The county seat of Alachua County, Gainesville is best known as the home of the University of Florida Gators and the birthplace of Gatorade. But the city has much more to offer visitors. It is home to a rich array of museums, performing arts theaters, and historic sites.

Long before Gatorade and national championships put Gainesville on the map, this region of swamps and sinkholes was home to the Potano Indians, one of the Timucua-speaking native cultures who had occupied the area since prehistoric times. In the 17th century, Franciscan friars established a mission among the Potano. A century later, warfare between the Spanish and the English destroyed the mission, and Seminole Indians from Georgia began moving into the area.

In 1863, the Florida Railroad Company established Gainesville as a city to serve as a midway station for its rail line that ran between Fernandina Beach and Cedar Key. During the Civil War, it served as an important food commissary for Confederate troops, prompting the Battle of Gainesville in 1864. During the Reconstruction era, the city boasted Florida's first African-American member of congress, Josiah T. Walls.

In the half century following the Civil War, Gainesville's economy shifted away from agriculture and railroads to education. In September 1906, the University of Florida, having relocated here from Lake City, opened its doors to 102 students. During the course of the twentieth century, the University of Florida and Gainesville grew to become world leaders in scientific, medical, and technological research. But this Florida city of more than 100,000 people also built a unique cultural identity, and is renowned as the adopted home of Blues legend Bo Diddley, and birthplace of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tom Petty.

Today, Gainesville has much to offer visitors. The Florida Museum of Natural History, which tells the story of Florida's prehistoric environments and peoples, headlines a diverse collection of on-campus museums and theaters. To the east of campus is the city's historic Downtown Plaza, the Alachua County Library, and the celebrated Hippodrome Theater. For an enhanced presentation of the city's rich history, one should stop by the Matheson Museum. Built in 1932, this classically-styled structure hosts a 4,000 volume library highlighting local and state history.

Gainesville, with a total of five historic districts, protecting over 1,500 historic buildings, is much more than just a university town. It is at the heart of North Central Florida's unique historical and cultural past and future!

This podcast made possible through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council. Script written by Roger Smith. Narrated by John Richardson.