- Micanopy, Florida
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Micanopy, Florida — Town — Micanopy commercial district
Location in Alachua County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 29°30′23″N 82°16′55″W / 29.50639°N 82.28194°WCoordinates: 29°30′23″N 82°16′55″W / 29.50639°N 82.28194°W Country 
United StatesState 
FloridaCounty Alachua Area – Total 1 sq mi (2.8 km2) – Land 1 sq mi (2.7 km2) – Water 0 sq mi (0.1 km2) Elevation 125 ft (38 m) Population (2000) – Total 653 – Density 653/sq mi (233.2/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] Micanopy (
/mɪkəˈnoʊpi/ mik-ə-no-pee) is a town in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is south of Gainesville. The population in the 2000 census was 653. As of 2004, the population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 652.[3] The old town of Micanopy is a historic district, and contains a number of antique stores, as well as a large used book store and a couple of restaurants.Contents
History
Micanopy was the first distinct United States town in Florida, with settlement beginning after Spain ceded the Florida territory in 1821.[4] When explorer and naturalist William Bartram visited in 1774, it was the site of a Seminole village called Cuscowilla.[5] Bartram's favorable writings about this fertile area influenced future generations of settlers. Named after a Seminole chief, the territorial town of Micanopy was built under the auspices of the Florida Association of New York (the earliest Florida development corporation, headquartered in New York City).[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.
Micanopy's historic district was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1983. One of the town's founders, Moses E. Levy, is the subject of an acclaimed biography—Moses Levy of Florida: Jewish Utopian and Antebellum Reformer (2005). Micanopy has been used as a location for several major motion pictures including Cross Creek (1983) and Doc Hollywood (1991). 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.
Noted residents include the late zoologist and author, Archie Carr and his conservationist wife, Marjorie Harris Carr, who lived for many years at their home at Wewa Pond just outside Micanopy.[7]
Geography
Micanopy is located at 29°30′23″N 82°16′55″W / 29.506489°N 82.282013°W.[8]
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
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.
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.
Micanopy is mentioned in the Tom Petty song "A Mind with a Heart of Its Own" from the album Full Moon Fever.
Micanopy is mentioned in the John Anderson[9] 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 starring Michael J. Fox (based on the book What, Dead Again? by Neil B. Shulman, M.D.), was filmed in Micanopy. The town celebrates the movie with an annual "Doc Hollywood Days" event which features a goofy parade and a stand-up comedy routine by Dr. Shulman.[10]
Gallery
Main gallery at Commons:Category:Micanopy, Florida.
Micanopy Historic District
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Herlong House, now a bed and breakfast
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Simonton House
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Presbyterian Church, now Episcopal Church of the Mediator.
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Old Baptist Church, now a private house.
See also
- Church of the Mediator (Micanopy, Florida)
- Doc Hollywood, filmed in Micanopy.
- Micanopy Historic District
References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "SUB-EST2004-04-12.xls". http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2004-04-12.xls.
- ^ C. S. Monaco, Moses Levy of Florida: Jewish Utopian and Antebellum Reformer (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2005), 9.
- ^ Caroline B. Watkins, The Story of Historic Micanopy (Gainesville: Alachua County Historical Commission, 1976), 6-7.
- ^ Monaco, Moses Levy of Florida, 103.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ Johnanderson.com
- ^ Doc Hollywood Days
External links
- Cotton States newspaper that serves Micanopy, Florida is available in full-text with images in Florida Digital Newspaper Library
- Micanopy Branch Library
Municipalities and communities of Alachua County, Florida Cities Alachua | Archer | Gainesville | Hawthorne | High Springs | Newberry | Waldo
Towns La Crosse | Micanopy
Unincorporated
communitiesCross Creek | Evinston‡ | Haile | Haile Plantation | Jonesville | Melrose‡ | Rochelle | Windsor
Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Categories:- Towns in Alachua County, Florida
- Seminole tribe
- Gainesville, Florida metropolitan area
- Populated places established in 1821
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