Bradford County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in 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 sove ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,303. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

and largest city is Starke.

History

New River County, as it was known at the time, was created in 1858 from segments of

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

and Alachua counties. It was renamed Bradford County in 1861 in honor of Confederate Captain Richard Bradford, who fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

and was killed in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island, becoming the first officer from Florida to die during the Civil War. During the county's early history, Lake Butler served as the county seat. However, the growth of Starke as an important city on the Fernandina to Cedar Key railroad led to an 1875 vote on the location of the county seat, with Starke winning by 46 votes. A successful legal challenge brought the county seat back to Lake Butler, and an 1885 referendum reaffirmed the move by 19 votes. Yet another referendum was held in 1887, and saw the courthouse and county seat moved back to Starke, where it would remain. The dispute brought on the attention of the Florida Legislature, and in 1921, the western portion of Bradford County and Lake Butler were separated to form Union County. The county was home to numerous citrus farms in its early days prior to the

Great Freeze The Great Freeze is the back-to-back freezes of 1894–1895 in Northern Florida, where the brutally cold weather destroyed much of the citrus crop. Entire communities, such as Earnestville, faded after the citrus crops and trees were lost to th ...

in the winter of 1894-1895. Even after the freeze, Starke and Lawtey continued to be major regional agricultural producers, with the primary exports being cotton, tobacco, and strawberries. Significant growth would come to the county during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

era, with the construction of U.S. Route 301 and nearby

Camp Blanding Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is the primary military reservation and training base for the Florida National Guard, both the Florida Army National Guard and certain nonflying activities of the Florida Air National Guard. The installation ...

. Post-war, the county saw the construction of Florida State Prison on the Bradford-Union County line in Raiford, along with several moments in the national media spotlight.

Ted Bundy Theodore Robert Bundy (Name change, born Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more th ...

was executed at the prison in 1989, while Starke and Bradford County faced a series lawsuits in the 2000s over a cross on the city's water tower and a Ten Commandments statue in front of the county courthouse.

Geography

According to the

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

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.2%) is water. It is the third-smallest county in Florida by land area and second-smallest by total area.

Adjacent counties

* Baker County, Florida - north *

Clay County, Florida Clay County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population was 218,245. Its county seat is Green Cove Springs. It is included in the Jacksonville metropolitan statistical area. It is named in honor ...

- east *

Putnam County, Florida Putnam County is a county located in the northern part of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 73,321. Its county seat is Palatka. Putnam County comprises the Palatka, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is inc ...

- southeast *

Alachua County, Florida Alachua County ( ) is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida since 1906, when the campus ...

- south * Union County, Florida - west *

Duval County, Florida Duval County is in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 995,567, up from 864,263 in 2010. Its county seat is Jacksonville, Florida, with which the Duval County government has been con ...

- northeast

National protected area

* Osceola National Forest (part)

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 28,303 people, 9,318 households, and 5,882 families residing in the county. At the 2000 census there were 26,088 people, 8,497 households, and 6,194 families in the county. The population density was 89 people per square mile (34/km²). There were 9,605 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile (13/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 76.28% White, 20.79% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 2.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 8,497 households 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were non-families. 22.90% of households were one person and 9.70% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.01. The age distribution was 21.90% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 32.10% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 127.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 132.50 males. The median household income was $33,140 and the median family income was $39,123. Males had a median income of $29,494 versus $20,745 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,226. About 11.10% of families and 14.60% 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 18.30% of those under age 18 and 17.60% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in t ...

operates several correctional facilities in unincorporated areas. The facilities include Florida State Prison, Florida State Prison – West Unit, and New River Correctional Institution. Florida State Prison houses one of Florida's two male

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 execution ...

s and the State of Florida

execution chamber An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death r ...

.Death Row Fact Sheet
."

. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans account for a majority of registered voters in Bradford County.

State and Local elections

For most of its history, Bradford County voted heavily Democratic at the local, state, and federal level. The county flipped at the Presidential level for the last time in 1984, and has voted heavily Republican in presidential and congressional races since. In 2015, Republicans overtook Democrats for the first time in registration advantage, and by 2018, nearly all county offices had flipped to the Republican Party.

Education

Bradford County School District operates public schools. Bradford High School is the county's public high school. The main library serving Bradford County is the Bradford County Public Library in Starke. the library director is Robert E. Perone. File:Bradford High School, Starke.jpg, Bradford High School File:Bradford County Public Library, Starke.jpg, Bradford County Public Library

Communities

Cities

* Hampton * Lawtey * Starke

Town

* Brooker

Notes

References

External links

County website

''Bradford County Telegraph''

Bradford County Schools

Bradford County Supervisor of Elections
{{authority control 1858 establishments in Florida Florida counties North Florida Populated places established in 1858