Raiford is a town in

Union County, Florida Union County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida, the smallest in the state by area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,147. The county seat is Lake Butler. History Union County was create ...

, United States. There are three correctional institutions around the town. The first

Florida State Prison Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is an American correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida, with a Raiford postal address. It was formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East U ...

was established in the Raiford area.

Union Correctional Institution The Union Correctional Institution, formerly referred to as Florida State Prison, and also commonly known as Raiford Prison is a Florida Department of Corrections state prison located in unincorporated Union County, Florida, near Raiford. Si ...

holds the state

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

for men. The town has a

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

, Raiford Lodge #82, under the jurisdiction of The Grand Lodge of Florida. The non-prisoner population was 224 at the 2020 census.

History

Around 1895, the first non-indigenous person to settle the area was a man named Hunter Warren Raiford, who was involved in the

naval store Naval stores refers to the industry that produces various chemicals collected from conifers. The term was originally applied to the compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ships. Presently, the naval stores industry are used to ...

s business. By about 1900, the

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 ...

was built through the settlement and a post office was built with the community being named after Raiford. Hunter Warren Raiford himself would serve as the first

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. In 1939, the Raiford Prison baseball team set a record for consecutive scoreless innings, 52. The municipality was officially incorporated as the Town of Raiford in August of 1971.

Geography

The approximate coordinates for the Town of Raiford is located at (30.062892, –82.236999). 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 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 Raiford 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 224 people, 85 households, and 72 families residing in the town. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 255 people, 40 households, and 27 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 187 people, 68 households, and 48 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 76 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 83.42%

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 ...

, 14.97%

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 ...

, 1.07% Native American, and 0.53% from two or more races. In 2000, there were 68 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% 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, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.46. In 2000, in the town, the population was spread out, with 31.6% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $18,747 and the median income for a family was $22,000. Males had a median income of $12,708 versus $10,250 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 $14,684. About 68.0% of families and 88.4% 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 82.00% of those under the age of 18 and 22.00% of those 65 or over making it the poorest town in the poorest county in the country.

Correctional institutions

The Raiford area includes

(UCI) in unincorporated Union County, as well as

(FSP), right across the Bradford County line, the two institutions having originally been one. UCI was the state's first prison, and was originally called "Florida State Prison". The name went with the newer institution when the two were split. Both institutions house inmates in

facilities. FSP conducts all executions, while most death row inmates are housed at UCI. UCI has the most diverse population of any

correctional institution A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various crim ...

in the state. It houses 'close management inmates' and 'psych inmates' as well as 'open population' inmates. Most of the latter are age fifty and over. FSP houses the violent and criminally insane in solitary confinement. The men on death row are also in solitary. The penitentiary compound encompasses over and includes a farm where much food is grown that feeds inmates. Nearby are the state's training facilities for

Correctional Officer A prison officer (PO) or corrections officer (CO), also known as a correctional law enforcement officer or less formally as a prison guard, is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation ...

s (COs), some housing for COs, and the warden's house. Convicted serial killer

Ted Bundy Theodore Robert Bundy (; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989), known colloquially as Ted Bundy, was an American serial killer who kidnapping, abducted, raped and murdered dozens of young women and girls between 1974 and 1978. His ''modus ...

was held at Raiford for years and executed there in 1989.

Education

The school district is the Union County School District, which covers all of Union County.
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References

External links

Community of Raiford
{{authority control Towns in Union County, Florida Towns in Florida