Lake Butler is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Union County, Florida Union County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida, the smallest in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,147. The county seat is Lake Butler. With a personal per capita income of $20, ...

, United States. The population was 1,897 at the 2010 census.

History

A post office called Lake Butler has been in operation since 1860. The city was named for Robert Butler, an acting governor of East Florida.

Geography

Lake Butler is located at (30.021681, –82.340960). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (6.01%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,927 people, 723 households, and 508 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 832 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 64.50%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 31.81%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.26% Native American, 0.83%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1.19% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.30% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 3.68% of the population. There were 723 households, out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 26.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.16. In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.6% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,347, and the median income for a family was $29,000. Males had a median income of $26,951 versus $20,814 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $14,174. About 22.3% of families and 25.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 28.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public primary and secondary schools in Lake Butler and Union County are administered by Union County School District, which is governed by an elected, five-member Union County School Board. The district administers four schools, one elementary school that services Pre-K–4th grade, one middle school that services 5th–8th grade, one high school,

Union County High School (Florida) Union County High School is an American high school located in Lake Butler, Florida, whose history dates to the 1920s after the secession from Bradford County, when it was originally located as the Lake Butler Middle School. Before segregation en ...

that services 9th–12th grade and one Adult Education program.

Economy

As of 1985 almost all of the residents of Lake Butler work in

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the ...

prisons, are related to prison employees, do business with prison employees, and/or know prison employees.Prison is life in Union County
"

The Evening Independent The ''Evening Independent'' was St. Petersburg, Florida's first daily newspaper. The sister evening newspaper of the ''St. Petersburg Times'', it was launched as a weekly newspaper in March 1906 under the ownership of Willis B. Powell. In Novem ...

(Knight-Ridder Newspapers). June 22, 1985. Retrieved on August 16, 2010.

Notable people

Jay North Jay North (born August 3, 1951) is an American actor. His career as a child actor began in the late 1950s with roles in eight TV series, two variety shows and three feature films. At age 7 he became a household name for his role as the well-mean ...

, played the character "Dennis" in the TV series '' Dennis the Menace'' (1959–1963) * Andrew Peterson, Christian singer-songwriter *

C. J. Spiller Clifford "C. J." Spiller Jr. (born August 5, 1987) is an American football coach and former running back who is currently the running backs coach at Clemson University. He previously served as a graduate intern at Clemson in 2020. Spiller play ...

, former NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Gerard Warren Gerard Thurston Warren (born July 25, 1978) is an American former college and professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of ...

, former NFL

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

References

External links

The Lake Butler Community Page
{{authority control County seats in Florida Cities in Union County, Florida Cities in Florida