The history and beauty of Micanopy, Florida

MICANOPY, Fla. - Just south of Gainesville is a small town with lots of history.  Dating back to 1821, Micanopy  is Florida’s oldest continually inhabited community in the interior of the state. 

Known for its antique stores and unique restaurants, downtown Micanopy, with its oak tree canopy shadowing old brick and frame buildings is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

“We are actually off I-75 less than one mile. We get a lot of that – travelers who are on the interstate that want to come and have a sandwich, not go to McDonald’s, not go to fast food. They come here and discover us – ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t know you were here!’ You get off the interstate; you can be in Micanopy in one minute,” offered Micanopy resident Kelly Harris, pronouncing the name of the town as “Mick-uh-NO-pee.”

Eighty years ago, author Marjorie Rawlings wrote about life in the area in her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Yearling.  Rawlings’ homestead is a state park in nearby Cross Creek. 

“There’s something about when you come here, you feel like you’ve went back in time,” added Harris.