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History

Early years

Ocala was established in 1846 near the site of Fort King, a military outpost of the Seminole Wars. Ocala is a Timucua word of unknown meaning. Hernando de Soto (explorer) passed through a Timucua village or province named Ocali or Ocale near the present site of Ocala during his famous expedition through what is today the southeastern United States in 1539. Greater Ocala and Marion County are known as the "Kingdom of the Sun."

In December 1890, the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, a forerunner of the Populist Party (United States) held its national convention in Ocala. At the convention, the Alliance adopted a platform that would become known as the "Ocala Demands." This platform included abolition of national banks, low interest government loans, free and unlimited coinage of silver, reclamation of excess railroad lands by the government, a graduated income tax, and direct election of United States Senators. Most of the "Ocala Demands" were to become part of the Populist Party platform.

Ocala was an important center of citrus production until the "Big Freeze" of 1894-1895.

Silver Springs

In the twentieth century, Ocala increased its role as a center for tourism in Florida. Important attractions included the Silver Springs Attraction, Wild Waters water park, and the now-defunct Western-themed Six Gun Territory, all in nearby Silver Springs, Florida. Silver Springs Attraction is a 350 acre nature theme park that surrounds the headwaters of the Silver River, the largest artesian spring formation in the world.

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