Wakulla County, Florida
Wakulla County | |
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UTC−4 (EDT) | |
Congressional district | 2nd |
Website | www |
Wakulla County is a county located in the Big Bend region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,764. Its county seat is Crawfordville.[1]
Wakulla County is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area.
Wakulla County has a near-absence of any municipal population, with two small municipalities holding about 3% of the population. The county seat, Crawfordville, is one of only two unincorporated county seats among Florida's 67 counties.
History
First Spanish period
In 1528,
The Fort San Marcos de Apalache began with a wooden fort in the late 1600s. The vicinity around the fort was not settled until 1733. Spanish colonial officials began constructing a stone fort, which was unfinished in the mid-1760s when Great Britain took over.
British period
The British divided Florida into East Florida, which included present-day Wakulla County, and West Florida. The boundary was the Apalachicola River; at that time, West Florida extended all the way to the Mississippi River. Twenty years later when the Spanish returned, they kept the East and West divisions, with the administrative capitals remaining at St. Augustine and Pensacola, respectively.
Second Spanish period
The area to become Wakulla County was an active place in the early 19th century. A former British officer named
In 1818,
In 1821, Florida was ceded to the United States and Fort St. Marks, as the Americans called it, was again garrisoned by U.S. troops.
Florida's territorial period
In 1824, the fort was abandoned and turned over to the Territory of Florida.
By 1839, the fort was returned to the Federal government and a
American forts in Wakulla County
- 1840 - Camp Lawson, northwest of Wakulla and northeast of Ivan, on the St. Marks River. A log stockade also known as Fort Lawson (2).
- 1841-1842 - Fort Many located near Wakulla Springs.
- 1839 - Fort Number Five (M) located near Sopchoppy.
- 1839-1843 - Fort Stansbury was located on the Wakulla River 9 miles (14 km) from St. Marks.
- 1841-1843 - Fort Port Leon. Abandoned after a hurricane destroyed it. Site was later used for a CSA Army artillery battery.
- 1839 - James Island Post located on James Island.[2]
Antebellum Wakulla
Wakulla County was created from Leon County in 1843. It may (although this is disputed) be named for the
In an 1856 book, adventurer Charles Lanman wrote of the springs:[citation needed]
An adequate idea of this mammoth spring could never be given by pen or pencil; but when once seen, on a bright calm day, it must ever after be a thing to dream about and love. It is the fountain-head of a river... and is of sufficient volume to float a steamboat, if such an affair had yet dared to penetrate this solemn wilderness... It wells up in the very heart of a dense cypress swamp, is nearly round in shape, measures some four hundred feet in diameter, and is in depth about one hundred and fifty feet, having at its bottom an immense horizontal chasm, with a dark portal, from one side of which looms up a limestone cliff, the summit of which is itself nearly fifty feet beneath the spectator, who gazes upon it from the sides of a tiny boat. The water is so astonishlingly clear that even a pin can be seen on the bottom in the deepest places, and of course every animate and inanimate object which it contains is fully exposed to view. The apparent color of the water from the shore is greenish, but as you look perpendicularly into it, it is colorless as air, and the sensation of floating upon it is that of being suspended in a balloon; and the water is so refractive, that when the sun shines brilliantly every object you see is enveloped in the most fascinating prismatic hues.
Another possible origin for the name Wakulla, not as widely accepted, is that it means "mist" or "misting", perhaps in reference to the Wakulla Volcano, a 19th-century phenomenon in which a column of smoke could be seen emerging from the swamp for miles.
The town of
Civil War
During the
The
20th century and beyond
In Gloria Jahoda's book The Other Florida, she writes movingly of the extreme poverty of Wakulla County from the early 1900s to 1966 when Wakulla still had no doctor and no dentist, few stores, and a county newspaper produced just once a month on a mimeograph machine.[4]
Today, Wakulla has several doctors and dentists, several supermarkets and big-box retailers, a golf resort, and a thriving seafood business.[5]
Etymology
The name Wakulla is corrupted from Guacara. Guacara is a Spanish phonetic spelling of an original Indian name, and Wakulla is a
Because Wakulla was probably a
Geography
According to the
Wakulla County was added to the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in 1973. The county was removed from the Tallahassee MSA in 1983. It was re-added to the MSA (for the second time) in 2003.[9]
Adjacent counties
- Leon County - north
- Liberty County - west
- Franklin County - southwest
- Jefferson County - east
National protected areas
State and local protected areas
- Ochlockonee River State Park
- San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park
- Wakulla Springs State Park
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1850 | 1,955 | — | |
1860 | 2,839 | 45.2% | |
1870 | 2,506 | −11.7% | |
1880 | 2,723 | 8.7% | |
1890 | 3,117 | 14.5% | |
1900 | 5,149 | 65.2% | |
1910 | 4,802 | −6.7% | |
1920 | 5,129 | 6.8% | |
1930 | 5,468 | 6.6% | |
1940 | 5,463 | −0.1% | |
1950 | 5,258 | −3.8% | |
1960 | 5,257 | 0.0% | |
1970 | 6,308 | 20.0% | |
1980 | 10,887 | 72.6% | |
1990 | 14,202 | 30.4% | |
2000 | 22,863 | 61.0% | |
2010 | 30,776 | 34.6% | |
2020 | 33,764 | 9.7% | |
2023 (est.) | 36,449 | [10] | 8.0% |
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010-2015[15] 2019[16] |
2020 census
Race | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|
White (NH)
|
24,472 | 25,987 | 79.52% | 76.97% |
Black or African American (NH)
|
4,406 | 4,202 | 14.32% | 12.45% |
Alaska Native (NH)
|
174 | 154 | 0.57% | 0.46% |
Asian (NH) | 166 | 198 | 0.54% | 0.59% |
Pacific Islander (NH) | 17 | 19 | 0.06% | 0.06% |
Some Other Race (NH) | 29 | 126 | 0.09% | 0.37% |
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH) | 496 | 1,501 | 1.61% | 4.45% |
Hispanic or Latino | 1,016 | 1,577 | 3.3% | 4.67% |
Total | 30,776 | 33,764 |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 33,764 people, 11,382 households, and 8,362 families residing in the county.
2000 census
As of the
There were 8,450 households, out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.60% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,149, and the median income for a family was $42,222. Males had a median income of $29,845 versus $24,330 for females. The
Politics
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 12,874 | 69.79% | 5,351 | 29.01% | 223 | 1.21% |
2016 | 10,512 | 68.07% | 4,348 | 28.15% | 584 | 3.78% |
2012 | 9,290 | 63.21% | 5,175 | 35.21% | 232 | 1.58% |
2008 | 8,877 | 61.75% | 5,311 | 36.94% | 188 | 1.31% |
2004 | 6,777 | 57.61% | 4,896 | 41.62% | 90 | 0.77% |
2000 | 4,512 | 52.54% | 3,838 | 44.70% | 237 | 2.76% |
1996 | 2,933 | 40.91% | 3,056 | 42.63% | 1,180 | 16.46% |
1992 | 2,586 | 38.52% | 2,320 | 34.55% | 1,808 | 26.93% |
1988 | 3,158 | 65.72% | 1,605 | 33.40% | 42 | 0.87% |
1984 | 3,088 | 67.75% | 1,470 | 32.25% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 2,021 | 47.26% | 2,082 | 48.69% | 173 | 4.05% |
1976 | 1,580 | 38.80% | 2,353 | 57.78% | 139 | 3.41% |
1972 | 2,466 | 82.01% | 539 | 17.92% | 2 | 0.07% |
1968 | 247 | 10.49% | 440 | 18.68% | 1,668 | 70.83% |
1964 | 1,270 | 62.78% | 753 | 37.22% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 379 | 24.85% | 1,146 | 75.15% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 393 | 26.79% | 1,074 | 73.21% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 375 | 24.24% | 1,172 | 75.76% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 72 | 5.22% | 997 | 72.30% | 310 | 22.48% |
1944 | 73 | 6.69% | 1,018 | 93.31% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 70 | 4.98% | 1,336 | 95.02% | 0 | 0.00% |
1936 | 45 | 3.08% | 1,417 | 96.92% | 0 | 0.00% |
1932 | 20 | 1.89% | 1,036 | 98.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
1928 | 66 | 12.18% | 470 | 86.72% | 6 | 1.11% |
1924 | 34 | 8.74% | 332 | 85.35% | 23 | 5.91% |
