Hogtown, Florida Historical Marker in Gainesville, Florida
Hogtown, Florida, one of the earliest settlements in Alachua County, was originally a Seminole Indian village where residents raised hogs. The settlement was dubbed “Hogtown” by nearby white people who traded with the Indians. In the late 1820s, Hogtown became a white settlement as American pioneers occupied Indian land from which the terms of the Treaty of Moultrie Creek had removed the Seminole.
During the Second Seminole War (1835-42), a settler’s fort called Fort Hogtown was built at Hogtown, and men from the area organized a volunteer company of mounted riflemen. For several months, members of the Guards periodically paraded and patrolled the countryside to protect the inhabitants against Indians.
In 1854, the town of Gainesville was founded a few miles east of Hogtown.
Today, Hogtown is a part of Gainesville, Florida. There are no remains of the fort, but a historical marker designates the site of the settlement at NW 34th Street and 8th Avenue.
© Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2022.
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