HIGH SPRINGS ‒ Tropical Storm Elsa passed directly over north Florida, but despite predictions of 50 to 60 mph consistent gusts, wind was not the major issue with gusts only reaching 35 to 40 mph. There were no confirmed tornadoes in Alachua County, although several warnings were issued Wednesday morning and power outages occurred throughout sections of the county.

What the storm did bring was heavy rain with the official rainfall total in Alachua County at 3.18 inches, causing several road closures due to flooding. But the most damaging flooding did not occur during or right after the storm. As the storm traveled northward through Georgia, heavy rainfall continued, creating runoff into streams and rivers, which eventually flow down into the rivers of North Florida.

The Santa Fe and Ichetucknee rivers were already high from previous weeks of rainfall, and the storm took them above flood levels and then continued to rise as the storm water from Georgia flowed downward.

Due to high waters, Alachua County has closed Poe Springs indefinitely because of the Elsa-related flooding. “The water has risen beyond a point of where it's safe to use the springs,” said Alachua County Parks and Open Space Manager Jason Maurer. “The water level is currently four feet above flood stage. It's browned out the springs and the water is up to the restrooms, so the whole lower springs area is inaccessible. The boat ramp is also under water, as is the land surrounding the boardwalk to the springs,” Maurer said.

Maurer says the decision to close after Elsa was in part due to more rain in the forecast, which could raise the level even higher.

“It's not as bad as Irma was,” said Maurer. “However, it's pretty substantial, which is why we were on the fence originally.” Maurer says Poe Springs will definitely be closed for the next two weekends, and possibly longer once they can assess the damage. They plan to evaluate the water levels weekly. Once the water does recede, the springs will still need extensive cleaning before reopening.

With the springs swimming area totally under water up to the restrooms and picnic area, crews are working to remove picnic tables and other free-floating items to restrict damage and keep them from floating into the river.

“We can’t really give a timeline on reopening until we see how much clean up and repair is needed,” Maurer said. “So currently the park is closed for a minimum of two weeks and possibly longer.”

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ALACHUA ‒ The skies around Alachua were once again bursting with flashes of dazzling lights as the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration returned Sunday evening to a crowd estimated at some 17,000 spectators.

For 20 years the City of Alachua has hosted an annual July 4^th celebration billed as the “Largest Small Town Fireworks Display in America.” The event is so popular that it attracts thousands each year, oftentimes doubling the size of the town’s nearly 10,000 population.

Historically, the event lasts all day, featuring food vendors, children’s activities, games and several bands through the course of the day and evening. The crowd grows throughout the day culminating with the highest numbers for the fireworks show, which rivaled the size and expense of larger metropolitan areas.

But last year, everything changed due to COVID-19. All mass events were canceled or restricted in size and people stayed home to avoid spreading or catching the virus. The City of Alachua canceled the enormously popular event due to concerns for everyone's safety.

This year, the City of Alachua vowed to bring the tradition back. But due to the time it takes to organize the event, with planning starting six months out, and no guarantees about what the situation would be in July, the City opted to stay true to the “Largest Small Town Fireworks Display in America” and focus on the fireworks. Also different this year was the location of the event, as the show was moved from the Hal Brady Recreation Complex where it has been held in previous years to the adjacent Legacy Park and amphitheater.

The day was wet as rain and thunderstorms rolled in throughout the afternoon leaving the Legacy Park field soaked and muddy. But by evening, the skies began to clear, and if there had been any doubts about whether people would show up, those doubts were quickly dispelled by the sheer size of the crowd. After a year of quarantine, social distancing and lack of activities, thousands came out to celebrate the holiday and fireworks. Many brought chairs to avoid the wet ground while others simply stood throughout the show.

The larger than anticipated crowd did cause issues with parking as the ongoing rain left much of the parking area too wet and muddy to use. The reduced parking area at Legacy Park was filled and closed by 7:30 p.m. with traffic backed up on Peggy Road for more than a mile. Police directed people to the Alachua Main Street area, which also quickly filled, leaving many to walk a mile to the park.

The evening’s entertainment consisted of one band, reduced from the multi-band format in the past. Crooked Council performed an energetic set to get the crowd up from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. As they ended their set, the sky exploded in a barrage of multi-colored fireworks and the show began.

