Gadsden County, Florida - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gadsden County
County
Gadsden County Courthouse
Gadsden County Courthouse
Official seal of Gadsden County
Seal
Map of Florida highlighting Gadsden County
Location within the U.S. state of Florida
Map of the United States highlighting Florida
Florida's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°35′N 84°37′W / 30.58°N 84.61°W / 30.58; -84.61
Country United States
State Florida
FoundedJune 24, 1823
Named forJames Gadsden
SeatQuincy
Largest cityQuincy
Area
 • Total529 sq mi (1,370 km2)
 • Land516 sq mi (1,340 km2)
 • Water12 sq mi (30 km2)  2.3%
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total43,826
 • Density83/sq mi (32/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Websitewww.gadsdengov.net

Gadsden County is a county in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, 43,826 people lived there.[1] Its county seat is Quincy, Florida.[2] Gadsden County is the only majority African American county in Florida. Gadsden county is home to two high schools - West Gadsden High School (a combination of former Chattahoochee High and Greensboro High) on the western edge of Quincy near Greensboro, and East Gadsden High School (a combination of former James A. Shanks High and Havana Northside High) located on Highway 90 East of Quincy.

The county is part of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History[change | change source]

Gadsden County was created in 1823. It was named for James Gadsden of South Carolina. He was Andrew Jackson's aide-de-camp in Florida in 1818.

There were once only two high schools that blacks in Gadsden County could attend: Carter-Parramore (which is now a middle school) and Stevens High Schools.

Land[change | change source]

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 528.49 square miles (1,368.8 km2), of which 516.13 square miles (1,336.8 km2) (or 97.66%) is land and 12.35 square miles (32.0 km2) (or 2.34%) is water.[3]

Gadsden County is part of the Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area. Gadsden County is in the Eastern Time Zone. Its western border with Jackson County forms the boundary in this area between the Eastern and Central Time Zones.

Counties nearby[change | change source]

Education[change | change source]

Level of Education
Level Gadsden Co. Florida U.S.
College/Associate Degree 21.9% 28.8% 27.4%
Bachelor's Degree 8.0% 14.3% 15.5%
Master's or Ph. D. 4.9% 8.1% 8.9%
Total 34.8% 51.2% 51.8%

Politics[change | change source]

Gadsden County is known for being a stronghold of the Democratic Party in north Florida, along with Leon County and Jefferson County to its east, and Alachua County to its southeast.

United States presidential election results for Gadsden County, Florida[4]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 7,465 31.42% 16,153 67.98% 144 0.61%
2016 6,728 30.29% 15,020 67.62% 466 2.10%
2012 6,630 29.43% 15,770 70.01% 125 0.55%
2008 6,811 30.22% 15,582 69.14% 145 0.64%
2004 6,253 29.80% 14,629 69.72% 102 0.49%
2000 4,770 32.38% 9,736 66.09% 225 1.53%
1996 3,817 26.88% 9,407 66.25% 975 6.87%
1992 3,975 27.62% 8,486 58.96% 1,933 13.43%
1988 5,992 47.64% 6,372 50.66% 213 1.69%
1984 5,807 43.95% 7,403 56.03% 2 0.02%
1980 3,718 30.41% 8,222 67.26% 285 2.33%
1976 3,531 33.85% 6,798 65.17% 102 0.98%
1972 5,995 61.01% 3,829 38.97% 2 0.02%
1968 1,337 14.76% 3,274 36.15% 4,446 49.09%
1964 5,207 53.33% 4,556 46.67% 0 0.00%
1960 2,010 46.18% 2,343 53.82% 0 0.00%
1956 1,321 36.87% 2,262 63.13% 0 0.00%
1952 1,835 40.41% 2,706 59.59% 0 0.00%
1948 376 13.42% 1,427 50.93% 999 35.65%
1944 462 15.22% 2,574 84.78% 0 0.00%
1940 417 11.47% 3,218 88.53% 0 0.00%
1936 198 7.15% 2,572 92.85% 0 0.00%
1932 105 5.33% 1,865 94.67% 0 0.00%
1928 346 22.31% 1,184 76.34% 21 1.35%
1924 47 5.86% 681 84.91% 74 9.23%
1920 38 1.91% 1,922 96.68% 28 1.41%
1916 57 5.53% 875 84.95% 98 9.51%
1912 75 9.73% 609 78.99% 87 11.28%
1908 89 12.06% 563 76.29% 86 11.65%
1904 54 10.07% 471 87.87% 11 2.05%

People[change | change source]

Gadsden County is the state's only county with an African American majority population. As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 45,087 people, 15,867 households, and 11,424 families living in the county. The population density was 87 people per square mile (34/km²). There were 17,703 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 57.14% Black or African American, 38.70% White, 0.23% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.76% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 6.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,867 households out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.50% were married couples living together, 22.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of people living alone and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,248, and the median income for a family was $36,238. Males had a median income of $27,159 versus $21,721 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,499. About 16.40% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.50% of those under age 18 and 16.90% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "QuickFacts: Gadsden County, Florida". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  4. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  5. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  • Gadsden: a Florida County in Word and Picture, by Miles Kenan Womack, Jr.

Other websites[change | change source]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gadsden County, Florida.

Government links/Constitutional offices[change | change source]

Special districts[change | change source]

Judicial branch[change | change source]

Tourism links[change | change source]

30°35′N 84°37′W / 30.58°N 84.61°W / 30.58; -84.61

Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gadsden_County,_Florida&oldid=8995015"