Alachua was established in 1884 on a railroad line, after the railroad had bypassed nearby Newnansville. Alachua got a post office in 1887 and was incorporated as a city on 12 April 1905, at which time it had a population of 526 people.
Geography
Alachua is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,098 people, 2,348 households, and 1,751 families residing in the city. The population density was 211.0 per square mile. There were 2,501 housing units at an average density of 86.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 67.56% White, 29.08% African American, 0.15% Native American, 1.12% Asian, 1.13% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.61% of the population. There were 2,348 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couplesliving together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,075, and the median income for a family was $49,542. Males had a median income of $36,315 versus $28,018 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,299. About 14.0% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over. The largest Hare Krishna community in the Western Hemisphere is located in Alachua, with satellite communities throughout North Florida.
The newspaper Alachua County Today has its headquarters in the city of Alachua. The paper serves all the communities within Alachua County, but it focuses on smaller municipalities outside Gainesville. Good Life Community is a life-style magazine that is also headquartered in Alachua. It covers Gainesville and the communities of northwestern Alachua County.
