Jefferson County, Florida

Jefferson County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population is 14,510.^[1] Its county seat is Monticello, Florida.^[2]

Jefferson County
County
Jefferson County Courthouse in Monticello
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°25′N 83°54′W
Country	United States
State	Florida
Founded	January 20, 1827
Named for	Thomas Jefferson
Seat	Monticello
Largest city	Monticello
Area
• Total	637 sq mi (1,650 km2)
• Land	598 sq mi (1,550 km2)
• Water	38 sq mi (100 km2)  6.0%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	14,510
• Density	23/sq mi (9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Website	www.jeffersoncountyfl.gov

Jefferson County is part of the Tallahassee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Old Lloyd Railroad Depot, now the area's post office

Jefferson County was created in 1827. It was named for Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America, who served from 1801 to 1809. Monticello is a racially diverse town (see People).

Forts of Jefferson County

Jefferson County has many old forts that were used by early settlers and the military.

• Fort Roger Jones (1839), Aucilla (Ocilla Ferry), north of US 90.^[3]
• Fort Noel (1839 - 1842), south of Lamont on the Aucilla River, six miles (10 km) northwest of Fort Pleasant in Taylor County. Also known as Fort Number Three (M).
• Camp Carter (1838), near Waukeenah.
• Fort Welaunee (1838), a settlers' fort on the Welaunee Plantation near Wacissa. Fort Gamble (1839 - 1843) was later established here.
• Fort Aucilla (1843), two miles (3 km) south-east of Fort Gamble, southwest of Lamont, between the Aucilla and Wacissa Rivers. Also spelled Ocilla.
• Fort Wacissa (1838), a settlers' fort located south of Wacissa on the Wacissa River, west of Cabbage Grove.

Land

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 637 square miles (1,650 km²), of which 598 square miles (1,550 km²) is land and 38 square miles (98 km²) (6.0%) is water.^[4]

Jefferson County is the only county in Florida which borders both the state of Georgia and the Gulf of Mexico.

Counties nearby

Entering Jefferson County on US 19 from Thomas County, Georgia

• Thomas County, Georgia - north
• Brooks County, Georgia - northeast
• Madison County, Florida - east
• Taylor County, Florida - southeast
• Wakulla County, Florida - southwest
• Leon County, Florida - west

National protected area

• St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Waterbodies

• Aucilla River
• Lake Miccosukee
• Wacissa River

People

At the 2020 census, 14,510 people lived in the county. There were 5,816 households and 1,013 people who did not live in households. The population density was 24.3 people per square mile (9.4/km²). The median age was 49.8 years (47.6 for males, 52.0 for females).

Of the total population, 16.9% were under 18 years old, 58.3% were 18 to 64, and 24.7% were 65 or over. Males made up 51.6% and females made up 48.4% of the people. The population was 60.1% White (non-Latino), 31.7% Black (non-Latino), 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, and 2.8% Two or more races (non-Latino). Less than 1% of the people were from other races.

Of the 5,816 households, 3,762 (64.7%) were families, 1,370 (23.6%) had children under 18, 2,686 (46.2%) had a married couple, and 1,754 (30.2%) had one person living alone. The average household size was 2.3 people. There were 6,690 housing units, and 86.9% had people living in them all year. Of these households, 77.2% were owner-occupied, while 22.8% were renters.^[5][6]

As of 2022, the median (middle) yearly income for a household was about $51,573, and the median income for a family was about $69,690.^[7] The per capita income was about $29,189.^[8] About 12.4% of families^[9] and 18.3% of all people in Jefferson County lived below the poverty line. This includes 31.0% of children under 18 years old and 12.5% of people over 65 years old.^[10]

Government and politics

Jefferson County was one of only a handful of counties in the Florida Panhandle that politically favored the Democratic Party. However, Republican Donald Trump won the county in 2016 and 2020.

United States presidential election results for Jefferson County, Florida^[11]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	4,479	52.89%	3,897	46.02%	92	1.09%
2016	3,930	51.11%	3,541	46.05%	218	2.84%
2012	3,808	48.70%	3,945	50.45%	67	0.86%
2008	3,797	47.59%	4,088	51.24%	93	1.17%
2004	3,298	44.10%	4,135	55.30%	45	0.60%
2000	2,478	43.91%	3,041	53.89%	124	2.20%
1996	1,851	38.49%	2,544	52.90%	414	8.61%
1992	1,506	32.19%	2,271	48.55%	901	19.26%
1988	2,326	52.89%	2,055	46.73%	17	0.39%
1984	2,244	52.16%	2,057	47.81%	1	0.02%
1980	1,623	39.19%	2,367	57.16%	151	3.65%
1976	1,361	36.30%	2,310	61.62%	78	2.08%
1972	2,108	66.04%	1,049	32.86%	35	1.10%
1968	459	14.84%	1,066	34.48%	1,567	50.68%
1964	1,684	52.82%	1,504	47.18%	0	0.00%
1960	600	34.70%	1,129	65.30%	0	0.00%
1956	540	31.02%	1,201	68.98%	0	0.00%
1952	665	36.22%	1,171	63.78%	0	0.00%
1948	153	11.56%	700	52.91%	470	35.53%
1944	188	14.93%	1,071	85.07%	0	0.00%
1940	215	13.21%	1,412	86.79%	0	0.00%
1936	127	9.27%	1,243	90.73%	0	0.00%
1932	81	5.40%	1,418	94.60%	0	0.00%
1928	235	20.22%	919	79.09%	8	0.69%
1924	66	9.69%	566	83.11%	49	7.20%
1920	239	22.85%	754	72.08%	53	5.07%
1916	104	13.70%	646	85.11%	9	1.19%
1912	47	8.45%	459	82.55%	50	8.99%
1908	149	18.81%	565	71.34%	78	9.85%
1904	123	20.20%	471	77.34%	15	2.46%
1900	143	16.55%	711	82.29%	10	1.16%
1896	242	11.07%	1,909	87.29%	36	1.65%
1892	0	0.00%	1,533	100.00%	0	0.00%
1884	1,525	67.21%	744	32.79%	0	0.00%

Schools

Jefferson County High School

The Jefferson County School District operates one public K-12 school, south of Monticello.

The number of students decreased in the 2000s, so a separate middle school shut down in 2005. The district declared a financial emergency because of budget deficits.^[12] On April 23, 2009, the Florida Department of Education took over financial oversight of the district.^[13] The schools were also doing poorly by educational measures. In 2015, the state of Florida took control of the district. They moved the elementary school to the middle and high school campus, and changed them into a charter school. Jefferson County was the first school district in Florida that was run entirely as charter schools. In 2022, the county took control of the school again. ^[14]

There is one private school, Aucilla Christian Academy.

Cities and towns

Incorporated

• City of Monticello

Unincorporated

• Alma
• Ashville
• Aucilla
• Capps
• Casa Blanco
• Cody
• Dills
• Drifton
• Fanlew
• Festus
• Fincher
• Jarrott
• Lamont
• Limestone
• Lloyd
• Lois
• Montivilla
• Nash
• Thomas City
• Wacissa
• Waukeenah