Holmes 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 ...

located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of

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 ...

, in the

Panhandle A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,653. 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 ...

is Bonifay.

History

Holmes County was created in 1848. The county's namesake is a point of debate. Holmes Creek – the county's eastern boundary – bore that name before the county was created, but it was originally named Weekaywehatchee (a Creek Indian name meaning "spring creek"). One claim is that the county was named for Thomas J. Holmes, who came from North Carolina to settle in the area about 1830. Another is that it is named after Holmes, an American Indian chief who settled in the area with his band of Red Stick Creek Indians after 1814. He was subsequently killed in 1818 by a raiding party sent by Andrew Jackson during the First Seminole War. Holmes County has had four county seats in its history. The first was Hewett's Bluff (later renamed Bear Pen, then Cerro Gordo), then Pittman's Ferry, then Westville, and finally Bonifay. Bonifay has been the county seat since 1905.

Historic places

Historic places in the county include: * Keith Cabin in Pittman * Waits Mansion, Bonifay *

Vortex Spring Vortex Spring is a commercially operated recreation, campground, camping and underwater diving, dive park located near Ponce de Leon, Florida. It is the largest diving facility in the state of Florida. The spring Vortex Spring is a cold, freshwat ...

, Northern

Ponce de Leon Ponce may refer to: *Ponce (surname) * *Ponce, Puerto Rico, a city in Puerto Rico ** Ponce High School ** Ponce massacre, 1937 * USS ''Ponce'', several ships of the US Navy *Manuel Ponce, a Mexican composer active in the 20th century * British sl ...

Ponce de Leon Springs State Park, Ponce de Leon

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 (2.1%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in Florida by total area.

Adjacent counties

Geneva County, Alabama Geneva County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,659. Its county seat is Geneva. The county was named after its county seat, which in turn was named after G ...

– north *

Jackson County, Florida Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, on its northwestern border with Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,319. Its county seat is Marianna. History Jackson County was created by the Florida Terri ...

– east * Washington County, Florida – south *

Walton County, Florida Walton County is located on the Emerald Coast in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida, with its southern border on the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 75,305. Its county seat is DeFuniak Springs. The c ...

– west

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 19,653 people, 7,137 households, and 4,939 families residing in the county. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 18,564 people, 6,921 households, and 4,893 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 38 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 7,998 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.79%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 6.51%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.01% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.79% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. 1.93% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 6,921 households, out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.10% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 112.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,923, and the median income for a family was $34,286. Males had a median income of $25,982 versus $19,991 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $14,135. About 15.40% of families and 19.10% 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 25.70% of those under age 18 and 17.90% of those age 65 or over.

Triracial people

The so-called " Dominickers", a number of related mixed-race (white, black, and Euchee Indian) families, lived for decades after the Civil War and well into the twentieth century in a rural area near Ponce de Leon, with a separate church and segregated public elementary school. Although considered a separate ethnicity from both whites and blacks, many Dominickers married into local white families, so that group boundaries blurred; some descendants still live in the area. The 1950 federal census identified 60 members of this group living in Holmes County at that time. Few facts are known about their origins, and little has been published about them.

Politics

Holmes County is the most archetypically "

Solid South The Solid South or Southern bloc was the electoral voting bloc of the states of the Southern United States for issues that were regarded as particularly important to the interests of Democrats in those states. The Southern bloc existed especial ...

" county in Florida, and in recent times the most Republican. It gave the fifth-highest percentage of the vote for

segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist a ...

of any county in the country during the 1968 election,David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential elections
1968 Presidential Election Statistics
/ref> and apart from Deep South native

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, no Democrat since 1964 has obtained as much as thirty-four percent of the county's vote in any Presidential election. Holmes County voted for President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

in the 2016 election with 87.9%, the highest percentage of any county in Florida. Holmes County has more registered Democrats than Republicans, but many are descendants of

Dixiecrat The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition ...

s, Southerners who register as Democrats due to tradition but vote Republican in most elections. Barack Obama earned only 15.2% of the vote in 2012. Hillary Clinton earned a mere 10% of the vote in 2016. In 2020, Donald Trump finished with just over 89% of the vote, the highest in the state. In the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, Holmes County was won by

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 20 ...

