It is amazing how many parks exist in Alachua County. One delightful surprise was the Hogtown Creek Greenway which runs through the center of Gainesville, FL. Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with Gainesville, the original name of the town was Hogtown and these days the city takes advantage of this fact with multiple advertising opportunities.
This is part of the Conservation Trust Foundation Greenways Program which addresses the need to enhance and protect greenways and wildlife corridors for wildlife habitat protection, biological diversity, water quality, and light recreational use.
As one hiker related "The original settlement of Hogtown was a Seminole village, recorded as having 14 inhabitants in 1824. By 1830, homesteading settlers moved in, surrounding the trading post. During the Second Seminole War, a small fort was built to protect the settlement. By 1854, the population center shifted four miles west to Gainesville, designated the county seat. As you walk through these woods on the broad Hogtown Creek Greenway, imagine the horses and wagons of settlers following this shady route. It’s a dense glade of river bluff forest that in no way resembles the Gainesville you see along University Avenue or 34th Street. Needle palms rustle in the breeze beneath grand old live oaks and tall slash pines." Which is an excellent summary of the parks and park system of Gainesville.
