Fort White Historical Marker

This historical marker in Deese Memorial Park shares a brief history of Fort White, a small town in Columbia County Florida. The town was founded in 1870 and named after a fort that was established in 1837 during the Second Seminole War.

Fort White is named after a fort constructed in this area during the Second Seminole War from 1836 to 1837 to protect the Cow Creek settlement. Steamboats came on the Santa Fe River brought in supplies and gave the supplies out to other area forts. With flooding along the river and the arrival of the railroad, the town site was moved four miles from the location of the original settlement. Mining and agriculture were the foundation of the economy, but with the depletion of phosphate and several difficult harvests, the population shrank from 2000 people to 365 in 1979. 

Fort White High School was built in 1915 and the auditorium was added in 1936. The last graduating class was in 1969. With the creation of Ichetucknee State Park, the began to grow in population as the area is a popular recreation spot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_White,_Florida

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g34235-Fort_White_Florida-Vacations.html

http://fortwhitefl.com/

https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml