Ocala, Florida

Ocala, Florida
City
Historic Commercial District
Seal
Nickname:  Horse Capital of the World
Location in Marion County and the state of Florida
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	File:Marion County FL Seal.png Marion
settled	1836
Incorporated (town)	4 February 1869
Incorporated (city)	28 January 1885
Government
• Type	Council-manager
• Mayor	Randy Ewers
• City Manager	Paul K. Nugent
Area
• City	38.63 sq mi (100.1 km2)
• Land	38.63 sq mi (100.1 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	104 ft (32 m)
Population  (2007)
• City	53,491
• Metro	324,857
	Census Bureau estimate
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	34470-34483
Area code	352
FIPS code	12-50750Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	0288030Template:GR
Website	www.ocalafl.org

Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida, United States. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion CountyTemplate:GR, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.

History

Ocala was established in 1846 near the site of Fort King, a military outpost of the Seminole Wars. Ocala is a derivation of the Timucua word "Ocali" which is believed to mean the "Big Hammock". Hernando de Soto passed through a Timucua village or province named Ocali or Ocale near the present site of Ocala during his famous expedition through what is today the southeastern United States in 1539. Greater Ocala is known as the "Kingdom of the Sun".

Rail service reached Ocala in June 1881, encouraging economic development. Two years later, much of the Ocala downtown area was destroyed by fire on Thanksgiving Day, 1883. Buildings were rebuilt with brick, granite and steel rather than lumber. By 1888, Ocala was known state-wide as "The Brick City".

In December 1890, the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, a forerunner of the Populist Party held its national convention in Ocala. At the convention, the Alliance adopted a platform that would become known as the "Ocala Demands." This platform included abolition of national banks, low interest government loans, free and unlimited coinage of silver, reclamation of excess railroad lands by the government, a graduated income tax, and direct election of United States senators. Most of the "Ocala Demands" were to become part of the Populist Party platform.

Ocala was an important center of citrus production until the Great Freeze of 1894-1895.

In the twentieth century, Ocala increased in prominence as a center for tourism in Florida. Important attractions included the Silver Springs Nature Theme Park, Wild Waters water park, and the now-defunct Western-themed Six Gun Territory, all in nearby Silver Springs, Florida. Silver Springs is a 350 acre nature theme park that surrounds the headwaters of the Silver River, the largest artesian spring formation in the world.

In 1956, the Ocala area Thoroughbred industry received a boost when Needles became the first Florida-bred to win the Kentucky Derby. In 1978, Marion County-bred and -raised Affirmed won the Triple Crown. Today, Marion County is one of the major thoroughbred centers of the world, with over 1,200 horse farms in total and about 600 thoroughbred farms totaling some 77,000 acres. Ocala is well known as the horse capital of the world, one of only five cities (four in the USA and one in France) permitted to use this title based on annual income produced by the horse industry. There are some 44,000 jobs created by the breeding, training and related support help brought about by the thoroughbred industry and over 2.2 Billion dollars of econimic revenue.

Ocala/Marion County is known as the Horse Capital of the World.

Ocala began undergoing rapid growth in the 1970s with the development of the Interstate 75 and the founding of Disney World, located some 70 miles southeast.

In the last decades of the twentieth century, the greater Ocala area experienced one of the highest growth rates in the country for a city its size. The population of Marion County in 2000 was over 250,000, up from under 100,000 in 1975. Much of the county's growth is attributable to the area's growing popularity as a retirement destination, primarily in two areas southwest and south of the city: the SR 200 corridor and The Villages, respectively.

Fort King Street in c. 1920

Many historic homes are preserved in Ocala's large residential Historic District, established in 1984. A focus of this district is East Fort King Street, featuring many excellent examples of Victorian architecture. Ocala structures on the National Register of Historic Places include the Coca Cola Building, the E. C. Smith House, East Hall, the Marion Hotel, Mount Zion A.M.E. Church, the Ritz Historic Inn, and Union Train Station.

The original Fort King site itself was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2004.

Geography

Ocala is located at 29°11′16″N 82°07′50″W.Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.63 square miles (100.1 km²), all land. The surrounding farms are famous for their thoroughbred horses, in terrain similar to Kentucky bluegrass. Ocala is also known for nearby Silver Springs, Florida, site of one of the largest artesian spring formation in the world and Silver Springs Nature Theme Park, one of the earliest tourist attractions in Florida.

The 110 mile long Ocklawaha River flows north from Central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka, Florida.

Marion County is also home to the Ocala National Forest which was established in 1908 and is now the second largest national forest in the state. The Florida Trail, also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, cuts through Ocala National Forest.

Silver River State Park was established in the early 1990s to preserve the areas around the Silver River to the east of Ocala near Silver Springs.

