Jackson County, Florida

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Jackson County, Florida

Map
Location in the state of Florida
Florida's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	12 August 1822
Seat	Marianna
Area - Total - Land - Water	955 sq mi (2,473 km²) 39 sq mi (101 km²), 4.08%
Population - (2000) - Density	46,755 52/sq mi (20/km²)
Website: www.jacksoncountyfl.com

Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The population as of the 2000 census was 46,755. As of 2005, the population was 48,985 [1]. Its county seat is Marianna, Florida^[1].

1 History
2 Geography
- 2.1 Adjacent Counties
3 Demographics
4 Municipalities
- 4.1 Incorporated
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Government links/Constitutional offices
  - 6.1.1 Special districts
  - 6.1.2 Judicial branch
- 6.2 Tourism links

[edit] History

Jackson County was created by the Florida Territorial Council in 1822 out of Escambia County, along with Duval County out of St. Johns County, making them the third and fourth counties in the Territory. The county was named for Andrew Jackson, who had served as Florida's first military Governor for six months in 1821. Jackson County originally extended from the Choctawhatchee River on the west to the Suwannee River on the east. The county had been reduced close to its present boundaries by 1840 through the creation of new counties from its original territory. Minor adjustments to the county boundaries continued through most of the 19th century, however.^[2]^[3]^[4]

There were no towns in Jackson County when it was formed. The first county court met at what was called "Robinson's Big Spring" (later called Blue Springs) in 1822 and then at the "Big Spring of the Choctawhatchee" in 1823. The following year the county court met at "Chipola Settlement" which is also known as Waddell's Mill Pond.^{[citation needed]}

Marianna became the county seat, but not without controversy. It was founded by Robert Beveridge, a native of Scotland, in September of 1827. The first town established in Jackson County was Webbville in January of 1827. Webbville, a community of land squatters, was located nine miles northwest of present day Marianna and was designated as the county seat. Webbville thrived until 1828 when Beveridge and other Marianna settlers went to Tallahassee and enticed the Florida Legislature with free land, construction of a courthouse, a public square and $500 to purchase a quarter section of land to be sold at public auction as a way to finance the new government, if the county seat was moved to Marianna.^{[citation needed]}

Beveridge and his supporters succeeded and Marianna became the county seat of the county justice and civil authority, even though it was never officially proclaimed the county seat. Marianna began to grow and prosper when the county government moved into the new courthouse in 1829. Webbville's prominent citizens moved to Marianna and the L&N Railroad decided to bypass the town. Webbville does not exist today.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 955 square miles (2,472 km²), of which, 916 square miles (2,372 km²) of it is land and 39 square miles (101 km²) of it (4.08%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent Counties

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 46,755 people, 16,620 households, and 11,600 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 19,490 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.18% White, 26.56% Black or African American, 0.67% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. 2.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 16,620 households out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.50% were married couples living together, 14.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.30% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 29.60% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 110.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,744, and the median income for a family was $36,404. Males had a median income of $27,138 versus $21,180 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,905. About 12.80% of families and 17.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.70% of those under age 18 and 21.00% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Municipalities

[edit] Incorporated

Town of Alford
Town of Bascom
Town of Campbellton
City of Cottondale
City of Graceville
Town of Grand Ridge
Town of Greenwood
City of Jacob City
Town of Malone
City of Marianna
Town of Sneads

[edit] References

^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ Jackson County Information - accessed February 10, 2008
^ Encyclopedia Americana - Jackson, Andrew - accessed February 10, 2008
^ Fernald, Edward A. (1981) Atlas of Florida. The Florida State University Foundation, Inc. ISBN 0-9606708-0-7
^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Jackson County, Florida

[edit] Government links/Constitutional offices

[edit] Special districts

[edit] Judicial branch

Jackson County Clerk of Courts
Circuit and County Court for the 14th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties

[edit] Tourism links

Jackson County Chamber of Commerce

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Jackson County, Florida

County seat: Marianna

Cities	Graceville \| Jacob City \| Marianna

Towns	Alford \| Bascom \| Campbellton \| Cottondale \| Grand Ridge \| Greenwood \| Malone \| Sneads

Unincorporated community	Cypress