Lake City, Florida, is one of the inland winter resorts. The town was settled about 1826 and at that time was named Aligator and did not adopt the present name until 1859.
The Spanish Council of the Indies claimed that since 1510 fleets and ships had gone to Florida and Florida is shown on the earliest map of the New World, the Cantino map of 1502. In 1513 Juan Ponce de Leon who had been with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage and had later been governor of Porto Rico, obtained a royal grant authorizing him to discover and settle “Bimini,” a fabulous island believed to contain a marvelous fountain or spring whose waters would restore to old men their youth, or, at least, had wonderful curative powers. On Easter Day he came in sight of the coast of Florida. From the name of the day on the Calendar. Pascua Florida, or from the fact that many flowers were found on the coast, the country was named Florida.