GAINESVILLE

city, Alachua county, north-central Florida, U.S. It lies 72 miles (116 km) southwest of Jacksonville. White settlement developed around a trading post known as Hog Town (established 1830). When the community became the county seat in 1854, it was renamed for General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, a commander during the War of 1812. Light industry and agriculture (including tung-oil production) are economic factors, and the University of Florida (1903), which incorporated the East Florida State Seminary (1853), has played a major role in the city's growth. Santa Fe Community College was opened there in 1966. Nearby is Newnans Lake. The Florida State Museum is in Gainesville. Inc. town, 1869; city, 1907. Pop. (1990) city, 84,770; Gainesville MSA, 204,111. city, seat (1818) of Hall county, northeastern Georgia, U.S. It is located along Lake Sidney Lanier (which is impounded by Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River), in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Settled in 1818, it was named for General Edmund P. Gaines, who served in the War of 1812. Gainesville manufactures textiles and furniture and is a leading poultry centre. The city was heavily damaged and many lives were lost in a tornado in 1936. Gainesville is the site of Brenau College (1878, originally for women), the Riverside Military Academy (1907), and Gainesville (junior) College (opened 1966). It serves as headquarters for both the Oconee and Chattahoochee national forests. Inc. 1821. Pop. (1990) 17,885.