Waldo is a city in
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 since 1906, when the campus ope ...
, United States. According to the
2010 census the population was 1,015,
up from 821 in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
.
History
The first major U.S. federal highway in early territorial
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 ...
,
Bellamy Road
The Bellamy Road was the first major U.S. federal highway in early territorial Florida.
Land travel and transportation in Florida prior to its acquisition by the United States was by foot over trails. The Spanish used existing Native American ...
, was constructed in the 1820s–1830s and passed through Waldo from around
Lake Santa Fe
Lake Santa Fe is a lake that is fed by seepage from the Floridan Aquifer in northeastern Alachua County, Florida. The lake is located entirely in Alachua County, but is bounded on the east and South side by Bradford County, Clay County, and ...
to the east and on towards the
Santa Fe River in the west, where it passed over the river on a natural land bridge at modern
O'Leno State Park
O'Leno State Park is a Florida State Park located on the Santa Fe River six miles north of High Springs on U.S. 441. Many facilities at the park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
History
A town called Keno, also the na ...
. In 1853, the Florida Legislature chartered the
Florida Railroad
The Florida Railroad was the first railroad to connect the east and west coasts of Florida, running from Fernandina to Cedar Key. The line later became part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, and, where still in use, is operated by CSX Transport ...
to build a line from
Fernandina to
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, with a branch running to
Cedar Key
Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 702 at the 2010 census. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands near the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on Way Key since the end of the 19th ...
. U.S.
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
David Levy Yulee
David Levy Yulee (born David Levy; June 12, 1810 – October 10, 1886) was an American politician and attorney. Born on the island of St. Thomas, then under British control, he was of Sephardic Jewish ancestry: His father was a Sephardi from Mo ...
, president and chief stockholder of the Florida Railroad, made the decision to build the Cedar Key branch first. The section up to
Gainesville was completed by 1859, with the intersection of Bellamy Road and the Florida Railroad named Waldo Station, after Senator Yulee's friend
Benjamin Waldo
Benjamin Waldo (1816 - 1871) was a doctor and state legislator in South Carolina. He relocated to Florida with his wife. Waldo, Florida is believed to have been named for him.
Dr. Joseph Waldo of Newberry, South Carolina was his father.
Waldo s ...
, a doctor and politician. In 1876, the railroad branch from Waldo to
Ocala
Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida.
Home to ...
was completed.
Geography
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 , or 0.74%, is water.
Lake Alto is a freshwater lake east of Waldo.
Demographics
As of the
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, there were 1,015 people, 413 households, and 245 families residing in the city. Of the 489 housing units 413 were occupied for an occupancy rate of 84.5%. The racial makeup of the city was 70.2%
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 ...
, 25.9%
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 ...
, 0.2%
Native American, 0.3%
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 ...
, 1.6% some other race, and 1.8% 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 ...
or Latino people of any race made up 3.2% of the population.
Of the 413 households, 245 or 59.3% were families and 128 or 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 144 households were headed by
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 which made up 34.9%, 79 households or 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, while 22 or 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present. Non-family households made up 40.7% or 168 households. The average household size was 2.45 while the average family size was 3.10.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under age 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% aged 65 and over. The median age was 38.4 years. 51.3% of the population was female while 48.7% of the population was male.
For the period 2007–2011, the estimated median annual income for a household in the city was $28,167, and the median income for a family was $36,375. Male full-time workers had a median income of $33,021 versus $30,597 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 $15,693. About 30.3% of families and 34.7% 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 42.2% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Waldo is served by the
School Board of Alachua County
Alachua County Public Schools is a public school district serving Alachua County in North Central Florida. It serves approximately 29,845 students in 64 schools and centers.
The district is governed by the School Board of Alachua County, which ...
. Upon closure of Waldo Community School in 2016, elementary students are now zoned for Chester Shell Elementary in Hawthorne. Students in sixth through twelfth grade attend
Hawthorne Middle/High School in nearby
Hawthorne
Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Hawthorne may also refer to:
Places
Australia
*Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
Canada
* Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario
United States
* Hawt ...
. The
Alachua County Library District
The Alachua County Library District is an Special-purpose district, independent special taxing district and the sole provider of public library service to approximately 250,000 citizens of Alachua County, Florida. This includes all of the incorpora ...
operates a branch library in the city.
Speed trap designation
In August 1995, the
American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...
(AAA) declared Waldo, and the neighboring city of
Lawtey as "Speed Traps" and urged motorists to choose alternate routes instead of driving through the two cities. On September 2, 2014, the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is a state-wide investigative law enforcement agency within the state of Florida. The department formally coordinates eight boards, councils, and commissions. FDLE's duties, responsibilities and ...
began an investigation of Waldo's ticketing following allegations of ticketing quotas, with one police chief having been suspended for a two-week period. On October 1, 2014, the City Council voted 4–1 to disband the city's police department. The former chief of the disbanded Waldo Police Department was cleared of any wrongdoing after an investigation by the
Florida Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission (CJSTC). In a letter to the Waldo City Manager, the CJSTC wrote, "The decision is based upon the finding that insufficient grounds exist under the guidelines of Chapter 943.1395, Florida Statutes, to pursue any disciplinary action by the commission." This event led to then Florida Governor
Rick Scott
Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019.
Scott ...
to sign a bill (SB 264) which better defined the ban on ticket quotas. Waldo is somewhat unique in that unlike most other speed trap towns, "...the speed trap in Waldo, Florida, was brought down not by outside pressure but from the inside", as reported in May of 2022 by
Reason magazine
''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the ''Chicago Tribune''.
History
''Reas ...
.
In August 2018, the AAA officially lifted the designation of "Speed Trap" for the city of Waldo.
See also
*
Florida Railroad
The Florida Railroad was the first railroad to connect the east and west coasts of Florida, running from Fernandina to Cedar Key. The line later became part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, and, where still in use, is operated by CSX Transport ...
: a history of the railroad that originally held the plats which became the City of Waldo
*
Hampton, Florida
Hampton is a city in Bradford County, Florida, United States. The population was 500 at the 2010 census.
History
Early history
Hampton was incorporated in 1925. At the time, it was at the junction of the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway ...
: a nearby town that was almost
disincorporated
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...
in 2014, in part due to "speed trap" behavior.
References
*Turner, Gregg. (2003). ''A Short History of Florida Railroads.'' Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing.
*
External links
*
Waldo Branch Library
{{authority control
Cities in Alachua County, Florida
Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida
Cities in Florida