Levy 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 North central Florida part 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 42,915. 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 Bronson. It has been included in the

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area since 2018.

History

Levy County was created in 1845, after the

Seminole Wars 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 ...

, and became Florida's 27th county. It was named for David Levy Yulee, a slave owner elected in 1841 as the state's territorial delegate to the

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, where he served two terms. Levy provided for long-term development in the state by constructing the first railroad across Florida, the Florida Railroad, linking the deep-water ports of Fernandina ( Port of Fernandina) on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and Cedar Key on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. The original county seat of Levy County was located in a neighborhood locally known as Sodom. This concerned the county commission so much that in April 1854 they changed the name to “Mount Pleasant”. The name was changed again in January 1856 to "Levyville". An act of the State of Florida legislature ordered the county commissioners to let the county residents vote on the location of the county seat. In 1869, a vote was held to decide the location for the county seat. Bronson was selected by popular vote. County officials cited illegal votes cast in every precinct, so a new election was set to take place in 30 days. The Board of County Commissioners would later reverse their previous decision and let the vote stand. The process to build a new courthouse at Bronson began along with the removal of the courthouse at Levyville. In 1874, the county seat was moved to Bronson, originally known as “Chunky Pond”, and was named after an early settler, Isaac Bronson. The Rosewood Massacre occurred in Levy County in the first week of January 1923. White citizens from the nearby town of Sumner, reacting to a what turned out to be a false accusation that a black man raped a white woman, burned the predominantly black town of Rosewood to the ground and brutally murdered several of Rosewood's black citizens. A film based on the incident was made in 1997, but was not filmed in Levy County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (20.9%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Dixie County — west * Gilchrist County — north * Alachua County — northeast * Marion County — east * Citrus County — south

National protected areas

* Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge * Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 42,915 people, 16,971 households, and 10,747 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 34,450 people, 13,867 households, and 9,679 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 16,570 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 85.88%

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 ...

, 10.97%

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 ...

, 0.47% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.96% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. 3.89% 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 13,867 households, out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.40% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 26.60% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,959, and the median income for a family was $30,899. Males had a median income of $26,029 versus $20,252 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 $14,746. About 15.00% of families and 18.60% 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 25.80% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or over.

Proposed nuclear power plant

On April 7, 2008, Progress Energy Florida of St. Petersburg announced it had authorized Shaw and Westinghouse to purchase long-lead-time materials for up to two AP1000

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

s for its Levy County plant, a greenfield plant in Levy County, producing about 1,100 MW each. Progress expects to apply for a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) in the summer of 2008, according to a spokeswoman. Southern Company and SCANA, of whom each own an interest in the plant, would not reveal cost estimates, but Progress has said its plant will cost $14 billion, with an additional $3 billion required for transmission infrastructure. Applying for a COL does not commit the utilities to construct the plant, but it is part of the licensing process, say officials of all the utilities. The application starts a 40-month review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, meaning that approval could come in August 2011. In late July 2013 the company said it had scrapped its plan to build the plant.

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans comprise a majority of registered voters in Levy County.

Education

Public schools

School Board of Levy County operates public schools.

Public libraries

The current Levy County Library Director is Jeanine Turner. The Levy County Public Library System has five branches: * Bronson Public Library 600 Gilbert Street Bronson, FL 32621 Phone: (352) 486-2015 * Cedar Key Public Library 460 Second Street Cedar Key, FL 32625 Phone: (352) 543-5777 * Luther Callaway Public Library 104 NE 3rd Street Chiefland, FL 32626 Phone: (352) 493-2758 * Williston Public Library 10 SE 1st Street Williston, FL 32696 Phone: (352) 528-2313 * A.F. Knotts Public Library 11 56th Street Yankeetown, FL 34498 Phone: (352) 447-4212

Transportation

Airports

* George T. Lewis Airport * Williston Municipal Airport * Ames Field

Public transit

Levy County Transit has public buses but doesn't have routes available online.

Railroads

Levy County has only one

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line running throughout the county, and only within eastern Levy along US 41. The line is a former

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 ...

line that is now used by the Florida Northern Railroad for freight to the Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant in Red Level, Citrus County. Notable abandoned lines include a Seaboard Air Line Railroad line that is in proximity to the existing former ACL line, a Florida Railway and Navigation Company line running parallel to State Road 24, and a third in western and southern Levy County that spans from Fanning Springs towards the Dunnellon area running along US 19-98 until it reaches Lebanon Junction, where it runs along CR 336. The segment of that line between Fanning Springs and Chiefland is part of the Nature Coast State Trail.

