Gadsden County, Florida

Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 46,389. Its county seat is Quincy.

Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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.

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. Gadsden County is historically known for its tobacco crop which is obsolete today.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 529 square miles (1,370 km²), of which 516 square miles (1,340 km²) is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) (2.3%) is water.

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.

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 (CST)
• Jackson County, Florida - northwest (CST)

Demographics

Gadsden County is unique in Florida in that it is the state's only county with an African American majority population. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 46,389 people residing in the county. 56.0% were Black or African American, 35.9% White, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 5.9% of some other race and 1.3% of two or more races. 9.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

As of the census 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.

Education

Libraries

The Gadsden County Public Library System has 3 branches.

• William A. McGill Library
• Havana Branch
• Chattahoochee Branch

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. (see Red states and blue states for map). Gadsden County was the only Florida county carried by Democrat Michael Dukakis in the 1988 U. S. Presidential election.

Transportation

Airports

• Quincy Municipal Airport

Major Roads

• Interstate 10 is the main west-to-east interstate highway in the county, and serves as the unofficial dividing line between northern and southern Gadsden County. It contains four interchanges within the county; CR 270A (Exit 166), SR 12 (Exit 174), SR 267 (Exit 181), and US 90 (Exit 192).
• US 90 was the main west-to-east highway in the county, until it was surpassed by I-10. It runs from the Victory Bridge in Chatahoochee in the northwest, and then southeast through Gretna, Douglas City, and Quincy before finally leaving the county east of Midway into Leon County.
• US 27 is the sole south-to-north U.S. highway running through the northeastern part of the county.
• State Road 12
• State Road 65
• State Road 159
• State Road 267

Railroads

Gadsden County has at least four existing railroad lines, three of which are owned by CSX. The first two CSX lines being P&A Subdivision, a line formerly owned by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and the other is the Tallahassee Subdivision, a former Seaboard Air Line Railroad line. These two lines meet in Chatahoochee and served Amtrak's Sunset Limited until it was truncated to New Orleans in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. A third line is the Apalachicola Northern Railroad, a line that spans as far south as Port St. Joe. The line enters from Liberty County, then crosses SR 12 in Greensborough, runs under I-10, follows CR 268 in Hardaway, and then turns west into Chatahoochee. The fourth line is the third CSX Line, the Bainbridge Subdivision, which runs along the west side of US 27 from Leon County by way of a bridge over the Ochlockonee River to the Georgia State Line. While some spurs still exist, other lines within the county were abandoned.

Communities

Cities

• Chattahoochee
• Gretna
• Midway
• Quincy

Towns

• Greensboro
• Havana

See also

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

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 12, 2014. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ Publications of the Florida Historical Society. Florida Historical Society. 1908. p. 31. 
4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 133. 
5. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 13, 2014. 
7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 13, 2014. 
8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 13, 2014. 
9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 13, 2014. 
10. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14. 

• Gadsden: a Florida County in Word and Picture, by Miles Kenan Womack, Jr.

External links

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

Special districts

• Gadsden County Schools
• Northwest Florida Water Management District

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

Tourism links

• Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce
• The Original Florida Tourism Task Force
• Official Gadsden County Tourism website