Physical Characteristics. Gilchrist County is west of Gainesville and is bordered by Lafayette, Dixie, Levy, Alachua, Suwannee, and Columbia counties. The county has 353.77 square miles of land and 1.7 square miles of water for a total of 355.47 square miles. The average January temperature is 56.2 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average August temperature is 81.2 degrees Fahrenheit. The average annual rainfall is 54.76 inches.
History. Gilchrist County was the last county formed in Florida. In 1925 it was established from a portion of Alachua County and named for Albert Waller Gilchrist, the state's twentieth governor (1909-1913).
