Micanopy, Florida
Encyclopedia
Micanopy is a town in Alachua County
, Florida
, United States
. It is south of Gainesville
. The population in the 2000 census was 653. As of 2004, the population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 652. The old town of Micanopy is a historic district, and contains a number of antique
stores, as well as a large used book store and a couple of restaurant
s.
, with settlement beginning after Spain ceded the Florida territory in 1821. When explorer and naturalist William Bartram
visited in 1774, it was the site of a Seminole
village called Cuscowilla. Bartram's favorable writings about this fertile area influenced future generations of settlers. Named after a Seminole chief
, the territorial town of Micanopy was built under the auspices of the Florida Association of New York (the earliest Florida development corporation, headquartered in New York City). Both Fort Defiance (1835–1836) and Fort Micanopy (1837–1843) were located here during the Second Seminole War
. Some of the bloodiest battles of that war took place along the road southwest from Fort Micanopy to Fort Wacahoota, just inside modern Alachua County.
Micanopy's historic district was listed on National Register of Historic Places
in 1983. One of the town's founders, Moses E. Levy, is the subject of an acclaimed biography—Moses Levy of Florida: Jewish Utopian and Antebellum Reformer (2005). Micanopy has been used as a location for several major motion pictures including Cross Creek
(1983) and Doc Hollywood
(1991). The home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
, where she wrote The Yearling
and Cross Creek
, is in nearby Cross Creek
. The house is now a museum.
Noted residents include the late zoologist and author, Archie Carr
and his conservationist wife, Marjorie Harris Carr, who lived for many years at their home at Wewa Pond just outside Micanopy.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²). 1 square miles (2.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (4.63%) is water.
of 2000, there were 653 people, 302 households, and 172 families residing in the town. The population density
was 631.4 inhabitants per square mile (244.8/km²). There were 346 housing units at an average density of 334.6 per square mile (129.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 68.30% White, 28.94% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.31% from other races
, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population.
There were 302 households out of which 21.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were married couples
living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.74.
In the town the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $27,778, and the median income for a family was $38,611. Males had a median income of $30,938 versus $20,294 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $20,433. About 3.0% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.
and surrounding areas.
Micanopy is mentioned in the Tom Petty
song "A Mind with a Heart of Its Own" from the album Full Moon Fever
.
Micanopy is mentioned in the John Anderson
song "Seminole Wind"
from the album Seminole Wind
. The song is covered by James Taylor on the album James Taylor Covers. The lyrics can be seen at James Taylor's website.
The film Doc Hollywood
starring Michael J. Fox
(based on the book What, Dead Again? by Neil B. Shulman, M.D.), was filmed in Micanopy. The town celebrates the movie with an annual "Doc Hollywood Days" event which features a goofy parade and a stand-up comedy routine by Dr. Shulman.
Alachua County, Florida
Alachua County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 227,120. Its county seat is Gainesville, Florida. Alachua County is the home of the University of Florida and is also known for its diverse culture, local music, and artisans...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is south of Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
. The population in the 2000 census was 653. As of 2004, the population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 652. The old town of Micanopy is a historic district, and contains a number of antique
Antiques
An antique is an old collectible item. It is collected or desirable because of its age , beauty, rarity, condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features...
stores, as well as a large used book store and a couple of restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s.
History
Micanopy was the first distinct United States town in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, with settlement beginning after Spain ceded the Florida territory in 1821. When explorer and naturalist William Bartram
William Bartram
William Bartram was an American naturalist. The son of Ann and John Bartram, William Bartram and his twin sister Elizabeth were born in Kingsessing, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. As a boy, he accompanied his father on many of his travels, to the Catskill Mountains, the New Jersey Pine Barrens,...
visited in 1774, it was the site of a Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
village called Cuscowilla. Bartram's favorable writings about this fertile area influenced future generations of settlers. Named after a Seminole chief
Micanopy
Micanopy , also known as Micco-Nuppe, Michenopah, Miccanopa, Mico-an-opa and Sint-chakkee , was the leading chief of the Seminoles who led the tribe during the Second Seminole War...
, the territorial town of Micanopy was built under the auspices of the Florida Association of New York (the earliest Florida development corporation, headquartered in New York City). Both Fort Defiance (1835–1836) and Fort Micanopy (1837–1843) were located here during the Second Seminole War
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars...
. Some of the bloodiest battles of that war took place along the road southwest from Fort Micanopy to Fort Wacahoota, just inside modern Alachua County.
Micanopy's historic district was listed on National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1983. One of the town's founders, Moses E. Levy, is the subject of an acclaimed biography—Moses Levy of Florida: Jewish Utopian and Antebellum Reformer (2005). Micanopy has been used as a location for several major motion pictures including Cross Creek
Cross Creek (film)
Cross Creek is a 1983 film starring Mary Steenburgen as The Yearling author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. The film is directed by Martin Ritt and is based, in part, on Rawlings' 1942 memoir, Cross Creek.-Plot:...
