Micanopy, northwest Fla. 2018. Paul Goldfinger ©. The owner stays open until tourists drive off.
Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net
In the 19th century, the town of Micanopy, Fla. prospered with agriculture; in sequence came cane sugar, cotton, vegetables, oranges and lumber.
In 1836 there was a battle with the local Seminole Indians. The US Army showed up to rescue the town, and a fort was built. There were settlers and some slaves in the town. But later the town’s founder Moses Levy, a Jewish immigrant from Morocco, encouraged schools and opposed slavery.
These days (December, 2018) it is a tourist town on the National Historic Register. Antiques used to be big in Micanopy, but now millennials hate that old stuff. It is a fine place to visit and explore for a couple of hours.
Last year I bought a T shirt, but this year they were sold out. The town panhandler hit me up, and a young couple were posing for a professional wedding photographer. I snapped a couple of frames from a distance; the groom looked at me and gave me a grin and a thumbs up.
A guitarist was playing outside some shops. He said that he has made some country recordings. A hat on the ground collected some change and bills. Christmas decorations were scattered about.
Micanopy is near Gainesville (U. of Florida) and had a population of 600 in the last Census.
BOB DYLAN: “The Man in Me.”
Bob Dylan. Photographer unknown.
Friendly clarification that Moses Levy was not the founder of the Town of Micanopy. He established a small Jewish settlement (Pilgrimage Plantation, 1822) in the Alachua territory three miles northwest of town and indeed his family was critical to the settlement of north-central Florida.
Edward M. Wanton (appointed by Spain) founded Micanopy in 1821 (originally called Wanton) as an important trading post. The Seminoles destroyed Pilgrimage Plantation in 1835 and its residents relocated to the town where the U.S. Army had built Fort Defiance. Micanopy burned the following year but was soon rebuilt by hardy immigrants.
The town itself with its old woodframe buildings is what attracts visitors, and antique shops are only part of the artistic and tasty offerings different generations can enjoy. Good place for a day-trip through area small towns. Bring walking shoes and bug spray. Thank you for your post.