Gadsden County, Florida
| Gadsden County, Florida | ||
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 Location in the state of Florida |
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 Florida's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 24 June 1832 | |
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| Seat | Quincy | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
528.49 sq mi (1,369 km²) 516.13 sq mi (1,337 km²) 12.35 sq mi (32 km²), 2.34% |
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| Population - (2010) - Density |
46,389 90/sq mi (34.69/km²) |
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| Website | www.gadsdengov.net | |
Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2000 census, the population was 45,087. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 46,428 [1]. Its county seat is Quincy, Florida[1]. Gadsden County is the only predominantly African-American county in Florida. Gadsden county is home to two high schools - West Gadsden High School (merged from the former Chattahoochee High and Greensboro High) located on the western outskirts of Quincy near Greensboro, and East Gadsden High School (merged from the former James A. Shanks High and Havana Northside High) located on Hwy 90 East of Quincy.
The county is part of the Tallahassee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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[edit] History
Gadsden County was created in 1823. It was named for James Gadsden of South Carolina, who served as Andrew Jackson's aide-de-camp in Florida in 1818.
[edit] Geography
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 528.49 square miles (1,368.8 km2), of which 516.13 square miles (1,336.8 km2) (or 97.66%) is land and 12.35 square miles (32.0 km2) (or 2.34%) is water.[2]
Gadsden County is part of the Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area. Gadsden County is in the Eastern Time Zone. Its western border with Jackson County forms the boundary in this area between the Eastern and Central Time Zones.
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Decatur County, Georgia - north
- Seminole County, Georgia - north
- Grady County, Georgia - northeast
- Leon County, Florida - east
- Liberty County, Florida - southwest
- Calhoun County, Florida - southwest
- Jackson County, Florida - northwest
[edit] Education
| Level of Education | ||||
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| Level | Gadsden Co. | Florida | U.S. | |
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| College/Associate Degree | 21.9% | 28.8% | 27.4% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 8.0% | 14.3% | 15.5% | |
| Master's or Ph. D. | 4.9% | 8.1% | 8.9% | |
| Total | 34.8% | 51.2% | 51.8% | |
[edit] Politics
Gadsden County is known as an unusual stronghold of the Democratic Party in north Florida. Gadsden shares this distinction with Leon County and Jefferson County to its east, and Alachua County to its southeast. All of northern Florida leans toward the Republican Party with the exception of these four counties[citation needed]. (see Red states and blue states for map). Gadsden County was the only Florida county carried by Democrat Mike Dukakis in the 1988 U. S. Presidential election.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 30.3% | 69.2% | 0.5% |
| 2004 | 29.8% | 69.7% | 0.5% |
| 2000 | 32.4% | 66.1% | 1.5% |
| 1996 | 34.2% | 66.3% | 6.8% |
| 1992 | 27.6% | 59.0% | 13.4% |
| 1988 | 47.6% | 50.7% | 2.3% |
| 1984 | 44.0% | 56.0% | 0.0% |
| 1980 | 30.4% | 67.3% | 2.3% |
| 1976 | 33.9% | 65.2% | 1.0% |
| 1972 | 61.0% | 39.0% | 0.0% |
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1840 | 5,992 |
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| 1850 | 8,784 | 46.6% | |
| 1860 | 9,396 | 7.0% | |
| 1870 | 9,802 | 4.3% | |
| 1880 | 12,169 | 24.1% | |
| 1890 | 11,894 | −2.3% | |
| 1900 | 15,294 | 28.6% | |
| 1910 | 22,198 | 45.1% | |
| 1920 | 23,539 | 6.0% | |
| 1930 | 29,890 | 27.0% | |
| 1940 | 31,450 | 5.2% | |
| 1950 | 36,457 | 15.9% | |
| 1960 | 41,989 | 15.2% | |
| 1970 | 39,184 | −6.7% | |
| 1980 | 41,565 | 6.1% | |
| 1990 | 41,105 | −1.1% | |
| 2000 | 45,087 | 9.7% | |
| 2010 | 46,389 | 2.9% | |
| [3][4][5] | |||
Gadsden County is unique in Florida, in that it is the state's only county with an African American majority population. As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 45,087 people, 15,867 households, and 11,424 families residing in the county. The population density was 87 people per square mile (34/km²). There were 17,703 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 57.14% Black or African American, 38.70% White, 0.23% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.76% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 6.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 15,867 households out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.50% were married couples living together, 22.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $31,248, and the median income for a family was $36,238. Males had a median income of $27,159 versus $21,721 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,499. About 16.40% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.50% of those under age 18 and 16.90% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
- City of Chattahoochee
- Town of Greensboro
- City of Gretna
- Town of Havana
- City of Midway
- City of Quincy
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/cencounts/files/fl190090.txt
- ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_QTPL&prodType=table
- ^ http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- Gadsden: a Florida County in Word and Picture, by Miles Kenan Womack, Jr.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gadsden County, Florida |
[edit] Government links/Constitutional offices
- Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners
- Gadsden County Supervisor of Elections
- Gadsden County Property Appraiser
- Gadsden County Sheriff's Office
- Gadsden County Tax Collector
[edit] Special districts
[edit] Judicial branch
- Gadsden County Clerk of Courts
- Public Defender, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla counties
- Office of the State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida
- Circuit and County Court for the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida
[edit] Tourism links
- Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce
- The Original Florida Tourism Task Force
- Official Gadsden County Tourism website
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Jackson County | Decatur County, Georgia and Seminole County, Georgia | Grady County, Georgia | |
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Leon County | |||
 Gadsden County, Florida  |
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| Calhoun County and Liberty County |
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