Marion County, Florida

Marion County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 258,916. The 2005 estimate for the county is 303,442. Its is.

History
Marion County was created in from portions of, Mosquito , and  counties. Until, Marion County included most of what are now and  counties. The county is named after General of, a guerilla fighter and hero of the. Many of the early settlers of Marion County were from South Carolina. The county motto is "Kingdom of the Sun." Farms in the county are known for breeding champion race horses such as Affirmed and Needles.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 4,307 (1,663 ). 4,089 km² (1,579 sq mi) of it is land and 218 km² (84 sq mi) of it (5.06%) is water. It is coterminous with the.

Location and Terrain
Marion County is generally composed of rolling hills, some high and some low. The majority of its trees consist of live oaks, pine, and palm trees. Marion County is considered the southernmost county in, and sometimes the northernmost county in.

It is about a two hour drive from many of Florida's major cities, is 90 minutes to the southeast while  is about 90 minutes to the southwest. is roughly a two hour drive northeast and is an hour and a half to the east. is about five hours to the southeast as is.

Marion County also has two large lakes at its opposite borders. Orange Lake is in the far northern part of Marion County, near the border with. , the larger of the two, is in the far southern region near the border with.

Marion County is inland, centered between the to the east and the  to the west. Because of this, Marion County is not affected as much by hurricanes as the more coastal counties to its east and west are. However, tornadoes are a major threat to this region of the state. Although Marion County is not near either of Florida's coasts, it is situated slightly to the west. Therefore, it takes an hour to get to the Gulf of Mexico while it takes a half an hour longer to get to the Atlantic Ocean.

Adjacent Counties

 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 258,916 people, 106,755 households, and 74,621 families residing in the county. The was 63/km² (164/sq mi). There were 122,663 housing units at an average density of 30/km² (78/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 84.16%, 11.55% or , 0.45% , 0.70% , 0.02% , 1.69% from , and 1.44% from two or more races. 6.03% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 106,755 households out of which 24.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.79.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.40% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 23.80% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 24.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,944, and the median income for a family was $37,473. Males had a median income of $28,836 versus $21,855 for females. The for the county was $17,848. About 9.20% of families and 13.10% of the population were below the, including 20.20% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

Incorporated

 * 1) City of
 * 2) City of
 * 3) Town of
 * 4) City of
 * 5) Town of

Public School System

 * 27 elementary schools
 * 8 middle schools
 * 1 k-8 center
 * 8 high schools
 * 2 charter schools
 * 14 special needs schools

Elementary Schools

 * Anthony Elementary School
 * Belleview Elementary School
 * Belleview-Santos Elementary School
 * College Park Elementary School
 * Dr. N.H. Jones Elementary (Magnet)
 * Dunnellon Elementary School
 * East Marion Elementary School
 * Emerald Shores Elementary School
 * Evergreen Elementary School
 * Fessenden Elementary School
 * Fort McCoy School (K-8)
 * Hammett Bowen Jr. Elementary School
 * Harbour View Elementary School
 * Madison Street Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (Magnet)
 * Maplewood Elementary School
 * Oakcrest Elementary School
 * Ocala Springs Elementary School
 * Reddick-Collier Elementary School
 * Romeo Elementary School
 * Saddlewood Elementary School
 * Shady Hill Elementary School
 * South Ocala Elementary School
 * Sparr Elementary School
 * Stanton-Weirsdale Elementary School
 * Sunrise Elementary School
 * Ward-Highlands Elementary School
 * Sunrise Elementary School
 * Ward-Highlands Elementary School

Middle Schools

 * Belleview Middle School
 * Website - www.Fortkingmiddle.org
 * Lake Weir Middle School
 * North Marion Middle School
 * West Port Middle School
 * North Marion Middle School
 * West Port Middle School
 * West Port Middle School

High Schools

 * 
 * 
 * 

Marion County Public Schools Homepage

Government links/Constitutional offices

 * Marion County Fire Rescue
 * Marion County Board of County Commissioners
 * Marion County Supervisor of Elections
 * Marion County Property Appraiser
 * Marion County Sheriff's Office
 * Marion County Tax Collector

Special districts

 * Marion County School Board
 * Southwest Florida Water Management District
 * St. Johns River Water Management District

Judicial branch

 * Marion County Clerk of Courts
 * Public Defender, 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving, , , Marion, and counties
 * Office of the State Attorney, 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida
 * Circuit and County Court for the 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Tourism links

 * Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce
 * Ocala/Marion Visitors' & Convention Bureau

Miscellaneous links

 * Photographs From the State Library & Archives of Florida.
 * OcalasWebsite - Everything about Ocala and more!