Page 26 - lake-city-florida-a-sesquicentennial-tribute-(h-morris-williams-kevin-mccarthy)-2009

Lake City, Florida: A Sesquicentennial Tribute (2009) H. Morris Williams, Dr. Kevin M. McCarthy

Cathey House Hotel on Lake City’s North Marion Street
was used as a hospital after the Battle of Olustee.
It was later torn down.

Much later, in 1928, local citizens erected a monument listing
the individuals who died for the Confederate cause. Old Bethel Church
cemetery, located on US 41/441 South, is the final resting place for

some 47 Confederate solders, including Thomas C. Strange, Co-
lumbia County’s first casualty of the Civil War. Many other Confeder-
ate graves are located in Lake City’s Oaklawn Cemetery. Old Bethel
Church was established during the 1820’s and was reportedly the
first Christian congregation organized in the settlement of what was
then called Alligator.

The Reconstruction Period after the war lasted from about
1865 to 1877, a difficult time for southern states as they recovered
from the war. Residents of Lake City refused to celebrate the 4th of
July holiday in the mid-1860s, considering it a Yankee holiday. Un-
known arsonists torched the courthouse several times, perhaps be-
cause it symbolized the imposition of northern institutions on the South.

The African-American community of Lake City slowly re-
covered from the war, despite sporadic incidents of violence against
the freed slaves. Among the businesses run by blacks were Joyner’s
Grocery, the Jones Family stores, and the boarding house run by Priest
Williams on Railroad Street.

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