Page 157 - a-history-of-columbia-county-florida-(1996)-edward-f-keuchel

A History of Columbia County Florida (1996) Edward F. Keuchel 146/340

A Period of Growth and Development
the Wire Road about three miles from Lake City and intersecting
the Bellamy Road at Tustenuggee Church was known as the
“Tustenuggee Road.” The “Bellamy Road” ran from the Alachua
County line to the Suwannee County line. A road leaving the Wire
Road at the Mattox farm about eight miles from Lake City
extending over to the Bradford County line was known as the
“Providence Road.” Another road leaving the Wire Road three and a
half miles from Lake City over to the Bradford County line was
known as the “Lake Butler Road.” The old stage road running east
from Lake City to the Baker County line was known as the “Lake
City and Jacksonville Road.” The “Black Creek Road” left the
Jacksonville Road one and a half miles east of Lake City and
extended to the Bradford County line.14
The changes in transportation were reflected in population
changes as well. The county’s population increased from 7,335 in
1870 to 9,589 in 1880 and to 12,877 in 1890. In 1900 Columbia
County, with a population of 17,094, was the ninth most populous
county in the state. In comparison Duval, the most populous county
in the state, had 39,733 inhabitants.15
As the county seat Lake City remained the dominant com­
munity. Besides being an important railroad junction Lake City
had one of the largest industries in the area, the knitting mills of
the J. and P. Coates Company. This firm produced cotton thread
and made large purchases of Sea Island cotton directly from area
growers. The company started operations in Lake City in 1880 and
by 1887 was employing around one hundred people in its opera­
tions. By 1900 approximately 19,000 acres of land were planted in
Sea Island cotton, the county’s primary agricultural cash crop.16

"Ibid.
16Twelfth Census of the United States 1900, Population, Part I, p. 92.
16Webb, Webb’s Historical, Industrial and Biographical Florida, p. 40; Board
of County Commissioners, Columbia County Florida, Advantages, Climate, Soil,
Health, and General Features, Products and Industries (Lake City, 1889), p. 26;
Twelfth Census of the United States 1900, Agriculture, Part II, p. 435.
143

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