Jefferson County, Florida

Jefferson County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 12,902. The 2005 estimate for the county is 14,490. Its is.

History
Jefferson County was created in. It was named for, third , who served from to.

Forts of Jefferson County

 * Fort Roger Jones (1839), Aucilla (Ocilla Ferry), north of US 90.
 * Fort Noel (1839 - 1842), south of Lamont on the Aucilla River, six miles northwest of Fort Pleasant in Taylor County. Also known as Fort Number Three (M).
 * Camp Carter (1838), near Waukeenah.
 * Fort Welaunee (1838), a settlers' fort on the Welaunee Plantation near Wacissa. Fort Gamble (1839 - 1843) was later established here.
 * Fort Aucilla (1843), two miles south-east of Fort Gamble, southwest of Lamont, between the Aucilla and Wacissa Rivers. Also spelled Ocilla.
 * Fort Wacissa (1838), a settlers' fort located south of Wacissa on the Wacissa River, west of Cabbage Grove.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,649 (637 ). 1,548 km² (598 sq mi) of it is land and 101 km² (39 sq mi) of it (6.11%) is water.

Jefferson County is part of the.

Jefferson County is the only county in Florida which borders both the state of and the

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - southwest
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 12,902 people, 4,695 households, and 3,305 families residing in the county. The was 8/km² (22/sq mi). There were 5,251 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (9/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 59.27%, 38.34% or , 0.39% , 0.30% , 0.04% , 0.57% from , and 1.09% from two or more races. 2.25% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 4,695 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were living together, 15.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 104.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,998, and the median income for a family was $40,407. Males had a median income of $26,271 versus $25,748 for females. The for the county was $17,006. About 13.30% of families and 17.10% of the population were below the, including 21.70% of those under age 18 and 17.00% of those age 65 or over.

Politics
Jefferson County is one of only a handful of counties in the that politically favors the Democratic Party.

Incorporated

 * City of

Government links

 * Jefferson County
 * Jefferson County Home Page

Constitutional Offices

 * Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners
 * Jefferson County Supervisor of Elections
 * Jefferson County Property Appraiser
 * Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
 * Jefferson County Tax Collector

Jefferson County Schools

 * Public School System
 * Jefferson County High School
 * Howard Middle School
 * Jefferson Elementary School
 * Private School System
 * Aucilla Christian Academy

Judicial Branch

 * Jefferson County Clerk of Courts
 * Public Defender, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida serving, , Jefferson, , , and  counties
 * Office of the State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida
 * Circuit and County Court for the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida

Special Districts

 * Suwannee River Water Management District
 * Northwest Florida Water Management District