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Jefferson County, Florida
MonticelloFL-CoCourtHs-2009
Jefferson County Courthouse in Monticello
Seal of Jefferson County, Florida
Seal
Map of Florida highlighting Jefferson County
Location in the state of Florida
Map of the U.S
Florida's location in the U.S.
Founded January 20, 1827
Named for Thomas Jefferson
Seat Monticello
Largest city Monticello
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

637 sq mi (1,650 km²)
598 sq mi (1,549 km²)
38 sq mi (98 km²), 6.0%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

14,510
23.6/sq mi (9/km²)
Congressional districts 2nd, 5th
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.jeffersoncountyfl.gov

Jefferson County is a county located in the Big Bend region in the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,510.[1] Its county seat is Monticello.[2]

Jefferson County is part of the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History[]

Jefferson County was created in 1827. It was named for Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, who had died the year before the county's establishment.[3]

Forts of Jefferson County[]

  • Fort Roger Jones (1839), Aucilla (Ocilla Ferry), north of US 90.[4]
  • Fort Noel (1839–1842), south of Lamont on the Aucilla River, six miles (10 km) northwest of Fort Pleasant in Taylor County. Also known as Fort Number Three (M).
  • Camp Carter (1838), near Waukeenah.
  • Fort Welaunee (1838), a settlers' fort on the Welaunee Plantation near Wacissa. Fort Gamble (1839–1843) was later established here.
  • Fort Aucilla (1843), two miles (3 km) south-east of Fort Gamble, southwest of Lamont, between the Aucilla and Wacissa Rivers. Also spelled Ocilla.
  • Fort Wacissa (1838), a settlers' fort located south of Wacissa on the Wacissa River, west of Cabbage Grove.

Geography[]

Fla-Ga state line US 19 south01

Entering Jefferson County on US 19 from Thomas County, Georgia

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 637 square miles (1,650 km2), of which 598 square miles (1,550 km2) is land and 38 square miles (98 km2) (6.0%) is water.[5]

Jefferson County is the only county in Florida which borders both the state of Georgia and the Gulf of Mexico.

Adjacent counties[]

National protected area[]

  • St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Water Bodies[]

  • Aucilla River
  • Lake Miccosukee
  • Wacissa River
  • Gulf of Mexico

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1830 3,312
1840 5,713 72.5%
1850 7,718 35.1%
1860 9,876 28.0%
1870 13,398 35.7%
1880 16,065 19.9%
1890 15,757 −1.9%
1900 16,195 2.8%
1910 17,210 6.3%
1920 14,502 −15.7%
1930 13,408 −7.5%
1940 12,032 −10.3%
1950 10,413 −13.5%
1960 9,543 −8.4%
1970 8,778 −8.0%
1980 10,703 21.9%
1990 11,296 5.5%
2000 12,902 14.2%
2010 14,761 14.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2020[1]

As of the census[10] of 2010, there were 14,761 people, 5,646 households, and 3,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile (8/km2). There were 5,251 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 60.4% White, 36.2% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.50% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. 3.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,646 households, out of which 26.9% had individuals under the age of 18 living with them, 47.30% were married couples living together, 15.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.70% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 18.6% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 32.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.00 males age 18 and over.

The following income information is from the 2000 census. The median income for a household in the county was $32,998, and the median income for a family was $40,407. Males had a median income of $26,271 versus $25,748 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,006. About 13.30% of families and 17.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.70% of those under age 18 and 17.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics[]

Jefferson County was one of only a handful of counties in the Florida Panhandle that usually favored the Democratic Party; in recent elections it is trending toward the Republicans. In 2008, Barack Obama won it by a smaller margin than John Kerry had in the 2004 presidential race, one of the few non-Ozark, non-Appalachian, or non-Arizona counties to do so.

In 2016 it flipped and Donald Trump won the county. In 2018, it voted for both the winning Republican candidates in the governor's race (Ron DeSantis) and the Senate race (Rick Scott).[11]

United States presidential election results for Jefferson County, Florida[12]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 4,479 52.89% 3,897 46.02% 92 1.09%
2016 3,930 51.11% 3,541 46.05% 218 2.84%
2012 3,808 48.70% 3,945 50.45% 67 0.86%
2008 3,797 47.59% 4,088 51.24% 93 1.17%
2004 3,298 44.10% 4,135 55.30% 45 0.60%
2000 2,478 43.91% 3,041 53.89% 124 2.20%
1996 1,851 38.49% 2,544 52.90% 414 8.61%
1992 1,506 32.19% 2,271 48.55% 901 19.26%
1988 2,326 52.89% 2,055 46.73% 17 0.39%
1984 2,244 52.16% 2,057 47.81% 1 0.02%
1980 1,623 39.19% 2,367 57.16% 151 3.65%
1976 1,361 36.30% 2,310 61.62% 78 2.08%
1972 2,108 66.04% 1,049 32.86% 35 1.10%
1968 459 14.84% 1,066 34.48% 1,567 50.68%
1964 1,684 52.82% 1,504 47.18% 0 0.00%
1960 600 34.70% 1,129 65.30% 0 0.00%
1956 540 31.02% 1,201 68.98% 0 0.00%
1952 665 36.22% 1,171 63.78% 0 0.00%
1948 153 11.56% 700 52.91% 470 35.53%
1944 188 14.93% 1,071 85.07% 0 0.00%
1940 215 13.21% 1,412 86.79% 0 0.00%
1936 127 9.27% 1,243 90.73% 0 0.00%
1932 81 5.40% 1,418 94.60% 0 0.00%
1928 235 20.22% 919 79.09% 8 0.69%
1924 66 9.69% 566 83.11% 49 7.20%
1920 239 22.85% 754 72.08% 53 5.07%
1916 104 13.70% 646 85.11% 9 1.19%
1912 47 8.45% 459 82.55% 50 8.99%
1908 149 18.81% 565 71.34% 78 9.85%
1904 123 20.20% 471 77.34% 15 2.46%
1900 143 16.55% 711 82.29% 10 1.16%
1896 242 11.07% 1,909 87.29% 36 1.65%
1892 0 0.00% 1,533 100.00% 0 0.00%



