| Leon County, Florida | ||
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Location in the state of Florida |
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Florida's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | December 29, 1824 | |
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| Named for | Juan Ponce de León | |
| Seat | Tallahassee | |
| Largest city | Tallahassee | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
701.78 sq mi (1,818 km²) 666.74 sq mi (1,727 km²) 35.04 sq mi (91 km²), 4.99% |
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| Population - (2010) - Density |
275,487 413/sq mi (159.51/km²) |
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| Website | www.leoncountyfl.gov | |
Leon County is a county located in the state of Florida, named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. At the 2010 Census, the population was 275,487.[1] The county seat of Leon County is Tallahassee which also serves as the state capital. The county seat is home to two of Florida's major public universities, Florida A&M University and Florida State University. Leon County residents have the highest average level of education among Florida's 67 counties.[2]
The county forms the nucleus of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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Originally part of Escambia and later Gadsden County, Leon County was created in 1824. It was named for Juan Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer who was the first European to reach Florida. During the 1850s - 1860s, Leon County was a "cotton kingdom" and ranked 5th out of all of Florida and Georgia counties in the production of cotton from the 20 major plantations. Unlike all other Confederate capitols in the American Civil War, Tallahassee was never captured by the Union forces, and no Union Soldiers set foot in Leon County until Reconstruction.
Unlike much of Florida, Leon County has rolling hills. The highest point is 280 feet (85 m) located in the north part of the county. According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 701.78 square miles (1,817.6 km2), of which 666.74 square miles (1,726.8 km2) (or 95.01%) is land and 35.04 square miles (90.8 km2) (or 4.99%) is water.[3]
Leon County sits atop basement rock composed of basalts of the Triassic and Jurassic from ~251—145 million years ago interlayered with Mesozoic sedimentary rocks. The layers above the basement are carbonate rock created from dying foraminifera, bryozoa, mollusks, and corals from as early as the Paleocene, a period of ~65.5—55.8 Ma.[4]
During the Eocene (~55.8—33.9 Ma) and Oligocene (~33.9—23 Ma), the Appalachian Mountains began to uplift and the erosion rate increased enough to fill the Gulf Trough with quartz sands, silts, and clays via rivers and streams. The first sedimentation layer in Leon County is the Oligocene Suwannee Limestone in the southeastern part of the county as stated by the United States Geological Survey and Florida Geological Survey.[5]
The Early Miocene (~23.03—15.7 Ma) sedimentation in Leon County is Hawthorn Group, Torreya Formation and St. Marks Formation and found in the northern two-thirds of the county.
The Pliocene (~5.332—2.588 Ma) is represented by the Miccosukee Formation scattered within the Torreya Formation.
Sediments were laid down from the Pleistocene epoch (~2.588 million—12 000 years ago) through Halocene epoch (~12,000—present) and are designated Beach ridge and trail and undifferentiated sediments.
During the Pleistocene, what would be Leon County emerged and submerged with each glacial and interglacial period. Interglacials created the topography of Leon as it is known now.
Also See Leon County Pleistocene coastal terraces
Also see: Florida Platform and Lithostratigraphy
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1840 | 10,713 |
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| 1850 | 11,442 | 6.8% | |
| 1860 | 12,343 | 7.9% | |
| 1870 | 15,236 | 23.4% | |
| 1880 | 19,662 | 29.0% | |
| 1890 | 17,752 | −9.7% | |
| 1900 | 19,887 | 12.0% | |
| 1910 | 19,427 | −2.3% | |
| 1920 | 18,059 | −7.0% | |
| 1930 | 23,476 | 30.0% | |
| 1940 | 31,646 | 34.8% | |
| 1950 | 51,590 | 63.0% | |
| 1960 | 74,225 | 43.9% | |
| 1970 | 103,047 | 38.8% | |
| 1980 | 148,655 | 44.3% | |
| 1990 | 192,493 | 29.5% | |
| 2000 | 239,452 | 24.4% | |
| 2010 | 275,487 | 15.0% | |
| [6][7][8] | |||
As of the census[9] of 2010, there were 275,487 people, and 108,592 households residing in the county. The population density was 413.2 people per square mile (159.5/km²). There were 123,423 housing units at an average density of 185 per square mile (71.4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 63.0% White, 30.3% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 2.2% from two or more races. 5.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 108,592 households out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.8% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 26.3% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27.8 years. For every 100 females there were 91.57 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.03 males.
The adult citizens of Leon County enjoy the highest level of education in the state of Florida followed by Alachua County with a total of 67.8%.
| Level of Education | ||||
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| Level | Leon Co. | Florida | U.S. | |
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| College/Associate Degree | 28.5% | 28.8% | 27.4% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 24.0% | 14.3% | 15.5% | |
| Master's or Ph. D. | 17.7% | 8.1% | 8.9% | |
| Total | 70.2% | 51.2% | 51.8% | |
Source of above: [2]
The median income for a household in the county was $37,517, and the median income for a family was $52,962. Males had a median income of $35,235 versus $28,110 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,024. About 9.40% of families and 18.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.20% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.
