Dunnellon, FL

Dunnellon is a Marion County city at the meeting of the Rainbow and Withlacoochee rivers, a place whose nickname - Boomtown - comes from phosphate mining. The 2020 census counted 1,928 residents. Dunnellon was formed in 1890, named for railroad man John F. Dunn, and changed quickly after hard-rock phosphate was found nearby. The railroad moved produce, timber, passengers, and phosphate, while the rivers carried material toward the Gulf. The mining boom faded, but the water stayed. Rainbow Springs State Park and the Rainbow River now pull the map toward swimming, paddling, fishing, and spring-country tourism, while the Withlacoochee keeps the city tied to the tri-county region.

ATTREbyabe / CC BY 2.5

The city's history also shows up in Boomtown Day, the old depot, and streets shaped by the railroad era. Dunnellon's local scoop is a Florida river city that went from phosphate hustle to spring-fed recreation without losing the nickname. That is a pretty good second act for a town built around a mineral rush and two big rivers.