← Back to Florida Family and Community History

About Gainesville Business History Collection

The Gainesville Business History Collection seeks to preserve the narratives of diverse businesses and individuals shaping the city’s economic and cultural landscape. This collection includes oral history interviews, transcripts, photographs, and data and original documents covering both historical and active businesses in Gainesville. With a ‘nearby history’ approach, it encourages community members and researchers to explore the significance of local businesses to Gainesville’s identity. Primarily focused on small and medium-sized enterprises, it invites further contributions, creating a comprehensive resource that reflects on the city’s evolution within the broader context of Florida’s business history. The collection’s historical data gathering and interviews are primarily conducted through the University of Florida’s History Department’s Inquire Capitalism Program, led by Professor Sean Adams and Dr. Paula de la Cruz-Fernandez, and carried out by undergraduate interns in the Digital Business History Internship program, which has been active since 2021. The project also features interactive resources and public history spaces available on the project’s website: https://inquirecapitalism.com/.