Originally the people in the West End of Alachua County felt neglected by the Alachua County Commission, a feeling partly brought on by the distances involved. It would take all day, especially on the sandy roads before the roads were paved, to make the trip to Gainesville and back in a Model-T to do any official business with the school superintendent or the sheriff, whose offices were in the courthouse in Gainesville. Many people in the West End believed they would be better off financially, especially because a new county would receive an equal share of the state's racetrack revenue, which the state distributed equally to each county.

On December 4, 1925, Governor John W. Martin signed the law creating Gilchrist County. On January 1, 1926, Gilchrist County came into existence, the last and smallest county to be established in Florida. it consisted of 339 square miles or 226,560 acres, most of which was farmland or timberland and still is.

The citizen group had chosen the name Melon County as its name to honor the many watermelons grown in the area, and at first it seemed to be a good idea. But the Legislature had its own ideas. Legislators first suggested the name Wilson to honor the late President Woodrow Wilson, but then decided to name the new county after ex-Governor Albert Waller Gilchrist, who was ill at the time in a New York hospital.

In taking your trip around Gilchrist County you will encounter a lot of peaceful country, with some rolling hills in the north end.

The Waccasassa Flats running north and south in the central part of the County comprise an area of about 125 sq. mi. The present land features of the Flats are a result of marine processes that occurred during the Pleistocene. The Flats are not actually flat, but instead consist of sand hills that represent a relict barrier island. The barrier island lies closely parallel with the westward facing escarpment of the Brooksville Ridge along the eastern edge of the Flats. The area is underlain by Miocene and Pleistocene clastics that retard the percolation of water. This results in a perched water table and contributes to the swampy conditions which stand out so prominently on aerial photographs.

You can drive through this area by cutting across the loop on Highway 232 or 340 as shown on the map.