; one of only four counties in the state in which he received a majority and the county in which he received the highest percentage of the vote (51.7%).

Media

The Holmes County Times-Advertiser
The Holmes County Times-Advertiser is now owned by Halifax Media. The weekly newspaper publishes each Wednesday and has an office at 112 E. Virginia Ave. in Bonifay. * The Graceville News * Townsend Broadcasting began Holmes County first FM radio station in 1984 broadcasting a mere 3000 watts. WTBB (townsend broadcasting Bonifay) WTBB broadcast a sound 10 format soft rock and classic oldies. WTBB general manager was Larry Donaldson assisting Mr.Donaldson who later became a radio Hit D.J. was C.J. Newcomb who went on to stations like WJST and Sunny 98.5. in the Panama City Market. WTBB was sold to Pirate Radio and studios were moved to Panama City,Fl. call sign for frequency 97.7 are still in Holmes County however studios have long gone.

Education

Holmes District School Board operates public schools. Holmes County High School and Ponce de Leon High School are its public high schools. Poplar Springs High School is a K-12 Combination School in Northeastern Holmes County and Bethlehem High School is a K-12 Combination School in the Bethlehem Community. Th
Holmes County Public Library
is the county's library system. It is located at 303 North J. Harvey Etheridge Street, Bonifay, Florida 32425. The library is open Tuesday-Friday 8:00am–5:00pm, and Saturday 8:00am–12:00pm and offers public computers with internet access, free wi-fi, programming for all ages, and access to e-books, e-audiobooks, and numerous online databases and resources. Holmes County is also a part of th
Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System
PPLCS also includes Calhoun and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

counties.

Communities

City

* Bonifay

Town

* Esto * Noma *

Ponce De Leon Ponce may refer to: *Ponce (surname) * *Ponce, Puerto Rico, a city in Puerto Rico ** Ponce High School ** Ponce massacre, 1937 * USS ''Ponce'', several ships of the US Navy *Manuel Ponce, a Mexican composer active in the 20th century * British sl ...

* Westville

Unincorporated communities

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...

* Cerrogordo * Gritney * Pittman *

Prosperity Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health. Competing notions ...

* Poplar Springs * Hamp Berry's Crossroads * Leonia * Sweet Gum Head

Transportation

Airports

* Tri-County Airport

Major highways

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

US 90 *

State Road 2 * Florida 79

State Road 79 * Florida 81

State Road 81

Railroads

Holmes County has one railroad line. The primary one is the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

P&A Subdivision, a line formerly owned by the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of t ...

that served

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betw ...

. This service formerly went to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, but in 2005 service was truncated by the extensive damage in the Gulf area due to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. Another former L&N line existed within the northeastern corner of the county. The Georgiana Branch entered the state and county from Highnote, Alabama then ran through Esto and later

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was intro ...

before crossing SR 2 and leaving the county towards Graceville and Campbellton, where it had a junction with the

Bay Line Railroad The Bay Line Railroad is one of several short line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operates between Panama City, Florida, and Dothan, Alabama, including a branch from Grimes to Abbeville, Alabama, reached via trackage ri ...

External links

Government links/Constitutional offices

Holmes County Board of County Commissioners

Holmes County Supervisor of Elections

Holmes County Property Appraiser

Holmes County Tax Collector

Special districts

Holmes District School Board

Northwest Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

Holmes County Clerk of Courts

Circuit and County Court for the 14th Judicial Circuit of Florida
serving

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

, Calhoun,

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

, Holmes,

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

counties

Tourism links

Holmes County Online and Chamber of Commerce

Notes

{{Coord, 30.87, -85.81, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-FL_source:UScensus1990 Florida counties 1848 establishments in Florida North Florida Populated places established in 1848