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.[2] Its county seat is Quincy.[3]

Gadsden County
U.S. county
Gadsden County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°35′N 84°37′W
Country United States
State Florida
FoundedJune 24, 1823
Named forJames Gadsden
SeatQuincy
Largest cityQuincy
Area
 • Total529 sq mi (1,370 km2)
 • Land516 sq mi (1,340 km2)
 • Water12 sq mi (30 km2)  2.3%%
Population
 • Estimate 
(2019)
45,660[1]
 • Density89.3/sq mi (34.5/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district5th
Websitewww.gadsdengov.net

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

Gadsden County is the only majority (over 50%) African-American county in Florida.

History

Gadsden County was created in 1823.[4] It was named for James Gadsden[5] 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 Gadsden County is historically known for its tobacco crop which is obsolete today.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.[6]

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

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18304,895—
18405,99222.4%
18508,78446.6%
18609,3967.0%
18709,8024.3%
188012,16924.1%
189011,894−2.3%
190015,29428.6%
191022,19845.1%
192023,5396.0%
193029,89027.0%
194031,4505.2%
195036,45715.9%
196041,98915.2%
197039,184−6.7%
198041,5656.1%
199041,105−1.1%
200045,0879.7%
201046,3892.9%
Est. 201945,660[7]−1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10]
1990-2000[11] 2010-2019[2]

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 living 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[12] of 2000, there were 45,087 people, 15,867 households, and 11,424 families living 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
Max D. Walker School Administration Building, the Gadsden County School District headquarters

The Gadsden County School District operates public schools.

Gadsden County is home to one public high school, Gadsden County High School (formerly East Gadsden High School), formed in 2017 by the merger of East Gadsden High and the high school portion of West Gadsden High School; the West Gadsden High building was converted to West Gadsden Middle.[13][14] West Gadsden was formed by the merger of the former Chattahoochee High and Greensboro High and was located on the western outskirts of Quincy near Greensboro. East Gadsden, formed by the merger of James A. Shanks High and Havana Northside High, was located on Hwy. 90 east of Quincy.

Robert F. Munroe Day School and Tallavanna Christian School are private schools in the county.

Libraries

The Gadsden County Public Library System has 3 branches.

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

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Democrats maintain a massive majority of registered voters in Gadsden County. As of September 30, 2015, the county has the second-highest percentage of registered Democrats of all counties in Florida (only in Liberty County do Democrats have a higher percentage of registered voters countywide). The last Republican to win a majority in the county was Richard Nixon in his landslide 1972 victory,[15] and Gadsden was the solitary Florida county to vote against Reagan in 1984[16] and George Bush in 1988.

Gadsden County Voter Registration & Party Enrollment as of September 30, 2015[17]
Political Party Total Voters Percentage
Democratic 22,279 76.95%
Republican 4,084 14.11%
Independent 2,249 7.77%
Third Parties 339 1.17%
Total 28,951 100.00%

Statewide elections
Presidential election results
Previous presidential election results[18]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 30.29% 6,728 67.62% 15,020 2.10% 466
2012 29.43% 6,630 70.01% 15,770 0.55% 125
2008 30.22% 6,811 69.14% 15,582 0.64% 145
2004 29.80% 6,253 69.72% 14,629 0.49% 102
2000 32.38% 4,770 66.09% 9,736 1.52% 225
1996 26.88% 3,817 66.25% 9,407 6.87% 975
1992 27.62% 3,975 58.96% 8,486 13.43% 1,933
1988 47.64% 5,992 50.66% 6,372 1.69% 213
1984 43.95% 5,807 56.03% 7,403 0.02% 2
1980 30.41% 3,718 67.26% 8,222 2.33% 285
1976 33.85% 3,531 65.17% 6,798 0.98% 102
1972 61.01% 5,995 38.97% 3,829 0.02% 2
1968 14.76% 1,337 36.15% 3,274 49.09% 4,446
1964 53.33% 5,207 46.67% 4,556
1960 46.18% 2,010 53.82% 2,343
1956 36.87% 1,321 63.13% 2,262
1952 40.41% 1,835 59.59% 2,706
1948 13.42% 376 50.93% 1,427 35.65% 999
1944 15.22% 462 84.78% 2,574
1940 11.47% 417 88.53% 3,218
1936 7.15% 198 92.85% 2,572
1932 5.33% 105 94.67% 1,865
1928 22.31% 346 76.34% 1,184 1.35% 21
1924 5.86% 47 84.91% 681 9.22% 74
1920 1.91% 38 96.68% 1,922 1.41% 28
1916 5.53% 57 84.95% 875 9.51% 98
1912 9.73% 75 78.99% 609 11.28% 87
1908 12.06% 89 76.29% 563 11.65% 86
1904 10.07% 54 87.87% 471 2.05% 11
Previous gubernatorial elections results
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2014 27.27% 4,798 70.62% 12,425 2.11% 371
2010 25.90% 4,324 72.27% 12,067 1.83% 307
2006 32.45% 4,557 66.25% 9,303 1.29% 182
2002 25.83% 3,948 73.46% 11,228 0.71% 109
1998 35.66% 4,028 64.34% 7,269
1994 30.63% 3,422 69.37% 7,751

Transportation

Airports

Major Roads
See also: List of county roads in Gadsden County, Florida
The sign for Gadsden County while entering Florida from Georgia
  • 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 prior to the construction of I-10 in the late 1960s. 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 Greensboro, 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.

Public Transportation

Public Transportation is provided by Big Bend Transit, which operates 3 bus routes in the county.[19]

Communities

Towns

Unincorporated areas
  • Gadsden County Board of Commissioners
  • Gadsden County Sheriff's Office
  • Gadsden County Emergency Medical Services and Gadsden County Fire Services
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See also

References
  1. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/gadsdencountyflorida/PST045216
  2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  4. Publications of the Florida Historical Society. Florida Historical Society. 1908. p. 31.
  5. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 133.
  6. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  7. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  10. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  11. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  12. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  13. "SCHOOL MERGERS NOT POPULAR AT WEST GADSDEN". Havana Herald. 2017-03-03. Archived from the original on 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  14. Jiwanmall, Stephen (2017-04-04). "Gadsden County Schools to Consolidate in 2017-18". WTXL. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  15. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  16. David Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; 1984 Presidential General Election Data Graphs – Florida by County
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2016-10-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  19. "Big Bend Transit | COORDINATED TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OF GADSDEN COUNTY". www.bigbendtransit.org. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  • Gadsden: a Florida County in Word and Picture, by Miles Kenan Womack, Jr.

Government links/Constitutional offices

Special districts

Judicial branch

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