Columbia County, Florida

Columbia County
Columbia County
County
	Columbia County Courthouse in Lake City
	Location within the U.S. state of Florida
	Florida's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 30°14′N 82°38′W / 30.23°N 82.63°W
Country	United States
State	Florida
Founded	February 4, 1832
Named for	Christopher Columbus
Seat	Lake City
Largest city	Lake City
Area
• Total	801 sq mi (2,070 km2)
• Land	798 sq mi (2,070 km2)
• Water	3.8 sq mi (10 km2) 0.5%
Population (2020)
• Total	69,698
• Density	87/sq mi (34/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.columbiacountyfla.com

Columbia County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,698, up from 67,531 at the 2010 census.^[1] Its county seat is Lake City.^[2]

Columbia County comprises the Lake City, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gainesville-Lake City, FL Combined Statistical Area. Osceola National Forest is partially in Columbia County.

History

After Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, pioneer and immigrant settlers from the United States formed their own settlement adjacent to a Seminole village called Alligator Village, and called it Alligator.^[3] Following the 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek, the residents of Alligator village relocated to the banks of Peace Creek in the newly established Seminole reservation, leaving Alligator Town on its own.

When Columbia County was formed in 1832 from Duval and Alachua counties, Alligator Town was designated as the seat of the county government. It was renamed as Columbia, the poetic form for the United States.^[4] The county was developed for agriculture and the timber industry, with products such as turpentine, lumber, and plywood. From 1832 to 1839, the county seat was Newnansville, but that town and area were returned to Alachua County.

In November 1858 a railroad was completed connecting Jacksonville to Alligator, which opened the town to more commerce and passenger traffic. Alligator Town was incorporated and its name changed to Lake City in 1859; M. Whit Smith was elected as the town's first mayor.^[5] According to an urban legend, the name was changed because the mayor's wife Martha Jane, who had recently moved to the town, refused to hang her lace curtains in a town named Alligator.^[6]

During the American Civil War, the railroad between Lake City and Jacksonville was used to send beef and salt to Confederate soldiers. In February 1864 Union troops under Truman Seymour advanced west from Jacksonville. His objective was to disrupt Confederate supplies, and obtain African-American recruits and supplies.^[7] Confederate General Joseph Finnegan assembled troops and called for reinforcements from P. G. T. Beauregard in response to the Union threat. On February 11, 1864, Finnegan's troops defeated a Union cavalry raid in Lake City.^[7] After the Union cavalry was repulsed, Finnegan moved his forces to Olustee Station about ten miles east of Lake City (in Baker County). The Confederate presence at Olustee Station was reinforced to prepare for the Union troops coming from Jacksonville.

Union forces engaged the Confederates at the Battle of Olustee on February 20, 1864, near the Olustee Station. It was the only major battle in Florida during the war. Union casualties were 1,861 men killed, wounded or missing; Confederate casualties were 946 killed, wounded or missing. The Confederate dead were buried in Lake City.^[8] In 1928 a memorial for the Battle of Olustee was established in downtown Lake City.

Lake City's first newspaper was published in 1874, called the Lake City Reporter. Charles H. Thompson, an African American minister, represented Columbia County in the Florida House of Representatives and served as a county commissioner in 1874 and 1875.^[9] In 1876 the Bigelow Building was completed; it later was adapted for use as the City Hall. The first fire department was established in 1883 to complement the police department. In 1891 Lake City became the first city in Florida to have electric lights from a local power and light company.

White violence rose against blacks in the late 19th century in a regionwide effort to establish and maintain white supremacy as Southern states disenfranchised most blacks and imposed Jim Crow. Whites lynched 20 African Americans in Columbia County from 1877 to 1950, mostly in the decades near the turn of the 20th century. It was tied with Polk County for the second-highest total of lynchings of any county in the state.^[10]

Among these murders was the mass lynching on May 21, 1911, of six black men who were taken from the jail by a white mob in Lake City. They were being held on charges of murdering one white sawmill worker and wounding another in Leon County, after whites had attacked them at a private house following an earlier altercation between two men.^[11] A group of a dozen white men, reportedly from Tallahassee, tricked the white youth guarding the jail by posing as officials and gained release of the suspects. They took the men outside town and shot them repeatedly to death.^[12]^[11]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 801 square miles (2,070 km²), of which 798 square miles (2,070 km²) is land and 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²) (0.5%) is water.^[13] Osceola National Forest is partially within the county.

