place

Melrose, Florida

1877 establishments in FloridaFormer census-designated places in FloridaFormer municipalities in FloridaPopulated places established in 1877Unincorporated communities in Alachua County, Florida
Unincorporated communities in Bradford County, FloridaUnincorporated communities in Clay County, FloridaUnincorporated communities in FloridaUnincorporated communities in Putnam County, FloridaUnincorporated communities in the Jacksonville metropolitan areaUse mdy dates from July 2023
Melrose, Florida
Melrose, Florida

Melrose is an unincorporated community in Alachua, Bradford, Clay, and Putnam counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It lies on State Road 26, approximately 17 mi (27 km) east of Gainesville (straight-line distance) and approximately 50 mi (80 km) southwest of Jacksonville (straight-line distance). The town lies on Lake Santa Fe.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Melrose, Florida (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Melrose, Florida
Pearsall Circle,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Melrose, FloridaContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 29.716666666667 ° E -82.05 °
placeShow on map

Address

Pearsall Circle 708
32666
Florida, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Melrose, Florida
Melrose, Florida
Share experience

Nearby Places

Lake Santa Fe
Lake Santa Fe

Lake Santa Fe is a 5,850-acre (2,370 ha) lake that is fed by seepage from the Floridan Aquifer in northeastern Alachua County, Florida. The lake is located entirely in Alachua County, but is bounded on the east and South side by Bradford County, Clay County, and Putnam County. The Alachua County boundary extends to the ordinary high water line (normally the shoreline), which is 141 feet (43 m) above mean sea level. It forms the headwaters of the Santa Fe River, exiting from a "little" northern area (Little Lake Santa Fe) emptying into the Suwannee River. Lake Santa Fe offers abundant wildlife, excellent fishing and recreational boating. It is one of the largest and most stable lakes in Florida. At "the pass" between the "big" southern arm and Little Lake Santa Fe shad school, and fishing is usually good for schooling largemouth bass and stocked sunshine bass. Numerous homes surround the lake, most with docks and ski boats; fishing is always best early and late or at night and on weekdays. In spite of development, the fish habitat is outstanding with many areas of bald cypress and healthy maidencane grass beds. The lake was stocked with 44,500 hybrid striped bass in April 2005. The previous stocking of the lake occurred in 1997. Lake Santa Fe is the third most stable of 120 lakes studied in Florida, as well as one of the clearest. It is designated by the State of Florida as an Outstanding Florida Water. It is supported by water flowing in at the southern extremity of the intermediate aquifer that outcrops in the lake bottom. Also it is a rather deep example of a karstic lake, with several spots that are 30-foot (9.1 m) or more. Lake Santa Fe was the largest of a series of lakes that were connected by dredging canals in the 1870s and 1880s so that boats could travel between Melrose, Florida (at the time the center of a thriving citrus and tourist industry) and Waldo, the railroad terminal. The canal was dredged from Little Lake Santa Fe into Lake Alto. This canal is visible today. Water and railroad were the major means of transportation for passengers and freight across Florida at that time. Prosperity in this area followed the Reconstruction. The first boat that made the journey through the canal system was the "Fannie S. Lewis" in 1880, and the last was the "City of Melrose" in 1925. Improved roads and the automobile doomed the era of steamships in Alachua County and the canals fell into disuse. The rural unincorporated communities of Melrose and Earleton are located on the lake. North of the lakes is Santa Fe Swamp, mostly a wildlife and environmental conservation area managed by the Suwannee River Water Management District.