Surrounded by restful green fields and rolling hills, Ocala is a pretty historic town near clean, clear rivers and National and State parks teeming with wildlife. An equestrian’s paradise, Marion County has over 450 horse ranches and is one of the world’s top four thoroughbred breeding and training regions. Many premiere horsing events take place in Ocala.  

Voted in Money Magazine’s top five most desirable places to live in 1995, Ocala continues to enjoy a strong economy, buoyed by agriculture and the horse breeding industry and diversified by manufacturing and industry. Marion County is one of the fastest growing regions in the United States.  

LOCATION
Ocala is found in Marion County, in north central Florida, about 75 miles northwest of Orlando and 40 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico. Belleview is about 10 miles south, Dunnellon a little over 20 miles west; McIntosh and Reddick are directly north. 

The meeting point for Marion County’s federal and state highways, Ocala has easy access to the rest of the County and State. I-75 runs north to south and US Highways 27, 301, and 441, and State Roads 484, 475, 464, 40, and 200, connect Ocala with points east to the Atlantic and west to the Gulf of Mexico.  

TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS
Often referred to as “the crossroads of Florida”, Marion County is within an hour or two of the majority of Florida’s key metropolitan areas. Gainesville is about 35 miles from Ocala, Orlando 75 miles, Tampa 95 miles, Jacksonville 98 miles, and Tallahassee 171 miles. 

The Ocala International Airport connects the region to national and international centers, and Amtrak has a rail station in the town. Greyhound bus runs a daily passenger and package express service between Ocala and most cities and towns in Florida and beyond. SunTran, the local transport authority, provides a regional bus service. 

BRIEF HISTORY
The Ocala region was originally home to the Timucua Indians, who met the earliest European explorers upon their arrival from Spain in 1539. According to explorer Hernando de Soto, their largest village was called “Ocali.” Later that century, Ponce de Leon claimed the area for the Spanish King, and by the mid-1700s, the Timucuas were almost extinct from European diseases and misconduct.  

In 1763, Spain traded Florida to Britain, who returned it just over 20 years later. The United States took control in 1821, and in 1861, Florida joined the Confederate States until rejoining the Union in 1865. 

Florida became a state in 1845, and Marion County was quick to become its economic hub. Rich soils yielded tobacco, rice, sugar cane, and cotton; cattle ranchers were as successful as the farmers. Later the area was to become a top horse breeding region. In 1846 the county seat was named "Ocala" in memory of the Timucuas, and a thriving agricultural center soon sprung up.  

Fire raced through the town in 1881, and the citizens rebuilt in brick—hence the town’s nickname of “Brick City”. By 1885, Ocala was an incorporated city of 803 and by the turn of the century it was the fifth largest city in the State. 

Major road building during the 1950s bought more people to the region, and annexations of surrounding towns in the following decades further swelled city limits.  

ABOUT EDUCATION
Marion County Public Schools administers Ocala’s 16 elementary, 1 magnet, 3 middle, and 4 high schools and ensures that they meet Florida educational standards. Church-run private schools provide additional choices.  

Ocala has a good range of higher education options including the excellent Central Florida Community College, the Webster College, and the Marion County School of Radiologic Technology. The University of Florida is just over 35 miles away in Gainesville. 

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