Five Experience You’ll Find Only in Gainesville
If you’re a Gainesville newbie, you’ll find no end of experiences that are unique to your new hometown.
Some are big and some are small, but all are available only in Gainesville and Alachua County. Gainesville anchors the inland portion of north-central Florida, where natural beauty and resources are abundant, and so are some of the man-made ones.
Here’s our list of five things you’ll find only in Gainesville.
The Gainesville Solar Walk
Bring the kids along for this one. It’s nearly a mile of sidewalk marked by sculpted columns that portray the solar system as a four-billion-to-one scale model. It includes the sun, all planets, a few stars, and is the work of artist Elizabeth Indianos. Tim Mallas designed each column’s bronze plaque.
…show more content…
The Solar Walk is located on NW 8th Avenue.
Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park
This is a National Natural Landmark, but one you probably didn’t know about until now. Devil’s Millhopper is a sizable sinkhole — 120 feet and 500 feet wide — that contains lush, tropical vegetation. The visitors’ center will fill you in on particulars, but expect a couple of nice hikes, one a half-mile trail around the sinkhole’s rim, and the other a 232-step boardwalk that winds to the bottom. Fossils have been found here and water trickles down the sinkhole’s walls.
Devil’s Millhopper is located at 4732 Millhopper Road in Gainesville.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park
The circa-1930s home of a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, this state park preserves Rawling’s slice of north-central Florida that inspired her books — The Yearling and Cross Creek. All buildings on the property, as well as gardens and an orange grove, are completely restored. Guided tours are available.
This state park is located on S. County 325, in Cross Creek (near the town of Micanopy).
Historic Haile
Homestead Another slice of Gainesville-area history, this one truly is unique. The circa-1856 Haile Homestead was the home of the Haile family, who moved here in 1854 from South Carolina to establish a cotton plantation. Their more than 6,000-square-foot home was built by enslaved laborers, and the family and their guests began a tradition of writing on its walls. Today, more than 12,500 words cover the Haile Homestead’s “Talking Walls.” The home has been restored and tours are available. It’s located on SW Archer Road in Gainesville. Take a Selfie with a Gator Because you now live in Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida, you may wish to commemorate that fact with a social media photo or two. How about three? One each at the following bronze alligator statues on the ‘UF” campus (there are more). “Bull Gator,” installed as a tribute to Florida’s 2008 NCAA national championship football team, sits outside the southeast entrance of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It’s a straight-forward, roaring bronze gator. A more fun bronze sculpture awaits outside Emerson Alumni Hall. It’s of Albert and Alberta, Florida’s official gator couple, strolling together along a sidewalk. This one’s kid-perfect, as long as little ones don’t get scared. Albert and Alberta are life-sized! And finally, a newer bronze sculpture of a gator balancing on a globe — called “Gator Ubiquity” — sits outside Heavener Hall in the Warrington College of Business Administration complex. Ready to live your Gainesville lifestyle? Talk to ICI Homes here.
Florida became a state in 1845 and almost immediately people began proposing to drain the Everglades. In 1848, a government report said that draining the Everglades would be easy, and there would be no bad effect. Canals and dams were dug to control seasonal flooding. Farmers grew vegetables in the rich soil of the drained land, Ranchers had their cattle graze on the dry land, and new railways lines were constructed to connect communities throughout south Florida; but the ecosystem of the Everglades was not suited for either farming or ranching. The natural cycle of dry and wet seasons brought a devastating series of droughts and floods. These had always been a p...
Located just north of Michigan lies a unique little island that may be small in size but large in history. Glaciers once covered this land and after they began to recede a unique landscape was revealed as was the opening for its place in history. The Mackinac Island’s history has been due in large part to its geographical location and terrain makeup.
I made a Model of the solar system, to show how the planets align in the Milky Way.
Despite the overall opinion of our class, I enjoyed Hugh Willoughby’s Across the Everglades. The short history he provided and the description of his journey through mangroves and saw grass was both enlightening and entertaining. He offered insight into the historical part of Florida that we, in 2004, will never know of by first hand experience. Willoughby’s journal was also the perfect handbook for an Everglades class canoe trip. From the intricate metaphors he weaves into his facts to the influence of opinion behind those facts, Willoughby’s work captures the minds of his readers.
Cashin, Edward J., ed. A wilderness still the cradle of nature: frontier Georgia. Savannah: Beehive, 1994. Print.
Outdoors-river widens to a broad stream, low mud flaps on one side, pelicans, native pines, high creeper covered walls.
To any one wondering what it’s like to live in Miami, the simple answer would have to be marvelous. Needless to say, it’s impossible to describe what it’s like to live in such an eminent city with just one word. Miami is famous for its beautiful beaches and its Art Deco architecture but most importantly it considered the melting pot of the United States. Living in such a diverse and illustrious city certainly has its perks. The atmosphere is vibrant. The weather is wonderful year round. The city is alive while the suburbs are roaring and growing.
Rielly, Edward J. “Out of the Landscape of His Past.” Journal of American Cultuer 16.3 (1993): 47.
You’ll have a lot of visitors. Moving to Florida and you’ll never have to worry about having visitors again. Everyone will want to visit you, so find a place large enough to accompany them all.
The Florida Everglades have been slowly and steadily diminishing in size for over many decades. Throughout the years, the Everglades have had an abundant, healthy environment. The massive swamps were once rich with marshland, and had ecosystems chock-full of wildlife. However, due to large corporations, natural disasters and most importantly, the growth of the human population, the Everglades are 50% smaller than they were hundreds of years ago. The destruction of the Florida Everglades includes not only a diminishing number of the marshland, but also the lessening of wild life, such as alligators, herons, and exotic plants. While there is a government plan set for the restoration of the everglades, it will take many years to make up for the
Walker, Alice. (1974). “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.” Ways of Reading. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, pp. 694-701.
Archaeological research indicates that Florida had been inhabited for thousands of years before any European settlements. Of the many indigenous peoples, the largest known were the Ais, the Apalachee, the Calusa, the Timucua and the Tocobago tribes. Juan Ponce de León, a Spanish conquistador, named Florida in honor of his discovery of the land on April 2, 1513, during Pascua Florida, a Spanish term for the Easter season (Juan Ponce de León may not have been the first European to reach Florida; according to one report, at least one indigenous tribesman who he encountered in Florida in 1513 spoke Spanish.[6]). From that date forward, the land became known as "La Florida" , although from 1630 until the 19th century Tegesta (after the Tequesta tribe) was the name of choice for the Florida peninsula following publication of a map by the Dutch cartographer Hessel Gerritsz in Joannes de Laet's History of the New World.[7]
Florida has had quite an eventful history. It’s first human inhabitants are believed to be several Native American tribes, including The Panzacola, Chatot, Apalachicola, Apalachee, Timucua, Calusa, and the Matecumbe. These tribes occupied land all over Florida.
Towering over 1250 feet above the beautiful Belle Fourche River stands a magnificent structure in northeast Wyoming. The shape of this structure is that of a huge tree stump. The base of this structure is over 1000 feet in diameter, while the top tapers to a 275 foot diameter. It stands 870 vertical feet from base to top, the tallest such formation in the U.S. This amazing structure has an incredible history and its legends are told to this day. It has been used for fame and fortune, religion and rituals, landmarks and legends, vacationers and visitors, movies and money, and many other things. It is beautiful and majestic, captivating and unique, feared and awed among those who have been in its presence. It has brought success to many and fate to some. The history this structure holds within itself is incredible. Its name sends fear to most and lives up to its reputation. May I introduce to you the one and only "Devils Tower." (5)
of the planets and stars you can see in the sky on the walls of