Formed December 4, 1925 (67th county)
Gilchrist County (17,862), Trenton (2,017)
The 1933 red brick courthouse stands out in this small community. The Classical Revival style building is located on 1st Avenue between Main and 1st streets. United States Highway 129 is Main Street in the town. This is the only courthouse located in Trenton for the county. Smith, Holburn, and Dozier are the architects. It was enlarged in 1965. Veteran memorials are across the street. Governor Albert W. Gilchrist is the county namesake. Trenton, Tennessee provided the source for the county seat. Gilchrist County was created on December 4, 1925 as the 67th and last Florida county. The county was taken from Alachua County.
Gilchrist County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Twelve Circuit Court Judges serve Gilchrist, Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Levy, and Union counties and a County Court Judge, clerk, and county attorney serve Alachua County (judicial.) The county is located in the north center southeast of Tallahassee, Florida and northwest of Gainesville, Florida. The center of the county is 8.3 miles North of Trenton nearer Bell. The county is surrounded clockwise by Columbia, Alachua, Levy, Dixie, Lafayette, and Suwannee counties.
The area of the county is 349 square miles. It is 63 out of 67 counties in the state. It ranks 57 out of 67 in population in the state. It has a density of 51.2 persons per square mile making it 50 out of 67 in the state. Gilchrist County has 16.9% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 129 crosses the county north to south from Suwannee County to Levy County. The Suwannee River is the western border. The county is shaped like a bag of popcorn. Trenton is in the extreme south part of the county near the county border. Trenton is the county seat and the largest city. It is 11.3% of the county population. This county is in the Gainesville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bell
Trenton
Fanning Springs
