed at the Dade Battlefield, 1835. De Soto (1887) -- Hernando de Soto, Spanish explorer.
Duval (1822) -- William P. DuVal, territorial governor, 1822-1834. -top--top- Flagler (1917) -- Henry M. Flagler, East Coast railroad builder. Franklin (1832) -- Benjamin Franklin, scientist and author. -top-Gadsden (1823) -- James Gadsden of South Carolina, aide-de-camp of Jackson in Florida campaign of 1818. Gilchrist (1925) -- Albert W. Gilchrist, governor, 1909-1913.
Hamilton (1827) -- Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of U.S. Treasury. Hardee (1921) -- Cary A. Hardee, governor, 1921-1925. Hendry (1923) -- Captain Francis A. Hendry, one of the first settlers. Hernando (1843) -- (was Benton, 1844-1850) Hernando de Soto, Spanish explorer. Highlands (1921) -- Highland terrain.
Holmes (1848) -- Thomas J. Holmes of North Carolina who settled in the area about 1830. -top-Indian River (1925) -- Indian River Source: Photos Courtesy of The Florida Photographic Collection, Florida State Archives. Additional Resouces: Florida Place Names: Alachua to Zolfo Springs, by Allen Morris, Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, c1995. A Provisional Gazetteer of Florida Place-Names of Indian Derivation, by J. Clarence Simpson, Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Geological Survey, Special Publication No. 1, 1956. |