"It seems to me the earth may be borrowed but not bought. It may be used, but not owned. It gives itself in response to love and tending, offers its season flowering and fruiting. But we are tenants and not possessors, lovers and not masters."
- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Cross Creek

BayLaurel is in the surrounds of Historic Micanopy, the oldest inland Florida village dating back to 1821. The lands of BayLaurel were part of the Land Grant from the King of Spain in 1817 to Don Fernando del la Maza Arredondo. Over the centuries, this land has had many caretakers and in the 1870's was home to the captain that piloted the steamship across the Alachua Sink, which has since drained and is now know as Paynes Prairie. The original homestead of the captain is but a few hundred yards away from the current BayLaurel homestead. After decades as a cattle ranch, BayLaurel is now a private homestead and gardens. The current caretakers of BayLaurel are 6th generation natives of this area who tend to the lands with deep respect and admiration.

When explorer and naturalist William Bartram visited this area in 1774, the village of Micanopy was the site of a Seminole village called Cuscowilla. Bartram's favorable writings about this fertile area influenced future generations of settlers. Named after a Seminole chief, the territorial town of Micanopy has been continuously settled since 1821 and was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

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