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History BAKER COUNTY Baker County was established in February 1861 on a


segment of New River County (present-day Bradford). The county was named for Judge James McNair Baker, a Florida senator in the Confederate Congress and a judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Florida. The county seat was Sanderson. Three years later, Union and Confederate armies clashed in a pine forest near Olustee in west Baker County. Three U.S. Colored Troops, including the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, took part in the Battle of Olustee. The clash was the biggest Civil War battle in Florida with more than 2,807 casualties and a Union defeat. Shortly after the war, a young stockbroker from Chicago, George Taber, came to the area of Glen St. Mary and entered the plant industry. In 1882, Taber began a partnership with Thomas Beath and formed the famed Glen St. Mary Nursery Company, which is known for its horticultural developments, such as standardizing the varieties of oranges in the state’s citrus industry. In 1886, the county seat was moved from Sanderson to Darbyville, which was later named McClenny after C.B. McClenny, a major local timber salesman. The spelling was changed to Macclenny for unknown reasons, though it has been said that post office regulations forbade a city from having a capital letter in the middle of its name.


By proclamation of President Hoover, the Osceola National


Forest was established on July 10, 1931. A natural gem with more than 200,000 acres of woodlands and swamps, the forest was named in honor of the Seminole warrior Osceola, who led 3,000 warriors against U.S. forces during the Second Seminole War. Agriculture remains a large part of Baker County’s economy. Today, two main industrial parks house several manufacturing operations and a large retail distribution center. Baker County is still a rural area where hunting, fishing, swimming and water skiing are popular activities that boost the local economy.


CLAY COUNTY By 1728, almost all of the Native American Timucuans in


the Clay County area had been killed or enslaved by the Spanish. In 1790, Spain made a land grant to Zephaniah Kingsley in the area now known as Orange Park and to George Fleming in the areas now known as Green Cove Springs and Fleming Island. During the 1800s, Kingsley and Fleming built plantations to grow oranges, sea-island cotton, corn, potatoes and peas. Due to conflict between the Spanish and American Patriots, these plantations were destroyed by fire multiple times. Kingsley, and wife Anna, moved to a plantation on Ft. George Island. Fleming, however, rebuilt and, eventually, left the plantation to his son, Lewis, in 1821. Clay County was incorporated in 1858 and named after Henry Clay, the famous politician from Kentucky. Middleburg was selected as the first county seat, as it had been an established city since the 1820s. The county’s largest town, Orange Park, was founded in 1877 by the Florida Winter Home and Improvement Company for the purpose of creating a Southern retreat and farming community. Since the area was marketed in Northern states, the company placed lots among the orange trees to increase sales. The town was incorporated in 1879 by a Special Act of the Florida Legislature.


In the early 1920s, the city of Keystone Heights was


founded by newcomers from Pennsylvania. The city acquired its name from Pennsylvania’s nickname, Keystone State, and was incorporated in April 1925. The many lakes of Keystone Heights make it a popular spot for weekend homes and recreational activities. Like other areas of the First Coast, portions of Clay County are experiencing tremendous growth.


_________________________________________________________________________ Historical Society of Orange Park festival, photo courtesy of Historical Society of Orange Park


First Coast Relocation GuideTM 2013


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