Founded shortly after Spain relinquished Florida to the United States in 1821, Micanopy became the first distinct U.S. town in the new Florida territory. Named in honor of a Seminole chief, the town traces its origins to an Indian village established here in the 1700s. There, the famous naturalist William Bartram lived from 1774 to 1775 and wrote about the region's rich natural settings and native cultures.

In 1822, the Florida Association of New York--a select group of settlers and skilled craftsmen--disembarked on the banks of the St. Johns River at the present site of Palatka. With the added labor of 15 slaves, the group forged a vital pathway into the interior of Florida--a 45 mile road with eight bridges--and arrived at Micanopy Town on February 12, 1823. They soon established close contact with Seminole and Miccosukee Indians in the area, as well as the Black descendents of runaway slaves who resided among them, and proceeded to build a new Micanopy.

In 1835, during the Second Seminole War, the town was barricaded with log pickets and renamed "Fort Defiance." A year later, it became the site of two battles: the Battle of Micanopy and the Battle of Welika Pond. Afterwards, the U.S. Army evacuated the town and intentionally burned all of its buildings. The Army returned in 1837 and erected Fort Micanopy on the site.

After the Seminole War, citizens rebuilt the town but most of the original inhabitants did not return. Following the Civil War and with the coming of the railroad, the Micanopy area was known as the "leading Orange and vegetable growing section of Florida." A freeze in 1894-95 severely curtailed citrus cultivation, but local farmers continued to flourish by growing winter vegetables for northern markets. The lumber and turpentine industries largely displaced farming by the 1920s.

In this period of transition, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings settled nine miles from Micanopy, at Cross Creek. It was there that she wrote her most famous novel, The Yearling. Rawlings traveled to Micanopy to make phone calls to her publisher and to shop on the streets that today are lined with quaint antique shops, restaurants, bed & breakfasts, and bakeries. This historical ambiance has become the town's new staple industry. Movies such as Doc Hollywood and Cross Creek were filmed here, taking advantage of Micanopy's picturesque appearance--befitting both a historically accurate nineteenth century setting and an idealistic twentieth century American town.

Visitors should stop at the Micanopy Historical Society Museum and Archives to explore the rich history of "the little town that time forgot."

This podcast made possible through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council. Script written by Roger Smith. Narrated by John Richardson.