Steinhatchee, Florida

Steinhatchee (/ˈstiːnhætʃi/ ^ⓘ STEEN-hatch-ee) is a Gulf coastal community in the southern part of Taylor County, Florida, United States. Steinhatchee is 38 miles (61 km) south of the county seat of Perry. Just across the Steinhatchee River is Jena, which is in Dixie County. Steinhatchee is 19.27 miles north of the town of Cross City. Its approximate elevation is 7 feet above sea level.

Steinhatchee, Florida
Census-designated place
Aerial photo of Steinhatchee
Steinhatchee, Florida Show map of Florida Steinhatchee, Florida Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 29°40′16″N 83°23′15″W
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Taylor
Area [1]
• Total	8.56 km2 (3.306 sq mi)
• Land	8.28 km2 (3.198 sq mi)
• Water	0.28 km2 (0.108 sq mi)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	1,049
ZIP code	32359[3]
Area code	352

Steinhatchee as seen from the 10th Street Bridge facing east, February 2011

History

Since the early 19th century, the village of Steinhatchee played an integral part in the foresting industry, particularly cedar used for making pencils, as well as fishing, crabbing and scalloping.^{[citation needed]} The Steinhatchee River also flows by the community and into the Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane Idalia struck the village of approximately 600 citizens on August 30, 2023, with a storm surge of 6 ft and 80 mph winds that escalated every hour.^[4]

At about 7 a.m. local time (EDT) on August 5, 2024, Hurricane Debby made landfall near Steinhatchee as a Category 1 hurricane, with winds up to 80 mph.^[5][6][7]

On September 26-27, 2024, Steinhatchee was "hard hit" again by Category 4 Hurricane Helene.^[8]

Demographics

2020 census

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

Steinhatchee racial composition
(NH = Non-Hispanic)^[9]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (NH)	963	91.8%
Black or African American (NH)	5	0.48%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	2	0.19%
Asian (NH)	6	0.57%
Some Other Race (NH)	3	0.29%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)	44	4.19%
Hispanic or Latino	26	2.48%
Total	1,049

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,049 people, 327 households, and 214 families residing in Steinhatchee.^[9][2]

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,047 people. The population density was 327.4 people per square mile. There were 1,555 housing units. The racial makeup of the village was 98.7% White, 0.0% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, and 0.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population.

Ancestry

As of 2010^[update] the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Steinhatchee, Florida, are:^[10]

Largest ancestries (2010)	Percent
English	29.8%
German	16.5%
Irish	15.5%
Scots-Irish	10.5%
Dutch	3.4%
Italian	3.3%
French (except Basque)	2.6%