Lake City, Florida

Lake City, Florida
Lake City, Florida
City
	City of Lake City
	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
	Lake City Lake City
	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	Stephen M. Witt
• City Manager	Demetrius Johnson
Area
• City	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)
• City	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.lcfla.com

Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States.^[4] 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—Lake City, Florida Combined Statistical Area. Lake City is 60 miles west of Jacksonville.

Lake City began as the town of Alligator^[5] 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 to form part of the University of Florida. The city's sesquicentennial was held in 2009.^[6]

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.

^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake City, Florida
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lake City" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 90.
^ "History". Retrieved September 10, 2017.

[CenPopGazetteer2020-1] "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 31, 2021.

[gnis-2] U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake City, Florida

[GR2-3] "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.

[GR6-4] "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.

[EB1911-5] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lake City" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 90.

[6] "History". Retrieved September 10, 2017.

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