1920 | 119 | 17.81% | 530 | 79.34% | 19 | 2.84% |
1916 | 121 | 21.49% | 387 | 68.74% | 55 | 9.77% |
1912 | 25 | 8.96% | 215 | 77.06% | 39 | 13.98% |
1908 | 56 | 16.28% | 239 | 69.48% | 49 | 14.24% |
1904 | 39 | 13.78% | 233 | 82.33% | 11 | 3.89% |
County representation
Wakulla County Government | ||
---|---|---|
Position | Name | Party |
| ||
Commissioner | Ralph Thomas | Republican |
Commissioner | Fred Nichols II | Republican |
Commissioner | Mike Kemp | Republican |
Commissioner | Quincee MesserSmith | Republican |
Commissioner | Chuck Hess | Democrat |
Sheriff | Jared Miller | Republican |
County Judge | Brian Miller | Republican |
Clerk of the Court | Greg James | Republican |
Property Appraiser | Ed Brimner | Republican |
School Superintendent | Bobby Pearce | Republican |
Elections Supervisor | Joe Morgan | Republican |
Tax Collector | Liza Craze | Republican |
Transportation
Roads
Although there are no
Railroads
No railroads currently operate within Wakulla County.
In the past the
Airports
The Wakulla County Airport (2J0), located south of Panacea, is a small public-use airport with a single 2,600-foot (790 m), north–south turf runway.[27] This airfield was originally constructed during World War II, as an emergency landing strip for Army Air Corps aircraft which trained and patrolled along the Gulf Coast, most of which belonged to the 3rd Army Air Corps out of Dale Mabry Field Army Air Base in Tallahassee. After the war, the air strip was turned over to the county for civilian uses.[citation needed]
Seaports
St. Marks is a small commercial seaport. Panacea and Ochlockonee Bay also support small fishing fleets.
Education
Wakulla County is served by the Wakulla school district with the following schools:[28]
- Crawfordville Elementary School
- C.O.A.S.T. Charter School
- Medart Elementary School
- Shadeville Elementary School
- Riversink Elementary School
- Riversprings Middle School
- Wakulla Middle School
- Wakulla High School
- Wakulla Christian School
The former Sopchoppy Elementary School now serves as the Sopchoppy Education Center, a Pre-K, adult, and second chance school.
The former Shadeville High School served African-American students from 1931 to 1967.
Library
The Wakulla County Public Library is the main library of Wakulla County and is a part of the Wilderness Coast Public Libraries.[29]
Communities
Towns
Census-designated places
Other unincorporated communities
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Florida Forts: page 2". Archived from the original on April 26, 2005. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- ^ "Historical Places". Wakullacountytdc.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-912451-04-6.
- ^ "Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce". Wakullacountychamber.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- ^ Simpson, J. Clarence (1956). Mark F. Boyd (ed.). Florida Place-Names of Indian Derivation. Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Geological Survey.
- ^ Gatschet, Albert S. Peet, Stephen D. (ed.). "The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal" (PDF). Wikimedia Commons. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 28, 2021.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Metro Area History 1950–2020". U.S. Census Bureau. March 2020. Row 4179. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
- ^ "QuickFacts. Florida counties". Archived from the original on January 23, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "Census.gov". Census.gov. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin". www.census.gov. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 27, 1996. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
- ^ "Wakulla County Supervisor of Elections". Archived from the original on December 31, 2006. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
- ISBN 0-89933-318-4.
- ^ "Georgia, Florida & Alabama Railway, 1918 map". Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
- ^ "Donald R. Hensley, Jr.'s Taplines". The story of the Georgia Florida & Alabama RR. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
- ^ "WCSB School List". Archived from the original on May 16, 2010.
- ^ "Wilderness Coast Public Libraries". wildernesscoast.org. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.