VOLUME 7 ISSUE 15
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CF presents ‘Mean Girls’ Page A7 April 3 - 9, 2026
A living history
Census estimates
Ocala is at the top of the list for percentage growth among metro areas. By The News Service of Florida
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Among the many events that take place at Fort King, such as festivals and ongoing programs, this was the first historic reenactment of the Rains Battle. On Saturday, the event opened with blacksmith demonstrations, with handforged items available for purchase, and Vandall Samuels, a Seminole flute player, providing entertainment. In an unscripted turn of events, the weather turned a bit nasty and cold. Helping to coordinate the reenactment were the city of Ocala’s Outdoor/Historical Resource Archaeologist Samantha Jarvis and Fort King Program Coordinator Andy Warrener. “This inaugural event was a meaningful and memorable experience for the community and band of historians. Despite the unexpected and dramatic shift in weather, dropping 20 degrees violently fast, the program ultimately exceeded expectations. While some attendees briefly sought shelter, some huddled around the forge’s warmth to learn about blacksmithing,” Jarvis noted.
lorida still has some of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S., but the pace of expansion has cooled, according to Census Bureau estimates released March 26. The latest figures place Ocala at the top of the list for percentage growth among metro areas with 20,000 or more residents between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025. The region’s 3.4 percent growth — from 427,995 residents to 442,660 — was ahead of Myrtle Beach, SC, at 3.2 percent growth and Spartanburg, SC, at 2.8 percent. The Lakeland-Winter Haven area was fourth at 2.7 percent and Punta Gorda was fifth at 2.7 percent. At the other end was Taylor County, part of the rural Big Bend which suffered three direct hurricane landfalls over a 13-month period in 2023 and 2024. Taylor County is estimated to have lost 2.2 percent of its population over the past year; its population stood at 21,799 in the April 1, 2020, Census. Monroe County, with a population of 82,871 in the 2020 Census, lost an estimated 2 percent of its population over the past year, the fourth largest decline in the nation. Vernon Parish, LA, and Del Norte County, CA, were second and third in terms of percent decline. The Census figures also showed Pinellas County losing 11,834 residents, the second largest numerical decline in the nation. Miami-Dade County, now the most populous county in Florida with 2.8 million residents, had the third largest numeric decline, dropping 10,115 residents. Los Angeles had the largest numeric decline, losing an estimated 54,934 of its 9.7 million residents. The Census noted that population growth slowed in a majority of the nation’s 3,143 counties. Of the 2,066 counties that grew between 2023 and 2024, nearly eight in 10 slowed or reversed course in the past year.
See Rains Battle, page A6
See Census, page A2
lesson Reenactors fire an 1842 12-pound Mountain Howitzer during the “Rains’ Battle: Fort King’s Most Desperate Hour” reenactment at the Fort King National Historic Landmark in Ocala on March 28, 2026. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
The “Rains Battle: Fort King’s Most Desperate Hour” reenactment recalled one of the events that helped shape Ocala and Marion County. By Susan Smiley-Height susan@magnoliamediaco.com
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istory came to life on the evening of March 28 at the Fort King National Historic Landmark in Ocala. Dubbed the “Rains Battle: Fort King’s Most Desperate Hour,” the reenactment captured the events of April 28, 1840, when soldiers were ambushed by Seminole Indians. “Capt. Gabriel James Rains went on a mission to the Ocklawaha River with 16 other soldiers. As they were returning, they were ambushed by a Seminole war party. It was a desperate fight just trying to make it back to the fort. Reports indicated that three soldiers died of their wounds and just about all were wounded in some fashion. Rains was wounded so badly his hometown newspaper in New Bern, North Carolina, published his obituary. Rains did not die. He recovered,” according to Scott Mitchell, coordinator of the Silver River Museum & Environmental Education Center, which is a program of Marion County Public Schools. “Frustrated at trying to combat an opponent that could appear, wreak havoc
and then vanish into the forest, Rains had set an explosive device by a nearby spring rigged to a soldier’s jacket. It was one of the first IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in history. The Seminole discovered the bomb and detonated it, then waited in ambush for the soldiers to respond,” Mitchell continued. According to Mitchell, Rains survived his time as post commander at Fort King and went on to develop torpedoes, known today as land and sea mines. The national landmark, which includes a reconstructed fort, walking trail, welcome center and archaeology resource center, is owned jointly by the city of Ocala and Marion County, and is supported by the Fort King Heritage Foundation, Inc. The city of Ocala website notes that Fort King played a pivotal role in the Second Seminole War, the longest and most expensive conflict between the United States and Native American tribes. “It tells the powerful story of a young nation expanding into Florida and the Seminole people’s fight for survival. This historic site offers a deep look into the complex history of U.S. expansion, Native American resistance and the shaping of the state of Florida,” the site states.
Managing growth Marion County leaders consider refining interlocal agreement. By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
T A sign is shown at the entrance to Winding Oaks Elementary School, which was still under construction on Southwest 49th Avenue Road in Ocala on May 30, 2025. The school opened on Aug. 11, 2025. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette file photo]
he Marion County Board of County Commissioners, members of the Marion County School Board and representatives from Ocala, Belleview, Dunnellon, Reddick and McIntosh convened for their annual joint planning workshop at the Southeastern
Livestock Pavilion on April 1. The primary focus of the session was a comprehensive update to the Interlocal Agreement (ILA) for Public School Facility Planning, aimed at modernizing how local governments and the school district share data to manage the county’s rapid residential expansion. The agreement outlines a methodology for the school district to obtain and plan around county
and city development decisions so it can have enough schools to meet the needs of a rising population. This information sharing is crucial because the city of Ocala and the Marion County Board of Commissioners have elected not to implement school concurrency standards in their individual development decisions. See Managing growth page A9
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Marion County Day...................... A3 Literacy & Poetry Festival.......... A5 Commission races......................... A8 Home & Garden............................ B1 Calendar......................................... B6
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