men.) In September 2017, the county commission approved plans to place markers with the names of the victims in the county. (See linked article for names of these individuals.) They are working with the Historical Commission and cities to discuss how best to achieve this. A state historical marker on the Newberry Lynchings was dedicated in 2019. Contemporary history On February 15, 2023, the board of county commissioners for Alachua County voted to support the proposed amendment to the Florida state constitution that is entitled, Florida Right To Clean And Healthy Waters, making Alachua the first county in the state to lend its support for adoption of the proposed amendment. The proposed amendment is the subject of a statewide, nonpartisan campaign to place adoption of it before all Florida voters on the 2024 ballot. The adoption was signed into effect by its chair, Anna Prizzia, after a unaminous vote by the board. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (9.7%) is water. Adjacent counties Bradford County - north Union County - north Clay County, Florida - northeast Putnam County - east Marion County - southeast Levy County - southwest Gilchrist County - west Columbia County - northwest Demographics As of the 2020 United States census, there were 278,468 people, 101,979 households, and 50,803 families residing in the county. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 247,336 people, 100,516 households, and 53,500 families residing in the county. There were 112,766 housing units in the county, an occupancy rate of 89.1%; of the occupied units, 54,768 (54.5%) were owner-occupied and 45,748 (45.5%) were renter-occupied. The population density was 282.91/sq mi (109.24/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 172,156 (69.9%) White, 50,282 (20.3%) Black or African American, 906 (0.3%) Native American, 13,235 (5.4%) Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.7% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. 20,752 (8.4%) of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 100,516 households, 22.0% included children under the age of 18, 36.4% included a married husband and wife couple, 4.0% had a male head of house with no wife present, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.8% were non-families. 24.8% of all households included at least one child under the age of 18, and 19.6% included at least one member 65 years