Columbia County is coterminous with the Lake City, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA). The μSA was first defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in 2003. It was added to the Gainesville-Lake City, Florida Combined Statistical Area in 2020.^[14]

Adjacent counties

Echols County, Georgia - north
Clinch County, Georgia - northeast
Baker County - east
Union County - southeast
Alachua County - south
Gilchrist County - southwest
Suwannee County - west
Hamilton County - northwest

National protected area

Osceola National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	2,102		—
1850	4,808		128.7%
1860	4,646		−3.4%
1870	7,335		57.9%
1880	9,589		30.7%
1890	12,877		34.3%
1900	17,094		32.7%
1910	17,689		3.5%
1920	14,290		−19.2%
1930	14,638		2.4%
1940	16,859		15.2%
1950	18,216		8.0%
1960	20,077		10.2%
1970	25,250		25.8%
1980	35,399		40.2%
1990	42,613		20.4%
2000	56,513		32.6%
2010	67,531		19.5%
2020	69,698		3.2%
2023 (est.)	73,063	^[15]	4.8%
U.S. Decennial Census^[16] 1790-1960^[17] 1900-1990^[18] 1990-2000^[19] 2010-2015^[20] 2020^[1]

**Columbia County racial composition as of 2020**
(NH = Non-Hispanic)^[a]
Race	Pop 2010^[23]	Pop 2020^[24]	% 2010	% 2020
White (NH)	50,475	49,096	74.74%	70.44%
Black or African American (NH)	11,663	11,441	17.27%	16.42%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	316	236	0.47%	0.34%
Asian (NH)	611	867	0.9%	1.24%
Pacific Islander (NH)	36	27	0.05%	0.04%
Some Other Race (NH)	94	295	0.14%	0.42%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)	1,060	2,673	1.57%	3.84%
Hispanic or Latino	3,276	5,063	4.85%	7.26%
Total	67,531	69,698

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 69,698 people, 25,205 households, and 15,740 families residing in the county.

As of the census^[25] of 2000, there were 56,513 people, 20,925 households, and 14,919 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 people per square mile (27 people/km²). There were 23,579 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.72% White, 17.03% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. 2.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 20,925 households, out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.70% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.40% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 102.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,881, and the median income for a family was $35,927. Males had a median income of $27,353 versus $21,738 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,598. About 11.40% of families and 15.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.10% of those under age 18 and 13.60% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans are the majority of registered voters in Columbia County.

Columbia County Voter Registration & Party Enrollment as of September 30, 2022^[26]
Political Party		Total Voters	Percentage
	Republican	22,477	52.05%
	Democratic	12,176	28.20%
	Independent	7,921	18.34%
	Third Parties	608	1.41%
Total		43,182	100%

Statewide elections

United States presidential election results for Columbia County, Florida^[27]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	23,836	72.03%	8,914	26.94%	342	1.03%
2016	20,368	70.57%	7,601	26.33%	895	3.10%
2012	18,429	67.69%	8,462	31.08%	336	1.23%
2008	18,670	66.17%	9,171	32.50%	374	1.33%
2004	16,758	67.06%	8,031	32.14%	202	0.81%
2000	10,968	59.24%	7,049	38.07%	497	2.68%
1996	7,588	46.48%	6,691	40.98%	2,047	12.54%
1992	6,492	43.41%	5,528	36.97%	2,934	19.62%
1988	7,761	65.13%	4,073	34.18%	82	0.69%
1984	8,814	67.41%	4,261	32.59%	0	0.00%
1980	5,643	48.45%	5,680	48.76%	325	2.79%
1976	3,947	36.66%	6,683	62.08%	136	1.26%
1972	6,723	80.16%	1,664	19.84%	0	0.00%
1968	1,553	21.13%	1,750	23.81%	4,046	55.06%
1964	4,145	56.06%	3,249	43.94%	0	0.00%
1960	2,094	36.17%	3,695	63.83%	0	0.00%
1956	1,841	36.19%	3,246	63.81%	0	0.00%
1952	2,041	38.73%	3,229	61.27%	0	0.00%
1948	553	16.60%	1,797	53.93%	982	29.47%
1944	537	17.88%	2,467	82.12%	0	0.00%
1940	443	13.30%	2,888	86.70%	0	0.00%
1936	196	6.58%	2,783	93.42%	0	0.00%
1932	174	6.51%	2,497	93.49%	0	0.00%
1928	418	24.36%	1,276	74.36%	22	1.28%
1924	85	8.94%	776	81.60%	90	9.46%
1920	162	10.50%	1,248	80.88%	133	8.62%
1916	226	19.06%	861	72.60%	99	8.35%
1912	66	9.85%	520	77.61%	84	12.54%
1908	279	31.28%	465	52.13%	148	16.59%
1904	317	32.09%	595	60.22%	76	7.69%

