The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Historic Site (SR 325 in Cross Creek, south of Gainesville; 352-466-3200) preserves the 1880s-era farmhouse and furnishings of the Pulitzer-Prizewinning author of "The Yearling." Gainesville's Morningside Nature Center (3540 E. University Pkwy.; 352-334-2170), is home to a reconstructed Timucuan Indian village and early 20th-century living-history farm.

Also during the late 19th century, steamboats carrying farm goods, timber and tourists plied the Apalachicola and Suwannee Rivers. The City of Hawkinsville (in Suwannee River near Old Town; 850-245-6444), was the last steamboat on the Suwannee. It's a state underwater archaeological preserve specially marked for divers.

Eventually, timber and tourism became the dominant economic forces in the North Central region as demand for old-growth pine, oak, cypress and other forest products grew ever more insatiable, while mineral spas at Panacea, Suwannee Springs and Hampton Springs among others began to attract ailing visitors from the North. History of the timber industry can be found at Perry's Forest Capital State Museum (204 Forest Park Dr.; 850-584-3227). Several sites related to the spas have become part of a state park system of crystal-clear springs. Notable among them are Ichetucknee Springs State Park (four miles east of Fort White on SR 27; 386-497-4690), remnants of the spa at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center (386-397-4331), O'Leno State Park (six miles north of High Springs on U.S. 441; 386- 454-1853) and Ginnie Springs Resort (7300 Ginnie Springs Rd.; 386-454-2202).

Railroads slowly laid tracks across the region, from the 1830s to1860s. The Matheson Museum's Alachua County Historic Trust in Gainesville (513 E. University Ave.; 352-378-2280) features a recreated 1900 general store and permanent history exhibit.

 Prev  1  2  3  4  5  Next