Lake City, Florida
Lake City, Florida | |
|---|---|
Top, left to right: Downtown Lake City, Columbia County Courthouse, Lake Isabella, Lake Montgomery, Lake DeSoto, 1912 Columbia County Bank building, Hotel Blanche, T. G. Henderson House | |
| Nickname: The Gateway to Florida | |
Location in Columbia County and the state of Florida | |
| Coordinates: 30°11′N 82°38′W / 30.183°N 82.633°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Columbia |
| Settled | 1821 |
| Incorporated | 1859 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| • Mayor | Noah Walker |
| • City Manager | Don Rosenthal |
| Area | |
| 12.25 sq mi (31.73 km2) | |
| • Land | 11.85 sq mi (30.69 km2) |
| • Water | 0.40 sq mi (1.04 km2) 3.20% |
| Elevation | 197 ft (60 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| 12,329 | |
| • Density | 1,040.60/sq mi (401.79/km2) |
| • Metro | 67,531 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 32024-32025, 32055-32056 |
| Area code | 386 |
| FIPS code | 12-37775 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0305917 |
| Website | www |
Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329, up from 12,046 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, composed of Columbia County, as well as a principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida. Lake City is 60 miles west of Jacksonville.
Lake City began as the town of Alligator in 1821 near the Seminole settlement known as Alligator Village. Alligator became the seat of Columbia County in 1832 when it was formed from Duval and Alachua counties. In 1858, Alligator was incorporated and renamed Lake City.
The Battle of Olustee, the largest American Civil War battle in Florida, took place near Lake City in 1864. In 1884, the Florida Agricultural College was established in Lake City as a land grant college; it was relocated to Gainesville in 1905, in accordance with the Buckman Act, to form the University of Florida. The city's sesquicentennial was held in 2009.
Lake City is known as "The Gateway to Florida" because it is adjacent to the intersection of Interstate 75 and Interstate 10. The city is the site of Lake City Gateway Airport, formerly known as NAS Lake City. Florida Gateway College is located in Lake City.