Major roads

* is the main local road through western Levy County, running south to north. * runs northwest to southeast from Marion County and joins US 41 in Williston on its way to High Springs. * is a bannered alternate of US 27 that runs northwest and southeast from US 27/US 41/SR 121 in Williston to US 19/US 98 in Chiefland, which it joins on its way to

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

. * is the main local road through eastern Levy County, running south to north. Until the north end of the concurrency with SR 121 in Williston, the road is also shared by the DeSoto Trail. * is an auxiliary route of US 29 that runs northeast from Chiefland, and then turns north in Trenton on its way through Jasper before heading north into

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 ...

. * is an east to west highway through the central part of the county from Cedar Key into Alachua County. A county-suffixed alternate route can be found in Bronson. * is a south to north road that runs southwest to northeast from Lebanon Junction through Williston, and then into Alachua County and beyond, as it takes a long journey through

and

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 ...

as a tri-state de facto auxiliary route from U.S. Route 21 in Rock Hill, South Carolina. * is an east–west route connecting Manatee Springs State Park with US 19/ 98/ Alternate US 27 in Chiefland. A county extension of the road exists north of the eastern terminus with US 19/98/ALT 27 leading to CR 339 in Newton. * is a combined county and state road spanning from Rosewood to Chiefland. * runs mostly east and west through southern Levy County. It spans from the

in Yankeetown winding along the Withlacoochee River, on the way to Dunnellon and Rainbow Lakes Estates in Marion County, where it eventually becomes State Road 40. The segment between the Gulf of Mexico and US 19-98 is officially named Follow That Dream Boulevard, after the 1962

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

movie. * runs mostly east and west through southeastern Levy County as a bi-county extension of State Road 326. It spans from a dead end at the Waccasassa River in Gulf Hammock winding northeast through US 19-98 until it reaches CR 343 where it turns east. After running through Goethe State Forest it intersects CR 337 in Morris Junction, and then SR 121. By the time it reaches eastern Levy County it has a brief multiplex with southbound US 41 where both serve as the southern terminus of CR 323, only for CR 326 to turn east again as it eventually crosses the Levy- Marion County line, on the way to Ocala and Silver Springs. The segment between I-75 (Exit 358) and SR 40 becomes a state road. * is a bi-county road that runs mostly southeast and northwest through southwestern Levy County in two segments. It spans from CR 347 southwest of Chiefland, along various local streets, and even overlaps CR 345, then runs southeast toward SR 24 at Otter Creek. From there it is hidden along local streets that merge with US 19–98, which completely overshadows it until the at-grade interchange with SR 121 in Lebanon Junction, where it is exposed again running through the southern segment of Goethe State Forest, and later crosses the Levy- Marion County line, where it overlaps CR 40 all the way to Dunnellon. * is a tri-county road that runs south and north through central Levy County, as well as southwestern Alachua and eastern Gilchrist counties. It spans from CR 336 in Goethe State Forest and runs primarily along the eastern outskirts of the forest occasionally entering some forest land. North of the forest area, it enters the city of Bronson, where it intersects US Alternate 27, SR 24 and CR 32. Further north of the city limits it crosses the Levy- Alachua County line.

Communities

(#) Partially in Gilchrist County (#) Partially in Marion County

Other unincorporated communities

* Ellzey * Fowlers Bluff * Gulf Hammock * Lebanon Station * Peaceful Acres * Rosewood * Sumner * Tuckaho * Turkeytown * Usher * Wakahoota

Ghost communities

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

Map of Levy County, 1888
Florida Center for Instructional Technology. Accessed 14 April 2025. * Butler * Double Sink * Elmwood *

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

* Gore * Gunntown * Janney * Judson * LevyvilleSearch for Yesterday – A History of Levy County. Chapter 8
Levy County Archives Committee. Published 2002. Page 29. Accessed 14 April 2025. * Lontine * Merdiths * Moody * Montbrook

Notes

References

External links

Newspapers and media

"HardisonInk.com"
Daily online news website for Levy, Dixie and Gilchrist counties.
''Levy County Journal''
No longer in business. Publisher died.
LCJ archives maintained by University of Florida

''Cedar Key Beacon''

''Chiefland Citizen''

''Williston Pioneer''

Government links/Constitutional offices

Levy County official website

Levy County Supervisor of Elections

Levy County Sheriff's Office

Levy County Tax Collector

Special districts

Levy County School Board

Suwannee River Water Management District

Southwest Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

Levy County Clerk of Courts

Office of the State Attorney, 8th Judicial Circuit of Florida
serving Alachua, Baker,

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union counties
Circuit and County Court for the 8th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism links/Chambers of Commerce

Levy County Visitors Bureau

Withlacoochee/Gulf Area Chamber of Commerce

Cedar Key Chamber of Commerce

Greater Chiefland Chamber of Commerce

Fanning Springs Chamber of Commerce

Cedar Key Scrub State Preserve

Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge

Manatee Springs State Park
{{authority control Florida counties 1845 establishments in Florida North Florida Populated places established in 1845