Wakulla County is a county located in the Big Bend region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,764. Its county seat is Crawfordville. Wakulla County is part of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Wakulla County has a near-absence of any municipal population, with two small municipalities holding about 3% of the population. Crawfordville is one of only two unincorporated county seats among Florida's 67 counties, the other being East Naples of Collier County.

History

First Spanish period In 1528, Pánfilo de Narváez found his way to what would be Wakulla County from the future Pinellas County, Florida, camping at the confluence of the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers. Narváez determined this was a very suitable spot for a fort. In 1539, Hernando de Soto's expedition passed through La Florida with a similar route.

The Fort San Marcos de Apalache began with a wooden fort in the late 1600s. The vicinity around the fort was not settled until 1733. Spanish colonial officials began constructing a stone fort, which was unfinished in the mid-1760s when Great Britain took over.

British period The British divided Florida into East Florida, which included present-day Wakulla County, and West Florida. The boundary was the Apalachicola River; at that time, West Florida extended all the way to the Mississippi River. Twenty years later when the Spanish returned, they kept the East and West divisions, with the administrative capitals remaining at St. Augustine and Pensacola, respectively.

Second Spanish period The area to become Wakulla County was an active place in the early 19th century. A former British officer named William Augustus Bowles attempted to unify and lead 400 Creek Indians against the Spanish outpost of San Marcos, capturing it. This provoked Spain, and a Spanish flotilla arrived some five weeks later to restore control.

In 1818, General Andrew Jackson invaded the area, capturing Fort San Marcos. Two captive British citizens, Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot, were tried, found guilty of inciting Indian raids, and executed under Jackson's authority – causing a diplomatic nightmare between the U.S. and Britain. The U.S. Army garrison of 200 infantry and artillery men occupied the fort for the better part of a year (1818–1819).

In 1821, Florida was ceded to the United States and Fort St. Marks, as the Americans called it, was again garrisoned by U.S. troops.

Florida's territorial period In 1824, the fort was abandoned and turned over to the Territory of Florida.

By 1839, the fort was returned to the Federal government and a merchant marine hospital was built. The hospital provided care for seamen and area yellow fever victims.

American forts in Wakulla County 1840 - Camp Lawson, northwest of Wakulla and northeast of Ivan, on the St. Marks River. A log stockade also known as Fort Lawson (2). 1841-1842 - Fort Many located near Wakulla Springs. 1839 - Fort Number Five (M) located near Sopchoppy. 1839-1843 - Fort Stansbury was located on the Wakulla River from St. Marks. 1841-1843 - Fort Port Leon. Abandoned after a hurricane destroyed it. Site was later used for a CSA Army artillery battery. 1839 - James Island Post located on James Island.

Antebellum Wakulla Wakulla County was created from Leon County in 1843. It may (although this is disputed) be named for the Timucuan Indian word for "spring of water" or "mysterious water". This is in reference to Wakulla County's greatest natural attraction, Wakulla Springs, which is one of the world's largest freshwater springs, both in terms of depth and water flow. In 1974, the water flow was measured at per day—the greatest recorded flow ever for a single spring.

In an 1856 book, adventurer Charles Lanman wrote of the springs:

Another possible origin for the name Wakulla, not as widely accepted, is that it means "mist" or "misting", perhaps in reference to the Wakulla Volcano, a 19th-century phenomenon in which a column of smoke could be seen emerging from the swamp for miles.

The town of Port Leon was once a thriving cotton-shipping hub, with a railroad from Tallahassee that carried over 50,000 tons of cotton a year to be put on ships, usually for shipment direct to Europe. Port Leon was the sixth-largest town in Florida, with 1,500 residents. However, a hurricane and the accompanying storm surge wiped out the entire town. New Port (today known as Newport, Florida) was built two miles (3 km) upstream but never quite achieved the prosperity of Port Leon.Jahoda, Gloria (1967). The Other Florida, Florida Classics. .

Civil War During the Civil War, Wakulla County was blockaded from 1861 to 1865 by a Union Navy squadron at the mouth of the St. Marks River. Confederates took the old Spanish fort known as San Marcos de Apalache, or Fort St. Marks, and renamed it Fort Ward.

