Originally named "Alligator" after Seminole Chief "Alligator," Lake City is a community of many lakes, rivers, and springs. Centuries before Hernando De Soto claimed Florida for Spain, the Timucua Indians populated the fertile region. In the early 18th century, following the demise of the Timucua, Seminole Indians settled the area. Their close relationship with British colonists in St. Augustine served the Seminoles well, but American expansion and the hostilities associated with the Second Seminole War, beginning in 1835, forced many Seminoles to flee.

During the Civil War, Lake City was a major food supplier to the Confederate Army. Cattle ranches around the town provided so much beef for the Southern war effort that in February 1864, 6,000 Union troops marched on the town. Included in this number was the famous 54th Massachusetts, America's first African-American Army regiment. Fifteen miles outside Lake City, Union forces clashed with Confederate troops in what became known as the Battle of Olustee. Successfully defending their supply lines, the Confederates forced the Northern soldiers to retreat to

Jacksonville. Each year on President's Day weekend, Civil War re-enactors from around the country converge on Lake City to take part in one of the largest Civil War re-enactments in the nation.

A prosperous agricultural and cattle community before the Civil War, Lake City added naval stores, phosphate mining, and education to its economic portfolio in the post-war years. From 1884, to 1906, Lake City was home to Florida Agricultural College, which would become the University of Florida. The decision to relocate the state college to Gainesville angered Lake City residents. At the time of the move, in 1906, local wagon drivers refused to transport university equipment out of town. Books and equipment went by rail, other materials by wagon carts under armed guard.

By the 1920s, railroads crisscrossing Florida brought heavy tourist traffic through Lake City, and the town responded with new hotels and restaurants. The Lake Isabella Historic Residential District reflects the prosperity of this era. Today, travelers can visit the Blanche Hotel, where gangster Al Capone often rested during long trips from Chicago to Miami. Just across Main Street from the Blanche is De Soto's Drug Store where NFL great and Hall of Fame sportscaster Pat Summerall worked after school. Around the corner is the historic Columbia County Courthouse. These are only a handful of unique historical sites that await travelers in Lake City, Florida.

Script written by Roger Smith. Narrated by Sandra Averhart.