Wakulla 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 Big Bend region in the northern portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 33,764. 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 Crawfordville. Wakulla County is part of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Wakulla County has a near-absence of any municipal population, with two small municipalities holding about 3% of the population. The county seat, Crawfordville, is one of only two unincorporated county seats among Florida's 67 counties.

History

First Spanish period

In 1528, Pánfilo de Narváez found his way to what would be Wakulla County from the future

Pinellas County, Florida Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

, camping at the confluence of the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers. Narváez determined this was a very suitable spot for a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

. In 1539,

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

's expedition passed through ''La Florida'' with a similar route. The Fort San Marcos de Apalache began with a wooden fort in the late 1600s. The vicinity around the fort was not settled until 1733. Spanish colonial officials began constructing a stone fort, which was unfinished in the mid-1760s when

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

took over.

British period

The British divided Florida into

East Florida East Florida () was a colony of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of the Spanish Empire from 1783 to 1821. The British gained control over Spanish Florida in 1763 as part of the Treaty of Paris (1763), Tre ...

, which included present-day Wakulla County, and

West Florida West Florida () was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. Great Britain established West and East Florida in 1763 out of land acquired from France and S ...

. The boundary was 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 ...

; at that time, West Florida extended all the way to the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Twenty years later when the Spanish returned, they kept the East and West divisions, with the administrative capitals remaining at St. Augustine and Pensacola, respectively.

Second Spanish period

The area to become Wakulla County was an active place in the early 19th century. A former British officer named William Augustus Bowles attempted to unify and lead 400 Creek Indians against the Spanish outpost of San Marcos, capturing it. This provoked Spain, and a Spanish flotilla arrived some five weeks later to restore control. In 1818, General Andrew Jackson invaded the area, capturing Fort San Marcos. Two captive British citizens, Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot, were tried, found guilty of inciting Indian raids, and executed under Jackson's authority – causing a diplomatic nightmare between the U.S. and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. The U.S. Army

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

of 200 infantry and artillery men occupied the fort for the better part of a year (1818–1819). In 1821, Florida was ceded to the United States and Fort St. Marks, as the Americans called it, was again garrisoned by U.S. troops.

Florida's territorial period

In 1824, the fort was abandoned and turned over to the Territory of Florida. By 1839, the fort was returned to the Federal government and a merchant marine hospital was built. The hospital provided care for seamen and area yellow fever victims.

American forts in Wakulla County

* 1840 - Camp Lawson, northwest of Wakulla and northeast of Ivan, on the St. Marks River. A log stockade also known as Fort Lawson (2). * 1841-1842 - Fort Many located near Wakulla Springs. * 1839 - Fort Number Five (M) located near Sopchoppy. * 1839-1843 - Fort Stansbury was located on the Wakulla River from St. Marks. * 1841-1843 - Fort Port Leon. Abandoned after a hurricane destroyed it. Site was later used for a CSA

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

artillery battery. * 1839 - James Island Post located on James Island.

Antebellum Wakulla

Wakulla County was created from Leon County in 1843. It may (although this is disputed) be named for the Timucuan Indian word for "spring of water" or "mysterious water". This is in reference to Wakulla County's greatest natural attraction, Wakulla Springs, which is one of the world's largest freshwater springs, both in terms of depth and water flow. In 1974, the water flow was measured at per day—the greatest recorded flow ever for a single spring. In an 1856 book, adventurer Charles Lanman wrote of the springs: Another possible origin for the name Wakulla, not as widely accepted, is that it means "mist" or "misting", perhaps in reference to the Wakulla Volcano, a 19th-century phenomenon in which a column of smoke could be seen emerging from the swamp for miles. The town of Port Leon was once a thriving cotton-shipping hub, with a railroad from Tallahassee that carried over 50,000 tons of cotton a year to be put on ships, usually for shipment direct to Europe. Port Leon was the sixth-largest town in Florida, with 1,500 residents. However, a hurricane and the accompanying storm surge wiped out the entire town. New Port (today known as Newport, Florida) was built two miles (3 km) upstream but never quite achieved the prosperity of Port Leon.Jahoda, Gloria (1967). ''The Other Florida'', Florida Classics. .

Civil War

During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Wakulla County was blockaded from 1861 to 1865 by a Union Navy squadron at the mouth of the St. Marks River. Confederates took the old Spanish

known as San Marcos de Apalache, or Fort St. Marks, and renamed it Fort Ward. The Battle of Natural Bridge eventually stopped the Union force that intended to take Fort Ward and nearby Tallahassee, the only Confederate state

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

other than Austin Texas which had not been captured. The Union was not able to land all of its forces, but they still outnumbered the Confederates, who chose to make their stand at a place where the St. Marks River goes underground: the "Natural Bridge" referred to. However, the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

had over a day to prepare its defenses, and the Union Army retreated. Most of the dead were

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

Union soldiers.