For the next half hour, a continuous display of fireworks lit the night sky over Legacy Park as thousands celebrated the Fourth of July. The celebration looked different this year, but one thing is certain, Alachua’s Largest Small Town Fireworks Display was back.

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ALACHUA ‒ Hurricane turned Tropical Storm Elsa swept across the peninsular of Florida slamming into the Big Bend area, bringing bouts of wind and waves of downpours to the heartland communities. The Northwest 105^th Avenue bridge crossing Turkey Creek in Alachua was inundated by early afternoon Wednesday. As expected, the tropical storm left many without power and roadways closed due to flooding and downed trees, with the High Springs area experiencing numerous roadway blockages for a variety of reasons including downed trees and localized flooding.

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ALACHUA ‒ On Saturday morning June 26, Alachua joined the ranks of Gainesville and Newberry in holding a remembrance event. Held at Mebane Middle School in a drizzling rain, over 100 people attended the event to memorialize lynching victims, especially the eight known victims in Alachua-Newnansville, as well as Reverend A.S.J Allen who was shot to death in 1904.

The Civil War officially ended slavery, but much of the racial tension and animosity from the war and its after-effects on the South still festered. There was no equality between white southerners and former black slaves and equal treatment under the law did not yet exist. More than 4,400 African Americans were lynched across 20 states between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and 1950. Florida had 350 lynchings, making it fifth in the nation. Alachua County had 19 documented lynchings making it the second highest in the state.

The "Soil Collection Ceremony for Alachua/Newnansville" was coordinated by the Alachua-Newnansville Subcommittee of the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project, which worked in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative of Montgomery, Alabama.

The subcommittee was formed under the leadership of Alachua Vice Mayor Shirley Green Brown with the purpose of educating the community about past racial discrimination and memorializing those who suffered repression and violence in the Jim Crow era, while also reconciling to bring the community together.

Brown opened the ceremony with poems and song lyrics. “I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom,” she recited from a civil rights-era song. Alachua First Baptist Reverend Doug Felton gave an Invocation followed by a scripture reading by Reverend Debra Frazier Sermons.

Nii Sowa-La led a spiritual tribute Libation ceremony honoring the traditions of their ancestors, where a drink is poured into the ground to honor the dead. He slowly emptied two bottles onto the grass while leading a rhythmic chant as the audience clapped to a beat. “We are calling for forgiveness,” he repeated.

Several prominent officials spoke including Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper, Alachua County Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr. and Alachua County Commissioner Charles Chestnut, who said the goal of the event was to bring light to the truth and begin to reconcile the tragic historical events.

“We are here to bring the community together and have a real conversation about the history of lynching here in Alachua County,” he said.

Keiana West of the Equal Justice Initiative spoke about the history of lynchings and long-term consequences in the South. “Slavery did not end in 1865, it simply evolved,” she said. “We can’t get to the reconciliation work without the truth telling work, the history needs to be told.”

Volunteers lit nine candles in recognition of the lynching victims: Cooley Johnson, George Bibbon, Willey Bradley, Caesar Sullivan, Harry Hurl and his 15-year-old son, Harold, William Rawls and murder victim A.S.J. Allen.

While each is identified as a victim, little is known about the circumstances or locations of their lynchings. Rawls was accused of murdering a white merchant in 1895. While Rawls awaited a trial, a white mob stormed the jail, dragging him out and hanging him. No one was ever charged for the lynching.

Rev. A.S.J Allen was a well-respected black minister. On April 2, 1904 he got into an argument with his white neighbor about placement of a fence and the neighbor shot Allen dead. The courts exonerated the neighbor and charges were never filed. However, Allen’s regional and national stature led to numerous black communities going into mourning and 800 people attended his funeral.

Ceremony attendees placed a cup of soil into empty mason jars arranged before the podium. Each jar displayed the name of a victim with two jars for each individual. One jar will be stored at the Equal Justice Initiative Museum in Montgomery, Alabama while the other will stay in Alachua.

Since the exact location of the lynchings is unknown, the soil to fill the jars was collected from three sites in the former town of Newnansville. The Newnansville/Alachua Cemetery was one, the other two were sites in the former township called Black Street Road and Gallows Pond as likely spots.

One by one, a long line of people solemnly put a cup of dirt into each jar until it was filled and sealed. The jars that go to the Equal Justice Initiative Museum will form part of a wall of remembrance made entirely of soil jars from where these victims died or were interred.

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