Marion County, Florida

Marion County Education, Geography, and History

Marion County is a county located in the state of Florida. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 331,298. Marion County was created on March 14, 1844 from Alachua County and Mosquito County. The county seat is Ocala. This county is named for Francis Marion (c. 1732-1795), military officer during the American Revolution.

Marion County comprises the Ocala, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Marion County Name

This county is named for Francis Marion (c. 1732-1795), military officer during the American Revolution.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Marion County History

Marion County was created in 1844 from portions of Alachua, Mosquito (Orange), and Hillsborough counties. Until 1853, Marion County included most of what are now Lake and Sumter counties. The county is named after General Francis Marion of South Carolina, a guerilla fighter and hero of the American Revolutionary War. Many of the early settlers of Marion County were from South Carolina.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,663 square miles (4,307 km²), of which, 1,579 square miles (4,089 km²) of it is land and 84 square miles (218 km²) of it (5.06%) is water.

Marion county is located close to the center of Florida. The County is generally composed of rolling hills. Most of its trees consist of live oaks, pine, and palm trees. Marion County is considered the southernmost county in North Central Florida, and the northernmost county in Central Florida.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Putnam County
• East: Volusia County
• Southeast: Lake County
• South: Sumter County
• Southwest: Citrus County
• West: Levy County
• Northwest: Alachua County

Education

County public education is supervised under the Marion County School District.

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