Leon County is a traditional blue county and has voted Democratic consistently. This is likely due to Florida State University and Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, as well as the concentration of government employees in the capital city. The county has voted Democratic throughout its history.
In the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, Leon County supported Barack Obama by a 24.2% margin over John McCain, with Florida supporting Obama by a 2.8% margin over McCain. Ralph Nader received 0.33% of the vote.[11]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 37.4% | 61.6% | 1.0% |
| 2004 | 37.8% | 61.5% | 0.7% |
| 2000 | 37.9% | 59.6% | 2.5% |
| 1996 | 37.0% | 54.6% | 8.4% |
| 1992 | 32.7% | 49.1% | 18.0% |
| 1988 | 51.4% | 47.7% | 0.9% |
| 1984 | 55.0% | 44.9% | 0.1% |
| 1980 | 43.5% | 49.6% | 6.9% |
| 1976 | 44.4% | 53.8% | 1.8% |
| 1972 | 63.7% | 36.1% | 0.2% |
Leon County has had the highest voter turnout of all counties in Florida. For the 2008 general election, Leon County had a record setting early voting and vote by mail with a voter turnout of 85%.[12]
| Leon County Government | ||
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| Position | Name | Party |
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| Commissioner | Nick Maddox | Democratic |
| Commissioner | Jane Sauls | Democratic |
| Commissioner | John Dailey | Democratic |
| Commissioner | Kristen Dozier | Democratic |
| Commissioner | Bill Proctor | Democratic |
| Commissioner | Bryan Desloge | Republican |
| Commissioner | Akin Akinyemi | Democratic |
| Elections Supervisor | Ion Sancho | NPA |
| Tax Collector | Doris Maloy | Democratic |
| Property Appraiser | Bert Hartsfield | Democratic |
| Court Clerk | Bob Inzer | Democratic |
| Sheriff | Larry Campbell | Democratic |
| School Superintendent | Jackie Pons | Democratic |
| Soil and Water Supervisor 1 | Blas Gomez | Non Partisan |
Voters of Leon County have gone to the polls four times to vote on consolidation of Tallahassee and Leon County governments into one jurisdiction combining police and other city services with already shared (consolidated) Tallahassee Fire Department, Tallahassee/Leon County Planning Department, and Leon County Emergency Medical Services. Tallahassee's city limits would (at current size) increase from 98.2 square miles (254 km2) to 702 square miles (1,820 km2). Roughly 36 percent of Leon County's 250,000 residents live outside the Tallahassee city limits.
| Leon County Voting On Consolidation | |||||||
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| Year | FOR | AGAINST | |||||
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| 1968 | 10,381 (41.32%) | 14,740 (58.68%) | |||||
| 1973 | 11,056 (46.23%) | 12,859 (53.77%) | |||||
| 1976 | 20,336 (45.01%) | 24,855 (54.99%) | |||||
| 1992 | 37,062 (39.8%) | 56,070 (60.2%) | |||||
The proponents of consolidation have stated that the new jurisdiction would attract business by its very size. Merging of governments would cut government waste, duplication of services, etc. However Professor Richard Feiock states that no discernible relationship exists between consolidation and the local economy.[1]
Steve Southerland (R) map represents roughly 90% of Leon County while Ander Crenshaw (R) map represents about 10%.
Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (D), District 9, represents the northern half of Leon County including most of Tallahassee. Rep. Marti Coley (R), District 7, represents the southern portion of the county. Rep. Alan Williams (D), District 8, also represents a west-central portion of the county.
The law enforcement agency charged with countywide policing is the Leon County Sheriff's Office. Fire and Emergency medical services provided by the Tallahassee Fire Department and Leon County Emergency Medical Services respectively.
Public schools in Leon County are administered and under the operation of the Leon County School District. LCS is operated by a superintendent, 5 board members, and 1 Student Representative. There are:
Newsweek Magazine's "The Top of the Class" (1300 schools) for 2008 lists 4 out of 5 Leon County's 5 public high schools in the top 400 in the United States.
Three sites within Leon County have yielded fossil remnants of the Miocene epoch. The article Leon County, Florida paleontological sites includes the Griscom Plantation Site, Seaboard Air Line Railroad Site, and Tallahassee Waterworks Site with fossils by genus and species.
| Grady County, Georgia | Thomas County, Georgia | |||
| Gadsden County and Liberty County | Jefferson County | |||
| Leon County, Florida | ||||
| Wakulla County |
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