Gainesville.
1 City (2020 pop. 141,085), seat of Alachua co., N central
Fla.; inc. 1869. The Univ. of Florida is a major source of employment in the
city. Agriculture and the manufacture of electronic equipment add to the
economy. Points of interest, in addition to the huge campus of the
university and the museums there, are Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, Paynes
Prairie Preserve State Park, Marjorie Kinnan Rawling's home in nearby Cross
Creek, and many natural sinkholes, such as Devils Millhopper (said to be the
largest in Florida). 2 City (2020 pop. 42,296), seat of Hall
co., N central Ga., on Lake Lanier, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mts.;
inc. 1821. It is a trade center for NE Georgia and has poultry-processing,
clothing and textile, lumber, furniture, and pharmaceutical industries.
Brenau Univ. is there. Riverside Military Academy and Chattahoochee National
Forest are nearby. 3 Town (2020 pop. 17,394), seat of Cooke
co., N Tex., on the Elm Fork of the Trinity River; inc. 1873. It is the
commercial and industrial hub of a farm and oil area. Electrical equipment;
metal, plastic, and fiberglass products; and tools are among its
manufactures. Gainesville was founded (1850) on the California Trail; later
it became a stopping point on the Chisholm Trail. Historical markers
are on various houses, churches, and sites of early Native American raids.
4 Town (2020 pop. 18,112), Prince William co., NE Va. Named
for early settler Thomas Gaines, the town became a major road and railroad
hub for shipping grain, livestock, and lumber. The nearby Thoroughfare Gap
served as a major crossing through the Bull Run Mountains, and was hotly
contested during the Civil War. Beginning in the 1990s, the area saw a
growth in residential development.
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