De Funiak Springs, Florida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
De Funiak Springs is a city in Walton County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,089 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 5,141.[1]
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[edit] Geography
De Funiak Springs is located at (30.721349, -86.119352).GR1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.1 km² (11.2 mi²). 28.4 km² (11.0 mi²) of it is land, and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (2.49%) is water.
[edit] History
The town was founded by the officers of the Pensacola & Atlantic Railway, a subsidiary of the Louiville & Nashville Railway. The P&A Railway was organized to connect the terminus of the L&N near Pensacola to the western terminus of the Seaboard Railroad at River Junction -- now Chattahoochee -- in the 1880s. It was named after Frederick De Funiak, the president of the L&N. Like much of northwest Florida, De Funiak Springs was settled mainly by Scots from Virginia and the Carolinas.
De Funiak Springs was established as a final-destination resort, and the developers enlisted the cooperation and aid of the Chautauqua Movement. The Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood, an auditorum seating 4,000, was constructed on Lake De Funiak in the center of town. The spring-fed lake is the second-roundest natural lake in the United States[citation needed]. Seminars, classes, and the like were held in the Hall of Brotherhood building for people on vacation. The auditorium of the building was severely damaged by Hurricane Eloise in 1975 and razed, although a charitable foundation, The Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood Foundation, Inc.,[2] has undertaken a capital campaign for the historic restoration of the building. The Westerly portion of the building facing Circle Drive is still in use.
As part of the intellectual atmosphere of the town, a college and a private high school (named Palmer College and Palmer Academy, respectively), as well as a technical school (Thomas Industrial Institute) and a teacher training school (Florida Normal College) were established in the 19th century. Florida Normal College was incorporated into Florida State University, while the other schools closed during the Great Depression. There remains a College Avenue that once led to Palmer College.
Near the Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood building is the Walton County Library on Circle Drive, the oldest extant library in the state of Florida. First Presbyterian Church is the only private structure in the Lake Yard, the park surrounding the lake. Also situated on Circle Drive is Saint Agatha's Episcopal Church, built in 1885.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,089 people, 2,105 households, and 1,324 families residing in the city. The population density was 179.1/km² (464.0/mi²). There were 2,464 housing units at an average density of 86.7/km² (224.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.78% White, 22.99% African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.30% of the population.
There were 2,105 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,516, and the median income for a family was $28,750. Males had a median income of $24,219 versus $19,255 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,298. About 18.2% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Famous People from De Funiak Springs
- Former professional baseball player and manager Buck Showalter was born in De Funiak Springs on May 23, 1956.
- American fashion model Amanda Moore graduated from Walton High School in De Funiak Springs in 1997
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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