Bushnell, FL

Bushnell is Sumter County’s seat, a railroad town with one of Florida’s most consequential battlefields just outside the city. The post office has operated since 1885, and the town took its name from John W. Bushnell, who helped bring the railroad to the community. At Dade Battlefield Historic State Park, 107 U.S. soldiers were attacked by about 180 Seminole fighters on December 28, 1835; the battle marked the beginning of the Second Seminole War. The site became a state memorial in 1921 and now includes a museum, trails, and a January reenactment. Bushnell’s map is a useful mix of county-seat routine, pine forest, rail history, and a place where Florida’s past is still being remembered.