Williston

The largest city in the county, Williston, is a hub of business activity and events. Several prominent manufacturers – including A&N Corporation and the world headquarters of Monterey Boats – are based here.

The city’s story begins in the mid-19th century with its founding by Jesse Mercer Willis. Willis was born in 1822 in Effingham, Ga. to Joseph and Prudence Willis. Ancestral records say he was orphaned at a young age, coming to Nassau County, Fla. when he was 10-years-old before eventually finding Levy County in 1853. At the age of 21, he “homesteaded, purchased land, and settled his family” according to a headstone in the cemetery he is buried in at the site of his former home east of present day downtown.

Willis married Dorothy Craig Crozier and had 12 children, according to records, with the cemetery marker noting his service as a farmer, merchant, teacher, and church deacon. He was also the county’s tax collector and postmaster for the town, which was first incorporated in 1875, six years before Willis’ death in 1881. His headstone states Willis was “widely known and loved for his compassion and good deeds.”‘

These days, numerous attractions offer a variety of activities, from the Two Tails Ranch that is home to a number of rescued elephants, to Devils Den, and Blue Grotto dive sites. Kirby Family Farm has restored a steam locomotive to run on its own private railroad.

The former Montbrook Army Airfield housed a few bomber squadrons during World War II, before being decommissioned and deeded to the City. It now serves as a municipal airport with two large hard-surface runways, as well as houses an industrial park with numerous companies including A&N and Monterey.

Williston also is home to the Regional General Hospital, the popular Ivy house Restaurant, and annually holds the Peanut Festival in honor of one of its largest produced crops.