Editing Ocala, Florida (section)

==History==
[[File:Fort King fortress reconstructed.jpg|thumb|left|The Fort King reconstructed fortress in Ocala Florida]] 

Ocala is named after [[Ocale]] (also Cale, Etocale, and other variants), a Timucua village and [[chiefdom]] recorded in the 16th century, the name of which is believed to mean "Big Hammock" in the [[Timucua language]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ocalafl.org/COO.aspx?id=584 |title=Historic Highlights |publisher=City of Ocala |access-date=November 19, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080114053631/http://www.ocalafl.org/COO.aspx?id=584 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=January 14, 2008}}</ref> Another possible meaning of the name is "song or singer of admiration or glorification".<ref>{{cite book|last=Hann|first=John H.|title=A History of the Timucua Indians and Missions|year=1996|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville, Florida|isbn=0-8130-1424-7|page=166}}</ref> Spaniard [[Hernando de Soto (explorer)|Hernando de Soto]]'s expedition recorded Ocale in 1539 during his exploration through what is today the [[Southeastern United States]]. The site of Ocale has not been found, but historians believe it was located in southwestern Marion County, near the [[Withlacoochee River (Florida)|Withlacoochee River]].<ref name="Milanich Hudson">{{cite book|last1=Milanich|first1=Jerald T.|last2=Hudson|first2=Charles|title=Hernando de Soto and the Indians of Florida|year=1993|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville, Florida|isbn=0-8130-1170-1|page=92}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hann|first=John H.|title=A History of the Timucua Indians and Missions|year=1996|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville, Florida|isbn=0-8130-1424-7 |page=29}}</ref> References to Ocale, Olagale, and Etoquale occur in 16th and early 17th century sources, but do not specify a location.<ref name="Milanich Hudson"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Hann|first=John H.|title=A History of the Timucua Indians and Missions|year=1996|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville, Florida|isbn=0-8130-1424-7 |page=95}}</ref> A Spanish mission named San Luis de Eloquale was established by 1630. Milanich believes the mission was near the Withlacoochee River. Eloquale is not named in a 1655 list of missions, and Ocale (and its variants) disappeared from history.<ref>{{cite book|last=Milanich|first=Jerald T.|title=Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe|year=1995|publisher=The University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville, Florida|isbn=0-8130-1360-7|pages=176, 189}}</ref>

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, [[Creek people]] and other Native Americans, and free and fugitive African Americans sought refuge in Florida. The [[Seminole people]] formed. After foreign colonial rule shifted between Spain and Great Britain and back again, in 1821, the United States acquired the territory of Florida. After warfare to the north, in 1827, the U.S. Army built [[Fort King]] near the present site of Ocala as a buffer between the Seminole, who had long occupied the area, and white settlers moving into the region. The fort was an important base during the [[Second Seminole War]] and later served in 1844 as the first courthouse for Marion County.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ocalafl.gov/government/city-departments-i-z/recreation-parks/fort-king-national-historic-landmark/history-of-the-site|title=History of the Site|publisher=City of Ocala|accessdate=September 19, 2023}}</ref>

The modern city of Ocala, which was established in 1849, developed around the fort site. Greater Ocala is known as the "Kingdom of the Sun".<ref>{{cite book|last=McCarthy |first=Kevin |author2=Jernigan, Ernest |title=Ocala |year=2001 |isbn=0-7385-1377-6 |page=11 |publisher=Arcadia}}</ref> [[plantations in the American South|Plantations]] and other agricultural development dependent on [[Slavery in the United States|slave]] labor were prevalent in the region. Ocala was an important center of citrus production until the [[Great Freeze]] of 1894–1895.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hussey |first=Scott |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29765147 |title=Freezes, Fights, and Fancy: The Formation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the Florida Citrus Industry |journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly |volume=89 |issue=1 |date=Summer 2010 |pages=85–86 |jstor=29765147}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1988/05/15/a-breed-apart-ocala-is-the-horse-capital-of-florida-but-can-it-last/ |title=A Breed Apart Ocala is the Horse Capital of Florida. But Can It Last? |date=May 15, 1988 |accessdate=September 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ocalafl.gov/our-city/live/historic-preservation/downtown-district/downtown-ocala-historic-context-and-history |title=Downtown Ocala Historic Context and History |publisher=City of Ocala |accessdate=September 19, 2023}}</ref> During the [[Reconstruction Era]], Ocala was represented by several African Americans in the Florida House of Representatives and on the local level.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ocala Black History Mural |url=https://www.oncell.com/sr/CU8rh/?lang=en |access-date=October 19, 2021|website=City of Ocala Recreation and Parks}}</ref>

[[Image:OcalaFL83.jpg|thumb|left|Downtown Ocala in 1883]]

[[Railroad|Rail service]] reached Ocala in June 1881, encouraging economic development with greater access to markets for produce. Two years later, much of the Ocala downtown area was destroyed by fire on [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] Day, 1883. The city encouraged rebuilding with [[brick]], [[granite]], and [[steel]] rather than [[lumber]]. By 1888, Ocala was known statewide as the "Brick City".<ref name=BC>{{cite web|last=Hutchinson|first=Bill|url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2008/11/27/thanksgiving-in-ocala-stirs-up-memories-of-fire/28677961007/|title=Why Brick City? Because wood and fire don't mix|work=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]|date=November 26, 2008|accessdate=September 19, 2023}}</ref><ref name=BrickCity>{{cite web|last=Mancil|first=Kathy|url=https://www.ocala.com/story/entertainment/local/2013/03/14/brick-city-presents-history-of-brick-city/31917156007/|title=Brick City presents history of 'Brick City'|work=[[Ocala StarBanner]]|date=March 14, 2013|orig-date=March 12, 2013|accessdate=September 19, 2023}}</ref>

In December 1890, the [[Farmers' Alliance|Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union]], a forerunner of the [[People's Party (United States)|Populist Party]], 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, promoting 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. {{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

[[Image:Fort King Street, Looking West, Ocala, FL.jpg|thumb|left|Fort King Street, ''circa'' 1920]]

In the last decades of the 20th century, the greater Ocala area had one of the highest growth rates in the country for a city its size.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 3, 2025 |title=U-Haul Growth Metros and Cities of 2024: Dallas Top Metro for In-Migration |url=https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/About/U-Haul-Growth-Metros-And-Cities-Of-2024-Dallas-Top-Metro-for-IN-Migration-33084/ |access-date=March 10, 2025 |website=U-Haul}}</ref>

===Ocala Historic District===
Many historic homes are preserved in Ocala's large residential [[Ocala Historic District|Historic District]], designated in 1984. East Fort King Street features many excellent examples of [[Victorian architecture]]. Ocala structures listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] include the [[Coca-Cola Bottling Plant (Ocala, Florida)|Coca-Cola Building]], [[E. C. Smith House]], [[East Hall (Ocala, Florida)|East Hall]], [[Marion Hotel (Ocala, Florida)|Marion Hotel]], [[Mount Zion A.M.E. Church (Ocala, Florida)|Mount Zion A.M.E. Church]], [[The Ritz Apartment (Ocala, Florida)|Ritz Historic Inn]], and [[Ocala Union Station|Union Train Station]]. The original [[Fort King]] site was designated as a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 2004.