Putnam County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the northern part of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 73,321. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Palatka. Putnam County comprises the Palatka, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

— Kingsland—Palatka, Florida—

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Combined Statistical Area. The county is centrally located between Jacksonville, Gainesville, St. Augustine, and Daytona Beach.

History

Putnam County was created in 1849. It was

's 28th county created from parts of St. Johns, Alachua, Orange, Duval, and Marion counties. The county was named for Benjamin A. Putnam, who was an officer in the

First Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

, a lawyer, Florida legislator, and the first president of the Florida Historical Society. The Putnam County Historical Society has determined that Benjamin A. Putnam is the grandson of Israel Putnam, for whom other counties and places in the United States are named. Benjamin A. Putnam died in the

of Palatka in 1869.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (12.0%) is water. The county contains various sinkhole lakes such as Lake Barco and Lake Suggs, where unconsolidated deposits on the surface have slumped into the highly soluble limestone of the upper Floridan aquifer.

Adjacent counties

* Clay County, Florida – north * St. Johns County, Florida – northeast * Flagler County, Florida – east * Volusia County, Florida – southeast * Marion County, Florida – southwest *

Alachua County, Florida Alachua County ( ) is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida. History Prehistory and ear ...

– west * Bradford County, Florida – northwest

National protected area

Ocala National Forest The Ocala National Forest is the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. It covers of North Central Florida. It is located east of Ocala, Florida, Ocala and southeast of Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The ...

(part)

State Park

* Ravine Gardens * Dunns Creek

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 73,321 people, 29,822 households, and 18,179 families residing in the county. As of the 2000 United States Census there were 70,423 people, 27,839 households, and 19,459 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 33,870 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 77.91%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 17.04%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 2.94% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 5.92% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 27,839 households, out of which 28.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.80% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 24.60% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 24.20% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,180, and the median income for a family was $34,499. Males had a median income of $29,975 versus $20,955 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $15,603. About 15.80% of families and 20.90% 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 ...

, including 30.60% of those under age 18 and 13.10% of those age 65 or over.

Ancestry/ethnicity

the largest self-reported ethnic/ancestry groups in Putnam County, Florida are:

Education

The main campus of St. Johns River State College is located in Palatka (the county seat). First Coast Technical College is public, post secondary vocational school with a campus in Palatka. When in November 2022 a former Putnam County school resource deputy was accused of sneaking into a student's home to sexually batter her while her mom was at work or asleep, and asking her to dress up as a younger child and call him “daddy”, starting when she was 15 years of age, it was announced that the Florida Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission would review the case. The case was sent to the commission by the Putnam County Sheriff, who was seeking to have the deputy's certification as a law enforcement officer permanently revoked. In September 2024, the deputy was sentenced with life in prison plus 235 years for his crimes.

Libraries

Putnam County is served by th
Putnam County Library System
which has five branches: * Palatka (main) * Bostwick * Crescent City * Interlachen * Melrose

Communities

Cities

* Crescent City * Palatka (county seat)

Towns

* Interlachen * Pomona Park * Welaka

Census-designated place

* East Palatka

Other unincorporated communities

* Bardin * Bostwick * Carraway * Crossley *

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

* Florahome *

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

* Fruitland * Georgetown * Grandin * Hollister * Huntington * Johnson Crossroads *

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

* Mannville * Melrose * Orange Mills * Putnam Hall * Ridgewood * Rodman * San Mateo * Satsuma * Springside * Yelvington

Politics

Up until the

Civil Rights Act Civil Rights Act may refer to several civil right acts in the United States. These acts of the United States Congress are meant to protect rights to ensure individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private ...

, Putnam County typically followed the

Solid South The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...

pattern of voting Democratic, making exceptions for

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

(though a lot of

White Southerners White Southerners are White Americans from the Southern United States, originating from the various waves of Northwestern European immigration to the region beginning in the 17th century. Academic John Shelton Reed argues that "Southerners' d ...

were against Democrat

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

due to his Northern

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

background) and

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

in the

1950s File:1950s decade montage.png, 370x370px, Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War, late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk.Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with co ...

. The county also backed Independent

segregationist Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by peopl ...

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

and Democrat

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in both of his bids. Today a staunchly Republican county, the last Democratic presidential candidate to win Putnam was

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, the last to come within single digits of doing so was

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, and the last to garner 40% of the county vote was

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans are a plurality of registered voters in Putnam County.

Sheriff's office

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency of Putnam County. It was established in 1849. The incumbent sheriff is H.D. "Gator" DeLoach III. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office contains a K9 unit (with 4 German Shepherds), the Putnam County Jail, a SWAT unit, a marine unit and Underwater Search and Retrieval team along with a Drug and Vice unit. According to ODMP, 1 officer of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office has been killed in the line of duty.

Transportation

Airports

*The main airport within the county is the Palatka Municipal Airport. Minor and private air strips also exist.

Highways

* is the main local road through eastern Putnam County, running south to north. * is the hidden route for US 17 within the county and the vicinity. * is a mostly scenic north and south road that enters the county from

and terminates with US 17 in Palatka. * runs west to east through the panhandle into Putnam County east from Hawthorne in Alachua County, and joins US 17/SR 100 in Palatka. * runs south to north from SR 20 in McMeekin through Melrose before entering Clay County. * runs west to east through Gilcrhist and Alachua Counties before entering Putnam County in Melrose and terminating at SR 100 in Putnam Hall. * runs northwest to southeast from Clay County southeast of Keystone Heights, passing through Putnam Hall, Florahome, and Palatka where it joins US 17, and later SR 20 in a concurrency into San Mateo where SR 100 (and hidden SR 20) runs southeast towards the Flagler County Line * is a west to east route that runs northeast from US 17/SRs 20/100 through Orange Mills and then the St. Johns County Line..

Rail transport

The historic Old Atlantic Coast Line Union Depot is the current

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

station in Palatka for Putnam County along the CSX Sanford Subdivision. Originally the station not only served the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

but also served the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

, the Southern Railway, Florida East Coast Railroad, and the Ocklawaha Valley Railroad. Additionally, the Edgar Spur of the CSX Wildwood Subdivision enters the western edge of the county from Alachua County.

Navigable waterways

St. Johns River The St. Johns River () is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders 12 counties. The drop in elevation from River s ...

Notable people

* Peter Monroe Hagan (1871–1930), law enforcement officer and served as Putnam County Sheriff. * A. Philip Randolph(1889-1979), black rights activist. Born in the city of Crescent City in South Putnam.

Notes

References

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Putnam County Board of County Commissioners
official website
Putnam County Supervisor of Elections

Putnam County Property Appraiser

Putnam County Sheriff's Office

Putnam County Tax Collector

Putnam County Parks and Recreation

Special districts

Putnam County School District

St. Johns River Water Management District

Judicial branch

Putnam County Clerk of Courts

serving Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, and Volusia counties
Office of the State Attorney, 7th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Circuit and County Court for the 7th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism links

Putnam County Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Florida counties 1849 establishments in Florida North Florida Populated places established in 1849