Gadsden County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

panhandle A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...

of the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its

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 ...

is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

, FL

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. Gadsden County is the only majority (over 50%) African-American county in Florida.

History

Gadsden County was created in 1823. It was named for

James Gadsden James Gadsden (May 15, 1788December 26, 1858) was an American diplomat, soldier and businessman after whom the Gadsden Purchase is named, pertaining to land which the United States bought from Mexico, and which became the southern portions of Ar ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, who served as

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

's aide-de-camp in Florida in 1818. Gadsden County is historically known for its tobacco crop which is obsolete today.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.3%) is water. Gadsden County is part of the

Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area The Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical area is the metropolitan area centered on Tallahassee, Florida. The Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) designated by the Office of Management and Budget and ...

. Gadsden County is in the

Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a smal ...

. Its western border with Jackson County forms the boundary in this area between the Eastern and

Central Time Zone The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordin ...

Adjacent counties

* Decatur County, Georgia - north * Seminole County, Georgia - north *

Grady County, Georgia Grady County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,011. The county seat is Cairo. History Grady County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on August 17, 1905, from ...

- northeast *

Leon County, Florida Leon County is a county in the Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 census, the population was 292,198. The county seat is Tallahassee, which is also the state ...

- east *

Liberty County, Florida Liberty County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,974, making it the least populous county in Florida. Its county seat is Bristol. Liberty County is one of only two dry counties in Florida ...

- southwest * Calhoun County, Florida - southwest (CST) *

Jackson County, Florida Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, on its northwestern border with Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,319. Its county seat is Marianna. History Jackson County was created by the Florida Terri ...

- northwest (CST)

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' Gadsden County is unique in Florida in that it is the state's only county with an

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 ...

majority population.

2010 Census

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 serving ...

, there were 46,389 people living in the county. 56.0% were Black or African American, 35.9%

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 ...

, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 5.9% of some other race and 1.3% of two or more races. 9.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 45,087 people, 15,867 households, and 11,424 families living in the county. The population density was . 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 Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 38.70%

, 0.23% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 2.76% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 6.17% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

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 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 ...

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 individuals, 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 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 county was $14,499. About 16.40% of families and 19.90% 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 28.50% of those under age 18 and 16.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The

Gadsden County School District Gadsden County School District (GCPS), or Gadsden County Schools (GCS), or Gadsden County Public Schools (GCPS), is a school district headquartered in the Max D. Walker School Administration Building in Quincy, Florida. It serves Gadsden County as ...

, the only school district, operates public schools. Gadsden County is home to one public high school,

Gadsden County High School Gadsden County High School, known as East Gadsden High School (EGHS) until 2016, was a public high school in unincorporated Gadsden County, Florida, operated by Gadsden County School District. It is between Havana and Quincy, and it has a "Hava ...

(formerly East Gadsden High School), formed in 2017 by the merger of East Gadsden High and the high school portion of

West Gadsden High School West Gadsden High School was a public secondary school in unincorporated Gadsden County, Florida, operated by Gadsden County School District. It is adjacent to the city of Greensboro,Chattahoochee High and Greensboro High and was located on the western outskirts of Quincy near Greensboro. East Gadsden, formed by the merger of James A. Shanks High and Havana Northside High, was located on Hwy. 90 east of Quincy. Robert F. Munroe Day School and

Tallavanna Christian School Tallavana Christian School (TCS) is a private K–12 school Christian school in unincorporated Gadsden County, Florida, Gadsden County, Florida, near Havana, Florida, Havana, that was founded as a segregation academy. It is a ministry of the Tallav ...

are private schools in the county that were founded as segregation academies.

Libraries

The Gadsden County Public Library System has 3 branches. * William A. McGill Library * Havana Branch * Chattahoochee Branch

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Democrats maintain a massive majority of registered voters in Gadsden County. As of May 23, 2022, the county has the highest percentage of registered Democrats of all counties in Florida. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

in his landslide 1972 victory, and Gadsden was the solitary Florida county to vote against

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and George Bush in 1988.