20th century and beyond

In Gloria Jahoda's book ''The Other Florida'', she writes movingly of the extreme poverty of Wakulla County from the early 1900s to 1966 when Wakulla still had no doctor and no dentist, few stores, and a county newspaper produced just once a month on a

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator or stencil machine) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a co ...

machine. Today, Wakulla has several doctors and dentists, several supermarkets and big-box retailers, a golf resort, and a thriving seafood business.

Etymology

The name Wakulla is corrupted from Guacara. Guacara is a Spanish phonetic spelling of an original Indian name, and Wakulla is a Muskhogean pronunciation of Guacara. The Spanish "Gua" is the equivalent of the Creek "wa", and as the Creek alphabet does not exhibit an "R" sound, the second element "cara" would have been pronounced "kala" by the Creeks. The Creek voiceless "L" is always substituted for the Spanish "R". Thus the word Guacara was pronounced Wakala by the

Seminoles The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

who are Muskhogean in their origin and language. Because Wakulla was probably a

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The va ...

n word, it is unlikely that its meaning will ever be known. It may contain the word kala, which signified a "spring of water" in some Indian dialects.. It may refer to the

Whip-poor-will The eastern whip-poor-will (''Antrostomus vociferus''; also called "whip-o-will", "whip o' will", etc.) is a medium-sized () bird within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, from North America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its ran ...

, known as waxkula in Creek.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (17.6%) is water. Wakulla County was added to the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in 1973. The county was removed from the Tallahassee MSA in 1983. It was re-added to the MSA (for the second time) in 2003.

Adjacent counties

* Leon County - north * Liberty County - west * Franklin County - southwest * Jefferson County - east

National protected areas

Apalachicola National Forest The Apalachicola National Forest is the largest U.S. National Forest in the state of Florida. It encompasses and is the only national forest located in the Florida Panhandle. The National Forest provides water and land-based outdoors activiti ...

(part) * St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (part)

State and local protected areas

* Ochlockonee River State Park * San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park * Wakulla Springs State Park

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 33,764 people, 11,382 households, and 8,362 families residing in the county.

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 22,863 people, 8,450 households, and 6,236 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,820 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.10%

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 ...

, 11.51%

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 ...

, 0.59% Native American, 0.25% 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 ...

, 0.29% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. 1.94% 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 8,450 households, out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.60% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,149, and the median income for a family was $42,222. Males had a median income of $29,845 versus $24,330 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 $17,678. About 9.30% of families and 11.30% 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 15.40% of those under age 18 and 15.10% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

County representation

Transportation

Roads

* * * * *

Railroads

No railroads currently operate within Wakulla County, but it was formerly served by two different railroads. The Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railroad, completed in 1893, passed through Sopchoppy on its route between Tallahassee and Carrabelle until its abandonment in 1948. South of Sopchoppy, the line followed H.T. Smith Road. The railroad bridge crossing the Ochlocknee River at MacIntyre still exists as pilings blocking all but a portion of the river on the south side. The Tallahassee Railroad, the first railroad in Florida, was completed in 1836 and was abandoned by its successor, the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

, in 1983. of that right-of-way became the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail in 1988.

Airports

The Wakulla County Airport (2J0), located south of Panacea, is a small public-use airport with a single , north–south turf runway. This airfield was originally constructed during World War II, as an emergency landing strip for Army Air Corps aircraft which trained and patrolled along the Gulf Coast, most of which belonged to the 3rd Army Air Corps out of Dale Mabry Field Army Air Base in Tallahassee. After the war, the air strip was turned over to the county for civilian uses.

Seaports

St. Marks is a small commercial seaport. Panacea and Ochlockonee Bay also support small fishing fleets.

Education

Wakulla County is served by the Wakulla school district with the following schools: * Crawfordville Elementary School * C.O.A.S.T. Charter School * Medart Elementary School * Shadeville Elementary School * Riversink Elementary School * Riversprings Middle School * Wakulla Middle School * Wakulla High School * Wakulla Christian School The former Sopchoppy Elementary School now serves as the Sopchoppy Education Center, a Pre-K, adult, and second chance school. The former Shadeville High School served African-American students from 1931 to 1967.

Library

The Wakulla County Public Library is the main library of Wakulla County and is a part of the Wilderness Coast Public Libraries.

Communities

Towns

* Sopchoppy * St. Marks

Census-designated places

* Crawfordville (county seat) * Panacea

Other unincorporated communities

* Arran * Buckhorn * Curtis Mills * Hyde Park * Ivan * Medart * Newport * Port Leon * Sanborn * Shadeville * Shell Point * Smith Creek *

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...

* Wakulla * Wakulla Beach

Notes

References

External links

Florida forts
{{coord, 30.15, -84.38, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-FL_source:UScensus1990 Florida counties Florida placenames of Native American origin 1843 establishments in Florida Territory Populated places established in 1843 Tallahassee metropolitan area Charter counties in Florida North Florida