Wauchula is a city and 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 ...

Hardee County, Florida Hardee County is a County (United States), county located in the Florida Heartland of the Central Florida region in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,327. Its county seat is Wauch ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 4,900. Wauchula has been called the "cucumber capital of the world", although citrus has become a more important agricultural crop over the past few decades. It is home to the downtown's Wauchula Historic District and Albert Carlton Estate.

Geography

The exact coordinates for the City of Wauchula is located at . Wauchula is located in north-central Hardee County.

U.S. Route 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that spans in the Southeastern United States. It runs close to the East Coast of the United States, At ...

passes through the city, leading north to Bartow and south to Arcadia. Within the county, Zolfo Springs is to the south on US 17 and

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

is to the north. 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 ...

, Wauchula has an area of , all land.

Hurricane Charley

Hurricane Charley Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. It was the third named sto ...

hit Wauchula at on Friday, August 13, 2004, causing more than $750 million in damage. Sustained winds of , with gusts of over , were clocked in downtown Wauchula. The entire area had either no running water, or contaminated water for one week. Power was lost to many sections for nearly three weeks, with school canceled for two weeks. The area was declared a

federal disaster area A disaster area is a region or a locale that has been heavily damaged by either natural, technological or social hazards. Disaster areas affect the population living in the community by a dramatic increase in expense, loss of energy, food and se ...

after 85% of its buildings were either damaged or destroyed. There was a curfew set for the area for weeks after from 8 pm to 7 am.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and warm 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 ...

system, Wauchula 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 4,900 people, 1,630 households, and 1,072 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 5,001 people, 1,574 households, and 1,035 families residing in the city.

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 4,368 people, 1,431 households, and 985 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,562 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 73.44%

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 ...

, 4.17%

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 ...

, 0.57% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 18.84% from other races, and 2.68% 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 39.42% of the population. In 2000, there were 1,431 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.57. In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 30.7% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $25,931, and the median income for a family was $29,943. Males had a median income of $19,129 versus $15,867 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 city was $10,665. About 19.9% of families and 25.0% 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 30.0% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Wauchula Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located southwest of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Center for Great Apes The Center for Great Apes is an animal sanctuary for great apes located east of Wauchula, Florida. Founded as a nonprofit organization in 1993, the sanctuary has about 70 Orangutan, orangutans and Chimpanzee, chimpanzees who were formerly used ...

is a permanent sanctuary for rescued orangutans and chimpanzees. The only hospital in Wauchula is AdventHealth Wauchula.

Notable people

* Doyle E. Carlton (1885–1972), 25th governor of Florida * Tom McEwen (1923–2011), sportswriter * B. J. McLeod (born 1983),

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

driver *

Zeke Mowatt Ezekiel Mowatt (born March 5, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. He played college football at Florida State, c ...

(born 1961),

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

football player and

Super Bowl XXI Super Bowl XXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

champion

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wauchula, Florida 1902 establishments in Florida Cities in Florida Cities in Hardee County, Florida County seats in Florida Micropolitan areas of Florida Populated places established in 1902