Statewide elections

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS * Eric Hinson (District 1) * Anthony Viegbesie, PhD (District 2) * Kimblin NeSmith, J.D (District 3) *Brenda Holt (District 4) * Ronterious Green (District 5) LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS * Sheriff: Morris A. Young * Supervisor of Elections: Shirley Green Knight * Tax Collector: W. Dale Summerford * Property Appraiser: Reginald Cunningham * Superintendent of Schools: Elijah Key

Transportation

Airports

* Quincy Municipal Airport

Major roads

Gadsden County FL sign entering from Georgia

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

is the main west-to-east interstate highway in the county, and serves as the unofficial dividing line between northern and southern Gadsden County. It contains four interchanges within the county; CR 270A (Exit 166), SR 12 (Exit 174), SR 267 (Exit 181), and US 90 (Exit 192). * US 90 was the main west-to-east highway in the county prior to the construction of I-10 in the late 1960s. It runs from the Victory Bridge in Chatahoochee in the northwest, and then southeast through Gretna, Douglas City, and Quincy before finally leaving the county east of Midway into Leon County. *

US 27 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana ...

is the sole south-to-north U.S. highway running through the northeastern part of the county. * State Road 12 is a west-to-east state highway running from Liberty County in the southwest to Havana in the northeast. It also contains a county extension into Leon County. * State Road 65 * State Road 159 is a short south to north road connecting US 27 to SR 12 in Havana, with a county extension northwest to Georgia State Route 309 at the Georgia State Line. * State Road 267

Railroads

Gadsden County has at least four existing railroad lines, three of which are owned by

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

. The first two CSX lines being P&A Subdivision, a line formerly owned by the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of t ...

, and the other is the Tallahassee Subdivision, a former

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

line. These two lines meet in Chatahoochee and served

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betw ...

until it was truncated to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

in 2005 by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. A third line is the

Apalachicola Northern Railroad The Apalachicola Northern Railroad was a short-line railroad which operated in the Florida Panhandle. It owned and operated a between Port Saint Joe, Florida, and Chattahoochee, Florida, with a short spur to Apalachicola, Florida. It was found ...

, a line that spans as far south as Port St. Joe. The line enters from Liberty County, then crosses SR 12 in Greensboro, runs under I-10, follows CR 268 in Hardaway, and then turns west into Chatahoochee. The fourth line is the third CSX Line, the Bainbridge Subdivision, which runs along the west side of US 27 from Leon County by way of a bridge over the

Ochlockonee River The Ochlockonee River ( ) is a fast running river, except where it has been dammed to form Lake Talquin in Florida, originating in Georgia and flowing for before terminating in Florida. Background The name is from the Hitchiti language words ...

to the Georgia State Line. While some spurs still exist, other lines within the county were abandoned.

Public transportation

Public Transportation is provided by Big Bend Transit, which operates 3 bus routes in the county.

Communities

Cities

* Chattahoochee * Gretna * Midway * Quincy

Towns

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

* Greensboro

Unincorporated areas

Dogtown Dogtown or Dog Town may refer to: Entertainment * ''Dogtown'' (film), a 1997 film * "Dogtown" (''The Simpsons''), a 2017 season episode * '' DogTown'', a National Geographic Channel series * ''Dogtown'', a 2006 television show, starring Geraldine ...

* Hinson * Jamieson * Lake Tallavana * Mount Pleasant * Oak Grove * Reston * St. Hebron * St. John *

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

* Scottown * Wetumpka

Gallery

File:Gadsden County Board of Commissioners.jpg, Gadsden County Board of Commissioners File:Gadsden County Sheriff's Office.jpg, Gadsden County Sheriff's Office File:Gadsden County Emergency Medical Services, Gadsden County Fire Services.jpg, Gadsden County Emergency Medical Services and Gadsden County Fire Services

References

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners

Gadsden County Supervisor of Elections

Gadsden County Property Appraiser

Gadsden County Sheriff's Office

Gadsden County Tax Collector

Special districts

Gadsden County Schools

Northwest Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

Gadsden County Clerk of Courts

Public Defender, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida
serving Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson,

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, and Wakulla counties
Office of the State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida

Circuit and County Court for the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism links

Gadsden County Chamber of Commerce

RiverWay South, FL regional tourism website

Official Gadsden County Tourism website
{{Coord, 30.58, -84.61, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-FL_source:UScensus1990 1832 establishments in Florida Territory Populated places established in 1832 Florida counties Tallahassee metropolitan area North Florida