Middleburg, FL

I lived in Middleburg, FL for over 15 years and the whole time I lived there I never knew the history of it.  Middleburg is the butt to a lot of jokes from people who live in Orange Park and Jacksonville, FL.  However, it is really a nice town that is a little more country living and and a little less of suburb living.
Middleburg is an incorporated area of Clay County and is about 29 miles southwest of downtown Jacksonville.  The population is 13,008 with a median income of $45,600 with a median age of 34. 
Middleburg was settled in 1820s as Clark's Ferry as a hub on the St. John's river transportation.  Fort Heilman was built during the Second Seminole war (1835 - 1842) which brought even more settlers to the area.  Served by roads and riverboats in  1840 the town's name was changed to Middleburg; named after the Dutch city of Middleburg.  Timber, citrus and farming were the economical staples at that time.  In 1858 it was the first county seat of Clay County. In 1864, during the Civil War, the 4th Massachusetts Calvary torched the town.  In the 1870s Middleburg began to grow again due to river traffic and the citrus industry.  The freeze of 1895 killed off the citrus and Middleburg just became another small town of Clay County.
Middleburg was a great town to raise my two girls.  We lived in a very safe neighborhood near a really good school and even though the downtown area of Middleburg did not have much back then we were only three miles from Orange Park.  Now the downtown area has really grown and I have spent more time in Middleburg these past few days than I have in several years that we lived there.