(1983) and Doc Hollywood
Doc Hollywood
Doc Hollywood is a 1991 American romantic comedy film based on the book, What? Dead...Again?, by Neil B. Shulman, M.D. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Woody Harrelson and Bridget Fonda. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones. The filming took place in Micanopy, Florida.-Plot:Dr....
(1991). The home of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was an American author who lived in rural Florida and wrote novels with rural themes and settings. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie, also known as The...
, where she wrote The Yearling
The Yearling
The Yearling is a 1946 Technicolor family film drama made by MGM. It was directed by Clarence Brown and produced by Sidney Franklin. The screenplay was by Paul Osborn and John Lee Mahin , adapted from the novel of the same name by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings...
and Cross Creek
Cross Creek
As a place in the United States, Cross Creek may refer to: *Cross Creek , a waterway connecting Orange Lake and Lochloosa Lake in southeastern Alachua County**Cross Creek, Florida, a community centered on the Cross Creek waterway...
, is in nearby Cross Creek
Cross Creek, Florida
Cross Creek is an unincorporated community in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is located on Cross Creek, a short stream connecting Orange Lake and Lochloosa Lake.-Geography:Cross Creek is located at .-History:...
. The house is now a museum.
Noted residents include the late zoologist and author, Archie Carr
Archie Carr
Archie Fairly Carr, Jr. was an American herpetologist, ecologist and a pioneering conservationist. He was a Professor of Zoology at the University of Florida. In 1987 he was awarded the Eminent Ecologist Award by the Ecological Society of America...
and his conservationist wife, Marjorie Harris Carr, who lived for many years at their home at Wewa Pond just outside Micanopy.
Geography
Micanopy is located at 29.506489°N 82.282013°W.According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²). 1 square miles (2.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (4.63%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 653 people, 302 households, and 172 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 631.4 inhabitants per square mile (244.8/km²). There were 346 housing units at an average density of 334.6 per square mile (129.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 68.30% White, 28.94% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.31% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.99% of the population.
There were 302 households out of which 21.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.74.
In the town the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $27,778, and the median income for a family was $38,611. Males had a median income of $30,938 versus $20,294 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $20,433. About 3.0% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.
Culture
Micanopy hosts a large arts festival every autumn featuring many local (and distant) artists. The festival brings in a crowd much larger than the town's population from across Payne's Prairie in GainesvilleGainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
and surrounding areas.
Micanopy is mentioned in the Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
song "A Mind with a Heart of Its Own" from the album Full Moon Fever
Full Moon Fever
Full Moon Fever is the first solo album by Tom Petty, though it features contributions from several members of his backing band, the Heartbreakers, along with fellow members of the Traveling Wilburys. The record shows Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences...
.
Micanopy is mentioned in the John Anderson
John Anderson (musician)
John David Anderson is an American country music artist with a successful career that has lasted more than 30 years...
song "Seminole Wind"
Seminole Wind (song)
"Seminole Wind" is the title of a song written and recorded by country music artist John Anderson. It was released in August 1992 as the fourth single from the album of the same name. It peaked at #2 on the United States Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and reached number-one on the...
from the album Seminole Wind
Seminole Wind
Seminole Wind is a studio album released in 1992 by American country music artist John Anderson. This is also known as his comeback album. It features the singles "Straight Tequila Night", "Let Go of the Stone", "When It Comes to You", and the title track, all of which reached the country top ten,...
. The song is covered by James Taylor on the album James Taylor Covers. The lyrics can be seen at James Taylor's website.
The film Doc Hollywood
Doc Hollywood
Doc Hollywood is a 1991 American romantic comedy film based on the book, What? Dead...Again?, by Neil B. Shulman, M.D. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Woody Harrelson and Bridget Fonda. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones. The filming took place in Micanopy, Florida.-Plot:Dr....
starring Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
(based on the book What, Dead Again? by Neil B. Shulman, M.D.), was filmed in Micanopy. The town celebrates the movie with an annual "Doc Hollywood Days" event which features a goofy parade and a stand-up comedy routine by Dr. Shulman.
See also
- Church of the Mediator (Micanopy, Florida)Church of the Mediator (Micanopy, Florida)The Church of the Mediator is an historic church in Micanopy, Florida which was built in 1874 as a Presbyterian church but since 1966 has been an Episcopal church. It is a contributing property in the Micanopy Historic District.-History:...
- Doc HollywoodDoc HollywoodDoc Hollywood is a 1991 American romantic comedy film based on the book, What? Dead...Again?, by Neil B. Shulman, M.D. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Woody Harrelson and Bridget Fonda. It was directed by Michael Caton-Jones. The filming took place in Micanopy, Florida.-Plot:Dr....
, filmed in Micanopy. - Micanopy Historic DistrictMicanopy Historic DistrictThe Micanopy Historic District is a U.S. historic district located in Micanopy, Florida. It encompasses approximately , bounded by roughly Cholokka Boulevard from US 441 to Ocala Street then Smith Street West to Okehumkee Street. It contains 35 historic buildings.-See also:*Church of the Mediator...
External links
- Cotton States newspaper that serves Micanopy, Florida is available in full-text with images in Florida Digital Newspaper Library
- Micanopy Branch Library