Union County, established on October 1, 1921, is the smallest of Florida's 67 counties, encompassing 245 square miles bounded by Baker County on the north and by Olustee Creek, the Santa Fe River, and the New River. Once occupied by the Timucuan Indians, the area was part of Spanish Florida until its cession to the United States in 1821. Early settlement centered on Providence, a stage stopover, and Worthington Springs on the Santa Fe River, with Fort Ward and Fort Call providing protection during the Second Seminole War and Fort Crabb securing the area north of Lake Butler. Cattle, lumber, and sea island cotton underpinned early economic development, and in 1859 Lake Butler became the county seat of the newly created New River County, later renamed Bradford County in 1861; both the lake and town were named for Colonel Robert Butler, the first Surveyor General of the Florida Territory. The Civil War and poor transportation slowed growth, but by 1890 the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad crossed the county with depots at Lake Butler and Guilford, helping Lake Butler prosper and incorporate as a city in 1893. The Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad, later a branch of the Atlantic Coast Line, was completed in 1899 and served Raiford, Johnstown, Lake Butler, Danville, Dukes, and Worthington Springs. After the boll weevil struck cotton fields in 1918, cattle, dairy, and food crop production expanded, while Raiford became a center of lumber and naval stores, Worthington Springs developed as a resort known for its health-giving waters, and a state prison farm established near Raiford in 1913 added economic stimulation and diversity. Demand to separate the area from Bradford County peaked by 1920, and on May 20, 1921, the State Legislature created Union County from the portion west of the New River, choosing the name Union to reflect unity. With a population of more than 10,000, the county has retained its rural character, with forest products and agriculture still forming its economic base, supplemented by state prisons, light manufacturing, and trucking that replaced the railroads as its transportation link with the nation.