Ocala Florida History

In the 1500s, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida and the area known as Ocala for the king of Spain who traded it to Britain in 1763. In 1783 the British gave it back to Spain. It became a territory of the United States in 1821. Ocala is a Timucua word. In 1846 Ocala was established as the county seat near Fort King, a military outpost from the Seminole Wars. Railroads reached Ocala in 1881, encouraging development and growth of the citrus industry. It was one of the many cities devastated by the “Big Freeze” of 1894 and 1895. At the turn of the century, nearby Silver Springs, one of the largest artesian spring formations in the world, became a major tourist destination. In the 1940s and ‘50s, Ocala became known as a horse breeding and training locale. In 1956 Needles, the first Florida-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby, put Ocala on the map. Today there are over 1000 horse farms in Marion County. From 1975 to 2000, the population of the county went from 100,000 to 250,000, partly due to Ocala’s popularity as a place to retire. Today, Ocala boasts of active lifestyles for all ages, excellent cultural amenities, and lush, natural landscape.