The Battle of Natural Bridge eventually stopped the Union force that intended to take Fort Ward and nearby Tallahassee, the only Confederate state capital other than Austin, Texas which had not been captured. The Union was not able to land all of its forces, but they still outnumbered the Confederates, who chose to make their stand at a place where the St. Marks River goes underground: the "Natural Bridge" referred to. However, the Confederate Army had over a day to prepare its defenses, and the Union Army retreated. Most of the dead were African-American Union soldiers.

20th century and beyond In Gloria Jahoda's book The Other Florida, she writes movingly of the extreme poverty of Wakulla County from the early 1900s to 1966 when Wakulla still had no doctor and no dentist, few stores, and a county newspaper produced just once a month on a mimeograph machine.

Today, Wakulla has several doctors and dentists, several supermarkets and big-box retailers, a golf resort, and a thriving seafood business.

Etymology The name Wakulla is corrupted from Guacara. Guacara is a Spanish phonetic spelling of an original Indian name, and Wakulla is a Muskhogean pronunciation of Guacara. The Spanish "Gua" is the equivalent of the Creek "wa", and as the Creek alphabet does not exhibit an "R" sound, the second element "cara" would have been pronounced "kala" by the Creeks. The Creek voiceless "L" is always substituted for the Spanish "R". Thus the word Guacara was pronounced Wakala by the Seminoles who are Muskhogean in their origin and language.

Because Wakulla was probably a Timucuan word, it is unlikely that its meaning will ever be known. It may contain the word kala, which signified a "spring of water" in some Indian dialects.. It may refer to the Whip-poor-will, known as waxkula in Creek.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (17.6%) is water.

Wakulla County was added to the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in 1973. The county was removed from the Tallahassee MSA in 1983. It was re-added to the MSA (for the second time) in 2003.

Adjacent counties Leon County - north Liberty County - west Franklin County - southwest Jefferson County - east

National protected areas Apalachicola National Forest (part) St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (part)

State and local protected areas Ochlockonee River State Park San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park Wakulla Springs State Park

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 33,764 and 8,362 families residing in the county. The median age was 42.7 years, with 20.5% of residents under the age of 18 and 17.3% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 117.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 120.8 males age 18 and over.

There were 11,970 households in the county, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.0% were married-couple households, 16.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 13,633 housing units, of which 12.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 81.2% were owner-occupied and 18.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.5%.

30.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 70.0% lived in rural areas.

Racial and ethnic composition +Wakulla County, Florida – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)8,94812,16219,39324,47225,98782.19%85.64%84.82%79.52%76.97%Black or African American alone (NH)1,7851,8302,5864,4064,20216.40%12.89%11.31%14.32%12.45%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)35941241741540.32%0.66%0.54%0.57%0.46%Asian alone (NH)1130561661980.10%0.21%0.24%0.54%0.59%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census71719xx0.03%0.06%0.06%Other race alone (NH)5320291260.05%0.02%0.09%0.09%0.37%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census2344961,501xx1.02%1.61%4.45%Hispanic or Latino (any race)103834431,0161,5770.95%0.58%1.94%3.30%4.67%Total10,88714,20222,86330,77633,764 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 22,863 people, 8,450 households, and 6,236 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,820 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 86.10% White, 11.51% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. 1.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,450 households, out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.60% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,149, and the median income for a family was $42,222. Males had a median income of $29,845 versus $24,330 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,678. About 9.30% of families and 11.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 15.10% of those age 65 or over. Politics

County representation Wakulla County Government Position Name Party Commissioner Ralph Thomas Republican Commissioner Fred Nichols II Republican Commissioner Valerie Russell Republican Commissioner Quincee MesserSmithRepublican Commissioner Josh Lawhon Republican Sheriff Jared Miller Republican County Judge Brian Miller Republican Clerk of the Court Greg James Republican Property Appraiser Ed Brimner Republican School Superintendent Bobby Pearce Republican Elections Supervisor Joe Morgan Republican Tax Collector Liza Craze Republican

Transportation

Roads

Railroads No railroads currently operate within Wakulla County, but it was formerly served by two different railroads.