Bradford County, Florida

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Bradford County, Florida
Map
Location in the state of Florida
Florida's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	December 31, 1858
Seat	Starke
Area - Total - Land - Water	300 sq mi (777 km²) 7 sq mi (18 km²), 2.30%
Population - (2000) - Density	26,088 34/sq mi (13/km²)
Website: www.bradford-co-fla.org/

Bradford County Courthouse in Starke

Bradford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 26,088. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 28,118 [1]. Its county seat is Starke, Florida^[1]. Bradford County is best known as the home of the Florida State Prison as well as several other state correctional facilities.

1 History
2 Geography
- 2.1 Adjacent counties
3 Demographics
4 Municipalities
- 4.1 Incorporated
5 Politics
6 References
7 External links
- 7.1 Government links/Constitutional offices
  - 7.1.1 Special districts
  - 7.1.2 Judicial branch

[edit] History

New River County was created in 1858. It was renamed Bradford County in 1861. It was named for Captain Richard Bradford, who fought in the American Civil War and was killed in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 300 square miles (777 km²), of which, 293 square miles (759 km²) of it is land and 7 square miles (18 km²) of it (2.30%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 26,088 people, 8,497 households, and 6,194 families residing in the county. The population density was 89 people per square mile (34/km²). There were 9,605 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 76.28% White, 20.79% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 2.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,497 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.90% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 32.10% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 127.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 132.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,140, and the median income for a family was $39,123. Males had a median income of $29,494 versus $20,745 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,226. About 11.10% of families and 14.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 17.60% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Municipalities

[edit] Incorporated

Town of Brooker
City of Hampton
City of Lawtey
City of Starke

[edit] Politics

Like much of rural northern Florida, Bradford County votes heavily Republican in presidential and congressional races, although still occasionally supporting Conservative Democrats in local and state contests.

**Presidential elections results**
Year	Republican	Democratic	Other
2004	69.6%	29.9%	0.5%
2000	62.4%	35.4%	2.2%
1996	49.0%	40.7%	10.3%
1992	44.0%	36.5%	20.2%
1988	63.6%	36.0%	0.4%

[edit] References

^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links

Bradford County Telegraph, the local newspaper that serves Bradford County, Florida, available for free in full-text with images in the Florida Digital Newspaper Library