**Gubernatorial Elections Results**
Year	Republican	Democratic	Third parties
2022	79.19% 18,790	20.18% 4,789	0.62% 148
2018	70.14% 17,426	28.60% 7,105	1.25% 312
2014	63.15% 11,604	31.63% 5,812	5.22% 958
2010	58.66% 11,089	37.39% 7,068	3.95% 748
2006	59.74% 9,313	36.97% 5,763	3.29% 514
2002	58.50% 9,554	40.43% 6,603	1.07% 174
1998	61.27% 7,698	38.71% 4,863	0.02% 3
1994	58.35% 7,408	41.65% 5,288

Education

The Columbia County School District operates public schools.

Library

The Columbia County Public Library consists of 3 branches.

Main Branch
West Branch
Fort White Branch

Transportation

Airports

Columbia County's main airport is Lake City Municipal Airport. Private airports also exist throughout the county.

Major roads

I-10 (Interstate 10) is the main west-to-east interstate highway in the county, and serves as the unofficial dividing line between northern and southern Columbia County. It contains three interchanges within the county; the first being I-75 in Springville (Exits 296 A-B), and the other two in Five Points, north of Lake City, US 41 (Exit 301), and US 441(Exit 303). Beyond this point I-10 runs through Osceola National Forest.
I-75 (Interstate 75) is the southeast-to-northwest interstate highway in the county, which enters from Alachua County at bridges over the Santa Fe River. It has four interchanges in the county with US 41/441 in Ellisville (Exit 414), SR 47 (Exit 423), US 90 in Lake City (Exit 427) and I-10 in Springville (Exits 435 A-B).
US 27 is another southeast-to-northwest road in southwestern Columbia County, that enters from a bridge over the Santa Fe River, runs through Fort White, and leaves at another bridge over the Ichetucknee River at Ichetucknee Springs State Park.
US 41 runs north from High Springs in a concurrency with US 441 until just before it reaches Lake City, Then the two routes run parallel to each other until US 41 branches off to the northwest on its way to Hamilton County, Valdosta, Georgia, and points north.
US 90 was the main west-to-east highway in the county, until it was surpassed by I-10. It enters the county from Wellborn in Suwannee County, and directly enters Lake City. East of the city, it runs along the southern edge of Osceola National Forest and serves as the address of two major prisons before crossing the Baker County Line and entering a portion of the forest itself.
US 441 runs north from High Springs in a concurrency with US 41 until just before it reaches Lake City, Then the two routes run parallel to each other, but unlike US 41, US 441 stays in Columbia County and runs straight north and south until it crosses the Georgia State Line.
SR 2 is located on the far northeast corner of the county, and has no significant intersections in the county.
SR 47 is a northeast-to-southwest road that spans from Trenton in Gilchrist County to US 41 in Lake City. North of there it becomes a hidden state road along US 41 until it reaches US Truck Route 90, then turns east, only to turn north again onto US 441 where it remains for the duration until it crosses the Florida-Georgia State Line.
SR 100 runs northwest to southeast from Hamilton County in an overlap with southbound US 41, until it reaches US 90 in Lake City, where it runs east in an overlap with that route before branching off on its own in Watertown, then runs southeast towards the Union County Line.
SR 238 runs west to east in Ellisville and only exists for one and a half miles in the county, but still serves as an important route to Lake Butler in Union County.
SR 247 is a northeast to southwest road that spans from Branford in Suwannee County, and terminates at US 90 in western Lake City, just east of US 90's interchange with I-75.

Railroads

Columbia County has at least three existing railroad lines. The primary one is a Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad line formerly owned by CSX, Seaboard System Railroad, Seaboard Coastline Industries and Seaboard Air Line Railroad that served Amtrak's Sunset Limited until it was truncated to New Orleans in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. Lake City (Amtrak station) was Columbia County's only active railroad station until that point. Until 1971, Lake City was a stop on the Louisville and Nashville and Seaboard Coast Line's Gulf Wind (New Orleans - Jacksonville). The Seaboard Air Line operated this and another passenger train in each direction through Lake City until 1966 or 1967.^[28] Another one is owned by the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway, and runs along US 41 from Lake City through Hamilton County. A third line runs along SR 100 into Union County.

Communities

City

Lake City

Town

Fort White

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Notes

^ Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.^[21]^[22]