Ponce Inlet is a town in

Volusia County Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an incr ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. The population was 3,032 at the 2010 census. The town of Ponce Inlet is located on the southern tip of a barrier island, south of

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

and Daytona Beach Shores. Several marinas are located in Ponce Inlet. The community is known for its strict land use regulations.

Lighthouse

Completed in 1887, replacing the former lighthouse (built in 1835, it had collapsed into the inlet the following year), the Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station was built when the area was known as Mosquito Inlet. After decades of restoration by the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse Preservation Association, it stands today as one of the best preserved light stations in the nation. Ponce Inlet Lighthouse09

Visited by over 80,000 people each year, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1998. The lighthouse tower and museum are located south of Daytona Beach and are open to the public year-round. The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the second tallest lighthouse in the nation. Visitors who climb the lighthouse tower are treated to a view of the Florida coastline and

Halifax River The Halifax River is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, located in northeast Volusia County, Florida. The waterway was originally known as the North Mosquito River, but was renamed after George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (for whom ...

from Daytona Beach to

New Smyrna Beach New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its population is 30,142 in 2020 by the United States Census Bureau. The downtown section o ...

. The lighthouse keepers' dwellings and other historic light station buildings are now home to the lighthouse museum, with exhibits on lighthouse life, lighthouse and

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

restoration, the keepers and their families, Daytona Beach and Florida history, and

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

s. The Ayres Davies Lens Exhibit Building houses one of the finest collections of restored Fresnel lenses in the world, including the rotating first order Fresnel lens from the

Cape Canaveral lighthouse The Cape Canaveral Light is a historic lighthouse on the east coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The light was established in 1848 to warn ships of the dangerous shoals that lie off its coast. It is located inside the Cape Canaveral Space Force ...

and the restored original Ponce Inlet lighthouse first-order Fresnel lens.

Geography

Aerial view of Ponce Inlet, Florida, 2007-12-12

Ponce Inlet lies on a peninsula at (29.094744, –80.942599), adjacent to the

Ponce de León Inlet The Ponce de Leon Inlet is a natural opening in the barrier islands in central Florida that connects the north end of the Mosquito Lagoon and the south end of the Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean. The inlet originally was named Mosquito Inlet. ...

, and between the

and

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. 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 town has a total area of , of which is land and (70.48%) is water.

Local government

Ponce Inlet is organized with a council-manager form of government; voters elect a Town Council, which consists of five members who serve two-year staggered terms. All five seats including the Mayor are town-wide; there are no districted seats. The Town Council establishes ordinances and policies for the town. It also reviews and approves the town budget annually. The Council appoints a Town Manager, who implements policy as voted on by the council. The town manager is the senior administrative official of the town, and is responsible for all aspects of administrative oversight.

Local elected officials

* Mayor, Seat 1 – Lois Paritsky * Vice-Mayor Seat 5 – Gary Smith * Councilmember Seat 3 – Elizabeth Caswell * Councilmember Seat 4 – David Israel * Councilmember Seat 2 – Bill Milano * Town Manager – Jeaneen Witt

Federal, state and county representation

Ponce Inlet is in the 24th Congressional District and is part of

's 27th Legislative District.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 3,032 people, 1,206 households, and 883 families residing in the town. Census population estimate for 2006 was 3192. The population density was . There were 2,043 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.73%

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 ...

, 0.60%

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.72%

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 ...

, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.16% 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 0.52% 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 1.55% of the population. There were 1,206 households, out of which 11.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.38. In the town, the population was spread out, with 10.1% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 15.6% from 25 to 44, 38.2% from 45 to 64, and 32.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 57 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $52,112, and the median income for a family was $58,828. Males had a median income of $42,188 versus $31,989 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 town was $36,518. About 3.7% of families and 5.1% 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 8.8% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

* Marine Science Center *

Ponce de Leon Inlet Light The Ponce de Leon Inlet Light is a lighthouse and museum located at Ponce de León Inlet in Central Florida. At in height, it is the tallest lighthouse in the state and one of the tallest in the United States (the Cape Hatteras Light in North Ca ...

References

External links

Town of Ponce Inlet official website
* {{authority control Towns in Volusia County, Florida Populated places established in 1963 Towns in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean Beaches of Volusia County, Florida Beaches of Florida