Wakulla County, Florida

History

First Spanish period

In 1528, Pánfilo de Narváez found his way to what would be Wakulla County from the future Pinellas County, Florida, camping at the confluence of the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers. Narváez determined this was a very suitable spot for a fort. In 1539, Hernando de Soto's expedition passed through La Florida with a similar route.

The Fort San Marcos de Apalache began with a wooden fort in the late 1600s. The vicinity around the fort was not settled until 1733. Spanish colonial officials began constructing a stone fort, which was unfinished in the mid-1760s when Great Britain took over.

British period

The British divided Florida into East Florida, which included present-day Wakulla County, and West Florida. The boundary was the Apalachicola River; at that time, West Florida extended all the way to the Mississippi River. Twenty years later when the Spanish returned, they kept the East and West divisions, with the administrative capitals remaining at St. Augustine and Pensacola, respectively.

Second Spanish period

The area to become Wakulla County was an active place in the early 19th century. A former British officer named William Augustus Bowles attempted to unify and lead 400 Creek Indians against the Spanish outpost of San Marcos, capturing it. This provoked Spain, and a Spanish flotilla arrived some five weeks later to restore control.

In 1818, General Andrew Jackson invaded the area, capturing Fort San Marcos. Two captive British citizens, Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot, were tried, found guilty of inciting Indian raids, and executed under Jackson's authority – causing a diplomatic nightmare between the U.S. and Britain. The U.S. Army garrison of 200 infantry and artillery men occupied the fort for the better part of a year (1818–1819).

In 1821, Florida was ceded to the United States and Fort St. Marks, as the Americans called it, was again garrisoned by U.S. troops.

Florida's territorial period

In 1824, the fort was abandoned and turned over to the Territory of Florida.

By 1839, the fort was returned to the Federal government and a merchant marine hospital was built. The hospital provided care for seamen and area yellow fever victims.

American forts in Wakulla County

• 1840 - Camp Lawson, northwest of Wakulla and northeast of Ivan, on the St. Marks River. A log stockade also known as Fort Lawson (2).
• 1841-1842 - Fort Many located near Wakulla Springs.
• 1839 - Fort Number Five (M) located near Sopchoppy.
• 1839-1843 - Fort Stansbury was located on the Wakulla River 9 mi from St. Marks.
• 1841-1843 - Fort Port Leon. Abandoned after a hurricane destroyed it. Site was later used for a CSA Army artillery battery.
• 1839 - James Island Post located on James Island.

Antebellum Wakulla

Wakulla County was created from Leon County in 1843. It may (although this is disputed) be named for the Timucuan Indian word for "spring of water" or "mysterious water". This is in reference to Wakulla County's greatest natural attraction, Wakulla Springs, which is one of the world's largest freshwater springs, both in terms of depth and water flow. In 1974, the water flow was measured at 1.23 e9USgal per day—the greatest recorded flow ever for a single spring.

In an 1856 book, adventurer Charles Lanman wrote of the springs:

Another possible origin for the name Wakulla, not as widely accepted, is that it means "mist" or "misting", perhaps in reference to the Wakulla Volcano, a 19th-century phenomenon in which a column of smoke could be seen emerging from the swamp for miles.

The town of Port Leon was once a thriving cotton-shipping hub, with a railroad from Tallahassee that carried over 50,000 tons of cotton a year to be put on ships, usually for shipment direct to Europe. Port Leon was the sixth-largest town in Florida, with 1,500 residents. However, a hurricane and the accompanying storm surge wiped out the entire town. New Port (today known as Newport, Florida) was built two miles (3 km) upstream but never quite achieved the prosperity of Port Leon.

Civil War

During the Civil War, Wakulla County was blockaded from 1861 to 1865 by a Union Navy squadron at the mouth of the St. Marks River. Confederates took the old Spanish fort known as San Marcos de Apalache, or Fort St. Marks, and renamed it Fort Ward.

The Battle of Natural Bridge eventually stopped the Union force that intended to take Fort Ward and nearby Tallahassee, the only Confederate state capital other than Austin, Texas which had not been captured. The Union was not able to land all of its forces, but they still outnumbered the Confederates, who chose to make their stand at a place where the St. Marks River goes underground: the "Natural Bridge" referred to. However, the Confederate Army had over a day to prepare its defenses, and the Union Army retreated. Most of the dead were African-American Union soldiers.

20th century and beyond

In Gloria Jahoda's book The Other Florida, she writes movingly of the extreme poverty of Wakulla County from the early 1900s to 1966 when Wakulla still had no doctor and no dentist, few stores, and a county newspaper produced just once a month on a mimeograph machine.

Today, Wakulla has several doctors and dentists, several supermarkets and big-box retailers, a golf resort, and a thriving seafood business.

Etymology

The name Wakulla is corrupted from Guacara. Guacara is a Spanish phonetic spelling of an original Indian name, and Wakulla is a Muskhogean pronunciation of Guacara. The Spanish "Gua" is the equivalent of the Creek "wa", and as the Creek alphabet does not exhibit an "R" sound, the second element "cara" would have been pronounced "kala" by the Creeks. The Creek voiceless "L" is always substituted for the Spanish "R". Thus the word Guacara was pronounced Wakala by the Seminoles who are Muskhogean in their origin and language.

