Jennings is a town in Hamilton County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 749 at the 2020 census, down from 878 at the 2010 census.

Geography

The approximate coordinates for Town of Jennings is located in northwestern Hamilton County at (30.6041015, -83.0979184).

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miam ...

passes through the town as Plum Street, leading southeast to

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

, the

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 ...

, and northwest to

Lake Park, Georgia Lake Park is a city in Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. The population was 932 in 2020, up from 733 in 2010. History Lake Park was laid out in 1889 along the route of the newly completed Georgia Southern and Florida Railway. It was orig ...

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

runs along the southwest border of the town, with access from Exit 467 (Hamilton Avenue). I-75 leads southeast to

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 ...

near

Lake City, Florida Lake City is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329, up from 12,046 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistica ...

, and northwest to

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town of Jennings has a total area of , all land.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild winters. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, the Town of Jennings has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

zone (''Cfa'').

Demographics

2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 749 people, 289 households, and 183 families residing in the town. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 878 people, 275 households, and 213 families residing in the town.

2000 census

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 833 people, 282 households, and 205 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 321 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 43.70%

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 ...

, 43.10%

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 ...

, 0.60% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 10.08% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races.

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 were 22.69% of the population. In 2000, there were 282 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% 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, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.34. In 2000, in the town, the population was spread out with 30.6% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males. Jennings FL High School pano01

In 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $25,714, and the median income for a family was $25,938. Males had a median income of $25,577 versus $15,982 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 town was $12,195. About 23.8% of families and 30.8% 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 42.9% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Hamilton County School District operates the public schools serving Jennings, Hamilton County Elementary School and

Hamilton County High School Hamilton County High School (HCHS) is a public high school located at 5683 US Highway 129 in unincorporated Hamilton County, Florida, south of Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and ot ...

in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of the county. Until August 2017,

North Hamilton Elementary School North Hamilton Elementary School, formerly the Jennings High School, is a historic school in Jennings, Florida. The high school was built in 1927 and converted to an elementary school in 1965. On January 10, 2008, it was added to the U.S. Nationa ...

in Jennings served the community. North Hamilton Elementary was consolidated into a new elementary school, Hamilton County Elementary School, located in an unincorporated area south of

. Its opening was scheduled for August 2017. The Suwannee River Regional Library System operates the Jennings Public Library.Home page
Jennings Public Library. Retrieved on April 8, 2017.

Notable people

Andrew Prine Andrew Lewis Prine (February 14, 1936 – October 31, 2022) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Early life Prine was born in 1936, in Jennings, Florida. He was raised in a farming community. Career Early beginnings In the ...

, actor * Thomas Albert Jennings, businessman and politician

References

External links

Town of Jennings Official Website (on Facebook)

Origin of the name
{{Hamilton County, Florida Towns in Hamilton County, Florida Towns in Florida