[3] Marion County comprises the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In 1976, an archaeological investigation found ancient artifacts in Marion County that appear to be the oldest in mainland United States.

These showed signs of extensive wear and were found in deposits below those holding Paleo-Indian artifacts.

[5] Barbara Purdy had bipoint evidence from the CCA site, which also predated Clovis points, which she reported in a 2008 paper.

[6] The county seat of Ocala, Florida, is named for a Timucuan village visited and recorded by the Spanish Hernando de Soto expedition in the sixteenth century.

Levy County's creation took some of the western portion of Marion in 1877, near the end of the Reconstruction era.

[7] Numerous early settlers of this area were natives of South Carolina and likely picked their local hero as the county's namesake.

The population declined in its wake as many African Americans moved to towns or cities for better opportunities.

Carl G. Rose, who had come to Florida in 1916 from Indiana to oversee construction of the first asphalt road in the state, is credited with developing the first thoroughbred horse farm in 1943.

As an engineer, he had become familiar with the area's limestone, which he realized supported good pasture for raising strong horses.

In 1943, Rose bought land along State Highway 200, at $10 per acre, establishing Rosemere Farm.

The next year one of his horses, Gornil, won at Miami's Tropical Park, becoming the first Florida-raised thoroughbred to win a Florida race.

Close on Rose's heels, entrepreneur Bonnie Heath set up his own thoroughbred farm, producing Needles.

Today, Marion County is a major world thoroughbred center with more than 1200 horse farms.

[13][14] Other nearby natural attractions include the Ocala National Forest and the Florida Trail.

Tampa is about 75 minutes to the southwest, Jacksonville is roughly a two-hour drive northeast, and Miami is about six hours to the southeast.

Marion County is inland, centered between the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west.

The largest threats from natural disasters are high winds and flooding; tornadoes are also of concern.

The 2020 United States census counted 375,908 people, 156,906 households, and 102,412 families in Marion County, Florida.

[26] The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $46,587 (with a margin of error of +/- $1,434).

According to the 2000 Census the largest European ancestry groups in Marion County were English (18.7%), German (16.7%) and Irish (14.0%).

The five-person board currently consists of Craig Curry, Kathy Bryant, Matt McClain, Carl Zalak and Michelle Stone.

[1] The Florida Department of Corrections operates facilities in unincorporated areas in the county, including the Lowell Correctional Institution, and the Lowell Annex[37][38] which houses Florida's female death row.

Amtrak formerly provided passenger rail service to Ocala Union Station, but the stop was terminated in late 2004.