Education[]

Jefferson Cty High School Monticello01

Jefferson County High School

On April 23, 2009, the Florida Department of Education took over financial oversight of the district to rescue it from a declared financial emergency due to budget deficits.[13][14] In June 2011, the district exited financial emergency one year sooner than expected due to efforts from District faculty and staff; subsequently, it operated for two years with a fund balance well over the mandated 3%.

Career Academies have been introduced on the campus of Jefferson County Middle High School offering students options in career areas connected to the local economy.

The Jefferson County Tigers won the state championship in football in 2011.

Library[]

Jefferson County's library is the R.J. Bailar Public Library, which works with the Wilderness Coast Public Libraries.

Transportation[]

Railroads[]

The sole existing railroad line is a CSX line once owned by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad that was used by Amtrak's Sunset Limited until 2005, when the service was truncated to New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. No Amtrak trains stopped anywhere in Jefferson County.

Major highways[]

  • I-10 Interstate 10 is the main west-to-east interstate highway in the county, and serves as the unofficial dividing line between northern and southern Jefferson County. It contains three interchanges within the county; the first being SR 59 in Lloyd (Exit 217), the second at US 19 in Drifton (Exit 225), and the third south of Aucilla at CR 257 (Exit 233). Beyond this point I-10 runs through Madison County.
  • US 19 US 19 is the westernmost north-south US highway in the county. It enters from southwestern Madison County as the Georgia-Florida Parkway in a concurrency with US 27, then breaks away from US 27 in Capps to run straight north through Monticello where it encounters a traffic circle with US 90 around the historic Monticello Courthouse. North of the city it runs through the State of Georgia.
  • US 27 US 27 is another north-south US highway in the county. It enters from Madison County in a concurrency with US 19, but unlike US 19 breaks away at Capps and runs west toward Tallahassee
  • Florida 59 SR 59 is the westernmost north–south highway in Jefferson County and is the only roadway connection between U.S. 90 (at its intersection in Leon County) to the southernmost east–west route through Jefferson County, U.S. Route 98.
  • US 90 US 90 was the main west-to-east highway in the county, until it was surpassed by I-10. It enters the county from Leon County twice, the second time from a causeway over the southern end of Lake Miccosukee, and eventually enters Monticello in a traffic circle with US 19. East of the city, it curves southeast through rural Jefferson County, then passes north of Aucilla before crossing the Madison County Line at a bridge over the Aucilla River.
  • US 98 US 98 is the southernmost east–west route running through the Conservation Areas of the Gulf of Mexico from Wakulla to Taylor Counties. The sole major intersection is with SR 59.
  • US 221 US 221 is the easternmost US highway in the county, running south and north through the northeastern portion of Jefferson County, including Ashville before crossing the Georgia State Line.
  • CR 259 jct [[Template:Infobox road/FL/link CR|Template:Infobox road/FL/abbrev CR]]

Communities[]

Lloyd Railroad Depot02

Old Lloyd Railroad Depot, now the area's post office

Town[]

  • Monticello

Census-designated places[]

  • Aucilla
  • Lamont
  • Lloyd
  • Wacissa
  • Waukeenah

Other unincorporated communities[]

  • Alma
  • Ashville
  • Capps
  • Casa Blanco
  • Cody
  • Dills
  • Drifton
  • Fanlew
  • Festus
  • Fincher
  • Jarrott
  • Limestone
  • Lois
  • Montivilla
  • Nash
  • Thomas City

See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Florida

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/14065.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ Publications of the Florida Historical Society. Florida Historical Society.. 1908. p. 32. https://books.google.com/books?id=WZQ-AAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA32. 
  4. ^ "IRC Library:Fort Roger Jones". http://www.irclibrary.org/genealogy/florida.htm. 
  5. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html. 
  6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/fl190090.txt. 
  9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  10. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  11. ^ Journal, Pensacola News. "Florida and Jefferson County Election Results: General" (in en). https://data.pnj.com/election-results/area/jefferson-county-fl/12065/. 
  12. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 
  13. ^ "State to take over Jefferson County School District's weak finances". Tallahassee Democrat. http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090421/BREAKINGNEWS/90421014. 
  14. ^ "Parents and teachers react to Jefferson County Schools' dire finances". Tallahassee Democrat. http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090423/NEWS01/904230328&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL. 

External links[]

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Government links[]

Constitutional Offices[]

Jefferson County Schools[]

Judicial Branch[]

Special Districts[]

Template:North Florida

Coordinates: 30°25′N 83°54′W / 30.42, -83.90

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Jefferson County, Florida. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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