Ocala, FL

Hundreds of thoroughbred farms and training centers support Ocala’s designation as the “Horse Capital of the World.” Florida’s first thoroughbred farm was developed in Marion County in 1943, and Affirmed, bred and trained in the county, won the Triple Crown in 1978. Ocala is the Marion County seat and grew from 56,315 residents in 2010 to 63,591 in 2020. Nearby Silver Springs contains one of the world’s largest artesian spring formations and was among Florida’s earliest tourist attractions. The state created what became Silver Springs State Park in 1987 after buying land around the attraction to protect it from development. Fort King was built near present-day Ocala in 1827, and the city’s residential historic district, designated in 1984, preserves Victorian architecture along East Fort King Street.