Micanopy, Florida

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Micanopy, FL)
Jump to: navigation, search
Micanopy, Florida
Town
Micanopy commercial district
Micanopy commercial district
Location in Alachua County and the state of Florida
Location in Alachua County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  United States
State  Florida
County  Alachua
Area
 • Total 1.1 sq mi (2.8 km2)
 • Land 1.0 sq mi (2.7 km2)
 • Water 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation 125 ft (38 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 600
 • Density 571/sq mi (220.6/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 32667
Area code(s) 352
FIPS code 12-45225[1]
GNIS feature ID 0286767[2]
Website www.micanopytown.com

Micanopy (/mɪkəˈnoʊpi/ mik-ə-NO-pee) is a town in Alachua County, Florida, United States—located south of Gainesville. The population as of the 2010 census was 600.[3] The town center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and contains a number of antique stores, as well as a large used book store and several restaurants.

History

In 1539 Spanish conquistador and explorer Hernando De Soto noted a Timucuan Indian village at the site of present-day Micanopy. Over two hundred years later, the American naturalist William Bartram recorded his impressions of a proto-Seminole village named Cuscowilla in this same locale.

By the time Spain ceded its Florida provinces to the U.S. in 1821, the newly constructed hamlet of Micanopy became the first distinct United States town in the Florida Territory. One of the founders was Moses Elias Levy, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist who was involved in West Indies shipping and other interests. He came to the United States in 1820.[4]

Named after a Seminole chief, the village of Micanopy was built under the auspices of the Florida Association of New York (the earliest Florida development corporation, headquartered in Manhattan).[5] Chief Micanopy lived about 60 miles (97 km) south in present-day Sumter County. In 1821 when the territorial village was developed, a faction of Miccosukee Indians lived in the immediate area. The historian C. S. Monaco has suggested that the town was named after Micanopy "to appease the chief and acknowledge his original authority over the land."[6]

Both Fort Defiance (1835–1836) and Fort Micanopy (1837–1843) were located here during the Second Seminole War. Some of the bloodiest battles of that war took place along the road southwest from Fort Micanopy to Fort Wacahoota, just inside modern Alachua County. A recent archaeological study has verified both forts as well as the location of two battlefields within the town limits: the Battle of Micanopy and the Battle of Welika Pond (1836).

Micanopy's historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, where she wrote The Yearling and Cross Creek, is in nearby Cross Creek. The house is now a museum.

For an article on Micanopy from the Florida Historical Society see: http://preservation.myfloridahistory.org/micanopy-fl/

Geography

Micanopy is located at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found..[7]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2). 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (4.63%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1880 432 —
1890 494 14.4%
1900 645 30.6%
1910 613 −5.0%
1920 546 −10.9%
1930 725 32.8%
1940 720 −0.7%
1950 612 −15.0%
1960 658 7.5%
1970 759 15.3%
1980 737 −2.9%
1990 612 −17.0%
2000 653 6.7%
2010 600 −8.1%
Est. 2014 622 [8] 3.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 653 people, 302 households, and 172 families residing in the town. The population density was 631.4 inhabitants per square mile (244.8/km²). There were 346 housing units at an average density of 334.6 per square mile (129.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 68.30% White, 28.94% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population.

There were 302 households out of which 21.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.74.

In the town the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $27,778, and the median income for a family was $38,611. Males had a median income of $30,938 versus $20,294 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,433. About 3.0% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Micanopy is served by the School Board of Alachua County. The School Board charters an elementary school and a middle school in the town.[10] The Alachua County Library District operates a branch library in the town.[11]

Culture

Micanopy hosts a large arts festival every autumn featuring many local (and distant) artists. The festival brings in a crowd much larger than the town's population from across Payne's Prairie in Gainesville and surrounding areas. The festival, which is set on the towns main street, offers more than art. There is kettle corn, honey, and many different varieties of food. Of course art work, hand crafted gifts, handmade jewelry are present: a lot of the items produced by local artists. The festival is dog friendly.[12]

Representations in other media

Micanopy is mentioned in the Tom Petty song "A Mind with a Heart of Its Own" from the album Full Moon Fever. Petty humorously sings that he's "been to Brooker, been to Micanopy, been to St. Louis too, I've been all around the world!", referring also to Brooker, Florida and St. Louis, Missouri.

Micanopy is noted in the John Anderson[13] song "Seminole Wind" from the album Seminole Wind. The song is covered by James Taylor on the album James Taylor Covers. The lyrics can be seen at James Taylor's website.

The film Doc Hollywood, based on the book What, Dead Again? by Neil B. Shulman and starring Michael J. Fox, was filmed in Micanopy.

On September 27, 1975, Hee Haw saluted Micanopy, FL, Pop. 759.

Notable people

  • Archie Carr, zoologist and author, and his wife Marjorie Harris Carr, also a conservationist. They lived at Wewa Pond just outside Micanopy.[14]
  • River Phoenix, actor.
  • John Horse, Black Seminole leader, lived here before the Seminole Wars and removal to Indian Territory
  • Moses Elias Levy, wealthy businessman and philanthropist, founded Pilgrimage and Micanopy[15]

Gallery

Main gallery at Commons:Category:Micanopy, Florida.

Micanopy Historic District

  • Micanopy Hist Dist Herlong02.jpg

    Herlong House, now a bed and breakfast

  • Micanopy Hist Dist Simonton02.jpg

    Simonton House

  • Micanopy Hist Dist Church01b.jpg

    Presbyterian Church, now Episcopal Church of the Mediator.

  • Micanopy Hist Dist Church02a.jpg

    Old Baptist Church, now a private house.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ C. S. Monaco, Moses Levy of Florida: Jewish Utopian and Antebellum Reformer, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2005), 9
  5. ↑ Monaco, Moses Levy of Florida, 103.
  6. ↑ Monaco, Moses Levy of Florida, 108.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Alachua County Public Schools: Schools and Centers
  11. ↑ Alachua County Library District: Micanopy
  12. ↑ http://americanroads.net/road_dog_winter2014.htm
  13. ↑ Johnanderson.com
  14. ↑ Archie Carr, "Wewa Pond," in A Naturalist in Florida: A Celebration of Eden, ed. Marjorie Harris Carr (New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 1994), 1-13.
  15. ↑ C. S. Monaco, Moses Levy of Florida: Jewish Utopian and Antebellum Reformer, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2005

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Micanopy,_Florida&oldid=73691"