Calhoun County is a rural

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 panhandle of the U.S. state of

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 13,648, making it the fifth-least populous county in Florida. 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 Blountstown.

History

Calhoun County was created in 1838. It was named for John C. Calhoun, member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and the seventh U.S. vice president, serving under

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

and

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

. The county was originally located between St. Joseph Bay and the

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately long, in the state of Florida. The river's large drainage basin, watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) River Basin, drains an area of approximately ...

, with the county seat at St. Joseph (which was abandoned by 1844 due to a yellow fever epidemic and hurricanes). In the late 1850s, there was a violent feud between the local Durden family and another anti-Durden group. This feud escalated and there was a breakdown of the law, with roaming gangs and a "pitched battle" at the courthouse square in Blountstown. The violence got so bad that the county judge had to call in aid from the Fifth Florida Militia Regiment, which deployed 150 militiamen to breakup the outlaw bands. The relative lawlessness continued during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

when armed gangs gathered in the country side and avoided conscription by the Confederacy. These groups were in contact with and armed by the Federal blockade and even concocted a plan to kidnap the Confederate Governor Milton. Milton caught word of the plot and avoided capture. The county was later expanded to the north with territory from Jackson and Washington counties. In 1913, part of Calhoun County was transferred to the new Bay County. In 1925, the southern part of Calhoun County was separated as the new Gulf County, which included the territory that had formed the original Calhoun County. In 1930, a federal employee shot the County Sheriff over a dispute of unknown origin.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. The county is bounded on the east by the

and is bisected by the Chipola River, site of Look and Tremble.

Unincorporated areas

Among the unincorporated settlements are Broad Branch, Chipola, Clarksville, Chason, Durham, Fisher Corner, Flowers Still, Henderson Mill, Kinard, Leonards, New Hope, Rollins Corner, Selman, Sharptown, Summerville, and Willis.

Adjacent counties

* Jackson County, Florida – north * Gadsden County, Florida – northeast (EST) * Liberty County, Florida – east (EST) *

Gulf County, Florida Gulf County is a County (United States), county located in the Florida Panhandle, panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,192. Its county seat is Port St. Joe, Florida, Po ...

– south (southern part of the county is in the EST) * Bay County, Florida – west

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,648 people, 4,510 households, and 2,753 families residing in the county. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 13,017 people, 4,468 households, and 3,132 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 5,250 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 79.87%

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 ...

, 15.79%

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 ...

, 1.26% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 1.04% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. 3.78% 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 4,468 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.90% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.20% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 117.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,575, and the median income for a family was $32,848. Males had a median income of $26,681 versus $21,176 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 $12,379. About 14.80% of families and 20.00% 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 23.60% of those under age 18 and 20.40% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major roads

Calhoun County is not served by any Interstate or U.S. Highways; the nearest access to the Interstate Highway System is

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

in Sneads in neighboring Jackson County and to the U.S. Highway System is U.S. Route 231 in northeastern Bay County. * FL 20 is major east–west state highway linking Niceville to the state capital Tallahassee. * FL 69 begins at FL 71 in Blountstown. * FL 71 is major north–south state highway linking Port St. Joe to Alabama. * FL 73 begins at FL 71 in southern Calhoun County.

Airport

* Calhoun County Airport (Florida)

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans hold a narrow majority among registered voters in Calhoun County as of 2022. However, Democrats held a sizable majority of registered voters as recently as 2017.

Statewide elections

Like most of the Florida Panhandle, Calhoun County votes heavily Republican in presidential and congressional races yet still occasionally supports conservative Democrats in local and state contests.

County commissioners

*Ben Hall (District 1) *Aaron Carter (District 2) *Darryl O'Bryan (District 3) *Scott Monlyn (District 4) *Gene Bailey (District 5)

Local elected officials

*Clerk of Court: Carla Hand *County Sheriff: Glenn Kimbrel * Supervisor of Elections: Sharon Chason * Property Appraiser: Carla Peacock * Tax Collector: Becky Smith

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Calhoun County School District operates public schools. Its two senior high schools are Blountstown High School and Altha Public School.

Library

Along with the six branches within th
Calhoun County Public Library System
Calhoun County is also a part of th
Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System
PPLCS also includes Holmes and Jackson counties. Branches are located in the following communities and offer public computers with internet access, free wi-fi, programming for all ages, downloadable e-books and e-audiobooks, and numerous online databases and resources. * Blountstown Public Library * Altha Public Library * Hugh Creek Public Library * Kinard Public Library * Mossy Pond Public Library * Shelton Public Library

Communities

Towns

* Blountstown * Altha

Unincorporated communities

* Abe Springs * Broad Branch * Carr Community * Chason * Chipola * Chipola Park * Clarksville * Cox * Eufala * Frink * Gaskins * Kinard * Leonards * Marysville * McNeal * New Hope * Ocheesee Landing * Ocheeseulga * Pine Island * Rollins Corner * Scotts Ferry * Selman * Willis

Notes

References

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Calhoun County Board of County Commissioners

Calhoun County Supervisor of Elections

Calhoun County Property Appraiser

Calhoun County Sheriff's Office

Calhoun County Tax Collector

Special districts

Calhoun County School District

Northwest Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

Calhoun County Clerk of Courts

Circuit and County Court for the 14th Judicial Circuit of Florida
serving Bay, Calhoun,

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties

Tourism links

Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control 1838 establishments in Florida Territory Populated places established in 1838 Florida counties North Florida