Because Wakulla was probably a Timucuan word, it is unlikely that its meaning will ever be known. It may contain the word kala, which signified a "spring of water" in some Indian dialects.. It may refer to the Whip-poor-will, known as waxkula in Creek.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 736 sqmi, of which 606 sqmi is land and 129 sqmi (17.6%) is water.

Wakulla County was added to the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in 1973. The county was removed from the Tallahassee MSA in 1983. It was re-added to the MSA (for the second time) in 2003.

Adjacent counties

• Leon County - north
• Liberty County - west
• Franklin County - southwest
• Jefferson County - east

National protected areas

• Apalachicola National Forest (part)
• St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (part)

State and local protected areas

• Ochlockonee River State Park
• San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park
• Wakulla Springs State Park

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2015 2019

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 33,764 and 8,362 families residing in the county. The median age was 42.7 years, with 20.5% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.3% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 117.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 120.8 males age 18 and over.

There were 11,970 households in the county, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.0% were married-couple households, 16.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 13,633 housing units, of which 12.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 81.2% were owner-occupied and 18.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.5%.

30.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 70.0% lived in rural areas.

Racial and ethnic composition

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,863 people, 8,450 households, and 6,236 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 PD/sqmi. There were 9,820 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 86.10% White, 11.51% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. 1.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,450 households, out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.60% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,149, and the median income for a family was $42,222. Males had a median income of $29,845 versus $24,330 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,678. About 9.30% of families and 11.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 15.10% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

County representation

Transportation

Roads

Main article: List of county roads in Wakulla County, Florida

Railroads

No railroads currently operate within Wakulla County, but it was formerly served by two different railroads.

The Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railroad, completed in 1893, passed through Sopchoppy on its route between Tallahassee and Carrabelle until its abandonment in 1948. South of Sopchoppy, the line followed H.T. Smith Road. The railroad bridge crossing the Ochlocknee River at MacIntyre still exists as pilings blocking all but a portion of the river on the south side.

The Tallahassee Railroad, the first railroad in Florida, was completed in 1836 and was abandoned by its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, in 1983. 16 mi of that right-of-way became the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail in 1988.

Airports

The Wakulla County Airport (2J0), located south of Panacea, is a small public-use airport with a single 2600 ft, north–south turf runway. This airfield was originally constructed during World War II, as an emergency landing strip for Army Air Corps aircraft which trained and patrolled along the Gulf Coast, most of which belonged to the 3rd Army Air Corps out of Dale Mabry Field Army Air Base in Tallahassee. After the war, the air strip was turned over to the county for civilian uses.

Seaports

St. Marks is a small commercial seaport. Panacea and Ochlockonee Bay also support small fishing fleets.

Education

Wakulla County is served by the Wakulla school district with the following schools:

• Crawfordville Elementary School
• C.O.A.S.T. Charter School
• Medart Elementary School
• Shadeville Elementary School
• Riversink Elementary School
• Riversprings Middle School
• Wakulla Middle School
• Wakulla High School
• Wakulla Christian School The former Sopchoppy Elementary School now serves as the Sopchoppy Education Center, a Pre-K, adult, and second chance school.

The former Shadeville High School served African-American students from 1931 to 1967.

Library

The Wakulla County Public Library is the main library of Wakulla County and is a part of the Wilderness Coast Public Libraries.

Communities

Towns

• Sopchoppy
• St. Marks

Census-designated places

• Crawfordville (county seat)
• Panacea

Other unincorporated communities

• Arran
• Buckhorn
• Curtis Mills
• Hyde Park
• Ivan
• Magnolia
• Medart
• Newport
• Port Leon
• Sanborn
• Shadeville
• Shell Point
• Smith Creek
• Spring Creek
• Wakulla
• Wakulla Beach

Notes

References

References

1. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
2. "Florida Forts: page 2".
3. "Historical Places". Wakullacountytdc.com.
4. Jahoda, Gloria (1967). ''The Other Florida'', Florida Classics. {{ISBN. 978-0-912451-04-6.
5. "Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce". Wakullacountychamber.com.
6. Simpson, J. Clarence. (1956). "Florida Place-Names of Indian Derivation". Florida Geological Survey.
7. Gatschet, Albert S.. "The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal".
8. (February 12, 2011). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
9. (March 2020). "Metro Area History 1950–2020".
10. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau.
11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
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14. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
15. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
16. "QuickFacts. Florida counties".
17. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
18. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
19. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
20. "Explore Census Data".
21. "Explore Census Data".
22. "Census.gov".
23. "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin".
24. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
25. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
26. "Wakulla County Supervisor of Elections".
27. "Georgia, Florida & Alabama Railway, 1918 map".
28. "Donald R. Hensley, Jr.'s Taplines". The story of the Georgia Florida & Alabama RR.
29. Turner, Gregg M.. (2008). "A Journey into Florida Railroad History". University Press of Florida.
30. "Tallahassee-St. Marks State Trail, Florida Panhandle". 100FloridaTrails.com.
31. "AirNav, LLC". 2J0 - Wakulla County Airport.
32. "WCSB School List".
33. "Wilderness Coast Public Libraries". wildernesscoast.org.