Bell is a town in Gilchrist County, Florida, situated in the Suwannee River valley of North Florida, about 30 miles west of Gainesville and just east of the Suwannee River. Its 2020 population was 518, making it the second-largest community in a rural county of fewer than 20,000 people. Gilchrist County itself is Florida's youngest county, created in 1925 from the western portion of Alachua County and named for Governor Albert W. Gilchrist. Bell was reportedly named for a beauty contest winner, a detail that reflects the town's early twentieth-century origins. The town's small-town character is visible in its landmarks. Bell's restored historic railroad depot now serves as the Town Hall, and the local school, which began as a single classroom with one teacher, has grown into the Bell Elementary and Bell Middle High School campuses that anchor the community today. The Gilchrist County School District is headquartered in Bell. Most residents own their homes, and the town's modest houses and generous lots give it a spread-out, rural feel typical of North Florida's small communities. Water and woods define the surrounding landscape. The Suwannee River runs just west of town, and the Santa Fe River, a 75-mile spring-fed waterway, joins the Suwannee in the northwest corner of Gilchrist County. These rivers, along with the region's freshwater springs, make paddling, fishing, and swimming central to local recreation and give the area its scenic, forested character. Bell's economy and daily life are small-town and agriculturally oriented, with U.S. Route 129 running through the community and connecting residents to Trenton, the county seat, and to Gainesville's employment and services. The town suits those seeking an affordable, nature-centered, rural North Florida lifestyle within commuting distance of a major university city.