The First Federal Sportsplex was completed in 1997.

The Suwannee County School System expanded between the late 1980s and 2000 by the addition of new intermediate and middle schools in Live Oak, and a new elementary school in Branford. These new schools provided much-needed space relief for the growing number of children in the public school system.

The county expanded its first response abilities by instituting the 911 Addressing System. Numbering every road and house in the county, this job replaced the old names of many roads with a system that allows a trained responder to know the general location of any address. Despite the 911 System and the later Enhanced 911 (E911) system, locals still know many roads by their original names.

In 1995, Suwannee County suffered tragedy when part of historic downtown Live Oak burned down due to arson. The most important loss, from a historical standpoint, was the destruction of the building that housed the Suwannee Democrat. Nearly one hundred years of newspaper and local history were lost as fire consumed the entire western half of the block. The sad and ironic thing is that the entire newspaper collection was slated for microfilming within a few weeks in order to preserve them for future generations. Although some of the older newspapers are preserved in some form or fashion at the Clerk of Court’s Office, the Suwannee River Regional Library, and the University of Florida, some early years are gone forever. The location of the destroyed buildings is now Millennium Park.

In 1997, the Board of County Commissioners, with the assistance of several local businesses, completed a new recreation facility on South Walker Street close to the Live Oak schools. The facility was renamed the First Federal Sports Complex (or First Federal Sportsplex) after the generous donations of First Federal made much of the facility possible.

Lafayette State Bank, which had begun operations in 1946, expanded into Suwannee County during this decade with the construction of a new facility in Branford. Another facility was completed in Live Oak several years later.

Next week, more on Suwannee County’s history.

Eric Musgrove can be reached at ericm@suwgov.org or 386-362-0564.