Organized in 1925 from the western part of Alachua, it is the last county to be formed in the state.

[2] Gilchrist County is included in the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

It was originally set to be named Melon County due to watermelons being one of the main exports from the area; however, the death of Albert W. Gilchrist, Governor of Florida from 1909 to 1913, prompted its renaming to Gilchrist County instead.

With the poor roads of the time, they felt it took too long to get to the county seat of Gainesville.

They disagreed about a proposed law that would require fencing in cattle in the rural area.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,864 people, 6,701 households, and 4,463 families residing in the county.

[17] According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans maintain a majority of registered voters in Gilchrist County.