In 1853, the state-funded East Florida Seminary took over the Kingsbury Academy in Ocala. The seminary moved to Gainesville in the 1860s and later was consolidated with the state’s land-grant Florida Agricultural College, then in Lake City. In 1905, by legislative action, the college became a university and was moved to Gainesville. Classes first met with 102 students on the present site on Sept. 26, 1906. UF officially opened its doors to women in 1947. With more than 50,000 students, UF is now one of the largest universities in the nation.