Climate

Ocala has two distinct seasons: the dry season (October-May) and the wet season (June-September). During the dry season, there is almost uninterrupted sunshine with very little rainfall. In January, the morning low temperatures are often in the 30's and 40's, but the cloudless sunny weather typically warms the dry air up to near 70 by the afternoon. During the wet season, afternoon thunderstorms are a daily occurrence. These storms are often severe (unofficially, Ocala is known to have more cloud-to-ground lightning per square mile than any other city in the world). The typical morning low temperatures during the wet season are in the 70's and typical daytime high temperatures are in the 90's. Due to the city being relatively far away from the moderating influence of the oceans, Ocala's summertime temperatures are often the highest in the state while winter temperatures are often the lowest compared to other cities on the peninsula. Also, Ocala's distance from the oceans means the city has more days of sunshine than Florida's coastal cities. This is, in part, why the Ocala/Marion County area is called "the kingdom of the sun." The last snowfall of any significance fell on December 24, 1989, when the city was struck by an ice and snow storm.

Climate data for Ocala, Florida
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: The Weather Channel

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 45,943 people, 18,646 households, and 11,280 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,189.2/mi² (459.2/km²). There were 20,501 housing units at an average density of 530.7/mi² (204.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.86% White, 22.14% African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.22% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.74% of the population.

There were 18,646 households out of which under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.

Economy

The median income for a household in the city was $30,888, and the median income for a family was $38,190. Males had a median income of $29,739 versus $24,367 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,021. About 13.2% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.6% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

Ocala is the headquarters of Emergency One, a worldwide designer and manufacturer of fire rescue vehicles.

Sports

Ocala, Florida is home to the Belleview Bulldogs in the FCSL. They also host MCYFL games.

All America City

In 1995, Ocala was named an All-America City Award winner.

Transportation

Several major highways pass through Ocala, including Interstate 75, U.S. Highway 27, U.S. Route 301, and U.S. Highway 441. Ocala was on the western leg of the historic Dixie Highway. Ocala International Airport provides general aviation services to the community. Ocala Suntran provides bus service throughout select parts of the city.

File:2006-10-26 and 27 035.jpg

The Marion Theater

Notable residents

• A Day To Remember - Pop Punk/Melodic Hardcore Rock Band
• John Travolta - Two-time Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actor, dancer and singer
• Kelly Preston - American actress, spouse of John Travolta
• Troy Glaus - American professional baseball player
• Daunte Culpepper - American professional football quarterback
• Clinton Hart - American professional football safety
• Drayton Florence - American professional football cornerback
• George Steinbrenner - Businessman and former owner and executive of the New York Yankees
• Steve Morse - American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs, and as the guitarist of Deep Purple since 1994
• Walter Ray Williams Jr. - Professional PBA bowler who currently holds the record for all-time PBA career titles (45) and total PBA earnings (over $4,000,000 through 2008)
• Ricky Ledee - Former professional baseball player
• John Brantley - American college football quarterback for The University of Florida
• Chad Brock - American country music artist
• Dallas Taylor - Vocalist and founder of Christian metalcore band Underoath, and current lead vocalist of Birmingham, AL based band Maylene and the Sons of Disaster
• Deanna Wright - American actress and former fashion model
• C. Farris Bryant - 34th governor of Florida
• Travis Mays - Former American professional basketball player
• Kenneth H. MacKay, Jr. - 42nd governor of Florida
• Eddie Johnson - Former American professional basketball player
• Patrick O'Neal - Formerly an American television, stage and film actor. He was also a successful New York restaurateur
• Elizabeth Ashley - Tony Award winning American actress
• Brock Marion - Former American professional football safety
• Arthur Jones - Former inventor and founder of Nautilus, Inc. and MedX, Inc. and the inventor of the Nautilus exercise machine
• Bruce Boston - Science fiction writer
• Daniel Santos - Former Puerto-Rican singer
• Mel Tillis - American country music singer
• John MacDougall, aka Captain Midnight - Florida electronic engineer and business owner, who jammed HBO's satellite signal in 1986 to broadcast a message protesting their rates for satellite dish owners
• Don Nottingham - Former American football running back who played for the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League; lives in nearby Belleview, FL
• Underoath - American Grammy Award-nominated metalcore/post-hardcore band originally formed in 1998 in Ocala
• Mathew Middlebrooks- World traveler and graduate of Vanguard high school

See also

• Jumbolair
• United Hebrews of Ocala
• Star-Banner
• List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition
• Ocala National Forest

External links

• City of Ocala, Florida
• Historic Ocala Preservation Society
• Marion County Library System
• Marion County Genealogical Society
• Ocala Banner, the East Florida Banner, and the Southern Sun, historical newspapers serving Ocala, Florida, full text and images openly online in the Florida Digital Newspaper Library
• Star-Banner, daily newspaper for Ocala
• Ocala/Marion Chamber of Commerce
• Ocala/Marion County Visitors' & Convention Bureau