Jackson County, Florida

Jackson County was created by the Florida Territorial Council in 1822 by splitting from Escambia County, making it the third county in the Territory. The county was named for Andrew Jackson, who had served as Florida's first military governor for six months in 1821. Jackson County originally spread from the Choctawhatchee River on the west to the Suwannee River on the east. The county had been shrunk close to its current boundaries by 1840 through the creation of new counties from its original land. Small changes to the county border continued through most of the 19th century, however.^[3][4][5]

There were no towns in Jackson County when it was formed. The first county court met at what was called "Robinson's Big Spring" (later called Blue Springs) in 1822 and then at the "Big Spring of the Choctawhatchee" in 1823. The following year the county court met at "Chipola Settlement" which is also known as Waddell's Mill Pond.

Marianna became the county seat, but not without controversy. It was founded by Robert Beveridge, a native of Scotland, in September 1827. The first town established in Jackson County was Webbville in January 1827. Webbville, a community of land squatters, was located 9 miles (14 km) northwest of present day Marianna and was named the county seat. Webbville thrived until 1828 when Beveridge and other Marianna settlers went to Tallahassee and enticed the Florida Legislature with free land, construction of a courthouse, a public square and $500 to purchase a quarter section of land to be sold at public auction as a way to finance the new government, if the county seat was moved to Marianna.

Beveridge and his supporters succeeded and Marianna became the county seat of the county justice and civil authority, even though it was never officially named the county seat. Marianna began to grow and prosper when the county government moved into the new courthouse in 1829. Webbville's important citizens moved to Marianna and the L&N Railroad decided to bypass the town.

From 1869-71, Jackson County was the center of a low-level guerrilla war known as the Jackson County War. Ku Klux Klan members, including Confederate Army veterans, assassinated over 150 Republican Party officials and important African-Americans as part of a successful campaign to retain conservative white Democratic power.^[6]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 955 square miles (2,470 km²), of which 918 square miles (2,380 km²) is land and 37 square miles (96 km²) (3.9%) is water.^[7] Jackson County is the only county in Florida that borders both Georgia and Alabama. Jackson County is in the Central Standard Time Zone. Its eastern border with Gadsden County forms the boundary in this area between the Central Standard and Eastern Standard Time Zones.

• Seminole County, Georgia - east
• Gadsden County, Florida - southeast
• Liberty County, Florida - southeast
• Calhoun County, Florida - south
• Washington County, Florida - southwest
• Bay County, Florida - southwest
• Holmes County, Florida - west
• Geneva County, Alabama - northwest
• Houston County, Alabama - north

At the 2020 census, 47,319 people lived in the county. There were 17,083 households and 6,512 people who did not live in households. The population density was 51.5 people per square mile (19.9/km²). The median age was 42.9 years (40.8 for males, 46.0 for females).

Of the total population, 19.1% were under 18 years old, 60.6% were 18 to 64, and 20.2% were 65 or over. Males made up 54.4% and females made up 45.6% of the people. The population was 64.7% White (non-Latino), 25.4% Black (non-Latino), 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, and 3.8% Two or more races (non-Latino). Other races each make up less than 1% of the population.

Of the 17,083 households, 11,179 (65.4%) were families, 4,913 (28.8%) had children under 18, 7,417 (43.4%) had a married couple, and 5,123 (30.0%) had one person living alone. The average household size was 2.4 people. There were 19,882 housing units, and 85.9% had people living in them all year. Of these households, 72.4% were owner-occupied, while 27.6% were renters.^[8][9]

As of 2022, the median (middle) income for a household was about $46,144, and the median income for a family was about $58,273.^[10] The per capita income was about $23,210.^[11] About 13.7% of families^[12] and 19.2% of all people in Jackson County lived below the poverty line. This includes 31.2% of children under 18 years old and 9.7% of people over 65 years old.^[13]

• Town of Alford
• Town of Bascom
• Town of Campbellton
• Town of Cottondale
• City of Graceville
• Town of Grand Ridge
• Town of Greenwood
• City of Jacob City
• Town of Malone
• City of Marianna
• Town of Sneads

• Cypress, Florida
• Two Egg, Florida
• Round Lake, Florida

Jackson County is mainly Republican.

Jackson County is governed by a five-member board of county commissioners.^[15]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jackson County, Florida.

• Jackson County Board of County Commissioners
• Jackson County Supervisor of Elections
• Jackson County Property Appraiser
• Jackson County Sheriff's Office
• Jackson County Tax Collector

• Jackson District School Board Archived 2004-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Northwest Florida Water Management District Archived 2004-11-26 at the Wayback Machine

• Jackson County Clerk of Courts
• Circuit and County Court for the 14th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson and Washington counties

• Jackson County Chamber of Commerce

30°48′N 85°13′W / 30.80°N 85.21°W / 30.80; -85.21