- Melrose, Florida
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Melrose — Unincorporated community — Location within the state of Florida Coordinates: 29°42′34″N 82°02′59″W / 29.70944°N 82.04972°WCoordinates: 29°42′34″N 82°02′59″W / 29.70944°N 82.04972°W Country United States State Florida County Alachua, Bradford, Clay, and Putnam Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) – Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4) ZIP code 32666 FIPS code GNIS feature ID Melrose is an unincorporated community in Alachua, Bradford, Clay, and Putnam counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It lies approximately one hour's drive from Jacksonville and one half hour's drive from Gainesville.
History
Melrose was originally known as Shakerag. The name originated from the frequent horse races that took place in the area every Sunday afternoon. The competitors saw no need to waste ammunition in order to start a race, so in stead they shook a large white rag for the signal. Hence the name Shakerag. Around 1882 residents grew tired of the name, and decided to rename their community Melrose after the town in Scotland from where many locals immigrated.
Two Canadian women came to Melrose in 1889 and built a 125 room hotel. Three years later, both women were dead. C.P. Huffman acquired the property and ran the hotel for the next 15 years. The profitability of the hotel is unknown. In 1908 George C. Looney began renting the building and converted it to a military college. Looney owned another such college in Georgia. Its counterpart in Melrose was set to be named Phi Sigma College. 180 students originally enrolled, and things were looking good for the school. Unfortunately, eighteen months after it opened its doors, Phi Sigma burnt to the ground.[1]
In the late 1800s, the citrus industry thrived in the area. Local growers would bring their yearly harvest to Melrose, where it was loaded onto steam ships in lake Santa Fe. The ships would then steam from lake Santa Fe to lake Alto, and then lake Alto to the town of Waldo using man made canals. The citrus was then taken by rail across the United States. Unfortunately, in 1894 two devastating freezes hit the Melrose area and destroyed local groves. Growers then relocated to warmer areas in the central and southern parts of Florida.
References
- ^ Morris, Allen. Florida Place Names. Coral Gables, Fl.: University of Miami Press, 1974.
Municipalities and communities of Alachua County, Florida Cities Alachua | Archer | Gainesville | Hawthorne | High Springs | Newberry | Waldo
Towns Unincorporated
communitiesCross Creek | Evinston‡ | Haile | Haile Plantation | Jonesville | Melrose‡ | Rochelle | Windsor
Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Municipalities and communities of Bradford County, Florida Cities Town Unincorporated
communitiesMelrose‡ | Sampson City
Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Municipalities and communities of Clay County, Florida Cities Towns CDPs Unincorporated
communitiesBelair | Clay Hill | Doctors Inlet | Fleming Island | Hibernia | McRae | Meadowbrook Terrace | Melrose‡ | North Meadowbrook Terrace | Virginia Village
Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Municipalities and communities of Putnam County, Florida Cities Towns CDP Unincorporated
communitiesBardin | Bostwick | Edgar | Federal Point | Florahome | Georgetown | Grandin | Hollister | Huntington | Johnson Crossroads | Melrose‡ | Putnam Hall | San Mateo | Satsuma | Yelvington
Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Categories:- Unincorporated communities in Alachua County, Florida
- Unincorporated communities in Bradford County, Florida
- Unincorporated communities in Clay County, Florida
- Unincorporated communities in Putnam County, Florida
- Florida geography stubs
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