Micanopy Historic District
a.k.a. 8-A358;8-360
Roughly Cholokka Blvd. from US 441 to Ocala St. then Smith St. W to Okehumkee St., Micanopy, FLThe history of Micanopy reflects the history of Florida from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. Creek Indians from Georgia, later called the Seminoles, first founded a town on the location, probably in the 1740s. In the early nineteenth century, a trading post was established by Americans and settlers moved into the area. The town became known as Micanopy, named for a major Seminole chief. It was the first seat of government for Alachua County and the site of Fort Micanopy during the Second Seminole War. It grew through the second half of the nineteenth century to a prosperous market town, the center of the orange-growing industry. Following the freeze of 1894-5, it continued to thrive as a commercial center but retained its small population and small-town atmosphere. It is one of the oldest American towns in Florida and embodies an important period in the history of the state.
Archaeological sites within the boundaries of the proposed Micanopy Historic District including the probable location of the Seminole Indian village of Cuscowilla are documented in the Florida Master Site File Inventory. The sites and the tentative site of Wanton's Trading Post and Fort Micanopy have yet to be excavated by professional archaeologists. However, they are protected by state, county, and local legislation as well as by the owners of the properties on which they are located.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.