Citrus County, Florida


Citrus County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 141,236. Its county seat is Inverness, and its largest community is Homosassa Springs.
Citrus County comprises the Homosassa Springs, Fla. Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The area covered by present-day Citrus County is thought to have been first occupied at least 10,000 years ago. About 2,500 years ago, mound-building Native Americans settled in the area and built the complex that now forms the Crystal River Archeological Site. The site was occupied for about 2,000 years. Why the complex was abandoned is currently unknown.
Citrus County was created in 1887. The Citrus County area was formerly part of Hernando County. It was named for the county's citrus groves. Citrus production declined dramatically after the "Big Freeze" of 1894-1895: today, citrus is grown on one large grove, Bellamy Grove; additionally, some residents have citrus trees on their personal property.
After the Big Freeze the next major industry was phosphate mining, which continued until World War I. Planned industrial development surrounding the construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal never came to fruition when the partially-built canal was terminated after environmental opposition. A later attempt to create a port from the portion of the canal that was completed resulted in no significant progress and the county voted in 2015 to scuttle the project.
The original Citrus County seat was Mannfield. The county seat was later moved to Inverness; only a street and a pond remain of the original county seat town.
The first library in Citrus County was founded in 1917 in Inverness. Other branches opened in Floral City in 1958, and Hernando in 1959, as well as the freestanding Crystal River and Homosassa Libraries. These libraries joined together to create the Central Florida Library System in 1961. Beverly Hills Library opened in 1970 and joined the Central Florida Library System. A Special Library Taxing District was created by the voters in March 1984. In October 1987, the Citrus County Library System was established which allowed the county residents to administer their own system.
marking the site of the "Great Train Wreck of 1956" at Pineola, Florida.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
There are a number of uninhabited and/or sparsely inhabited coastal islands that can be accessed via watercraft. While some of the Citrus County islands are state lands thus available for public use for recreational opportunities, many other Citrus County islands are private property and are either wholly or partially owned by private parties.

Adjacent counties

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Services' aerial manatee surveys, as many as 400 of these unique creatures can be found in Citrus County at one time. This typically occurs only during the coldest months of the year.
Manatees can also be viewed in the underwater observatory at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Most of the park's residents are injured animals either undergoing rehabilitation for future release to the wild, or will be permanent due to their inability to be released to the wild. The notable exception is Lucifer, an African hippopotamus that had prior movie roles. When a permanent home could not be found for Lucifer, then-Governor Lawton Chiles named him an "honorary citizen of the state" thus allowing him to remain at the Park.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, 118,085 people, 52,634 households, and 36,317 families resided in the county. The population density was 78/km². The 62,204 housing units averaged 41/km². The racial makeup of the county was 95.05% White, 2.36% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. About 2.66% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
Of the 52,634 households, 19% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31% were not families. About 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.60.
In the county, the population was distributed as 17.20% under the age of 18, 4.60% from 18 to 24, 19.10% from 25 to 44, 26.90% from 45 to 64, and 32.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males.

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the county was $31,001, and for a family was $36,711. Males had a median income of $28,091 versus $21,408 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,585. Around 11.70% of the population and 8.50% of families were below the poverty line; 18.10% of those under the age of 18 and 7.00% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Labor

More than one-third of residents were senior citizens in 2014. Health care dominates the work force.

Transportation

Airports

One rail line operates within the county: A freight line to the Crystal River Energy Complex in northern Citrus County. Other lines that used to run through Citrus were either converted into rail trails such as the Cross Town Trail in Crystal River and Withlacoochee State Trail in eastern Citrus County or abandoned.

Major roads

Cities

Library

There are five branches of the Citrus County Library System: The Citrus County Library System was established on October 1, 1987.
The Floral City Public Library branch is located in the town center of Floral City. Oak trees lead up to the library. Surrounding the library is the Floral City Heritage Museum and Country Store, the Floral City Masonic Lodge, and Community House. The library is managed by the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners and receives governmental funding and donations to operate. The Lion's Club started the library in 1958 in a former gift shop.
A new branch location was built and opened on May 1, 2009. The building was part of a $1.5 million town center and linear park on Orange Avenue and replaced the old facility. The branch offers adult literacy, early childhood literacy, family & youth, self enrichment, and technology education classes. The library has many craft class offerings for children, teens, adults, and seniors. Popular programs include adult coloring, tissue paper flowers, recycled book art, and card making. Close to holidays, the branch hosts themed activities and small parties for children. Staff of the Floral City branch create monthly book displays to entice patrons to new areas and titles. Every year the library hosts two book sales to raise funds for more materials and programs. Staff participates in Heritage Days which is a weekend-long celebration of the founding of Floral City. Heritage days take place in early December and staff members dress up in garb from the late 1800s.
The Citrus County Library System offers a PAWS to Read program where elementary school-aged children can enhance their literacy skills by reading aloud to a certified therapy dog. It also has several other children/teen programs and adult recreational classes.
On October 24, 2019 the Citrus County Commissioners voted to prevent the Library System from offering library users digital access to the New York Times. Commissioner Scott Carnahan said, “I don’t want the New York Times in this county. I don’t agree with it, I don’t like ‘em, it’s fake news and I’m voting no. They can take that money and do something else with it... I support Donald Trump.”

Elections

Voter registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans comprise a plurality of registered voters in Citrus County.
Citrus County Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of July 12, 2020Citrus County Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of July 12, 2020Citrus County Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of July 12, 2020Citrus County Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of July 12, 2020Citrus County Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of July 12, 2020Citrus County Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of July 12, 2020
Political partyPolitical partyTotal votersPercentage--

Federal and state offices

Citrus County has voted Republican in national elections since 2000 and has voted Republican in state and local races before the 21st century. As of 2015, Republicans held the federal representative, state senator, and state representative seats serving the county, occupied all seats on the Citrus County Commission, and held nearly all other separately elected offices in the county. In 2016 the county broke heavily for Donald Trump, giving him 67% of the vote, the largest of any candidate since President Nixon in 1972.
The County has been trending heavily Republican for the past few decades, with Democrat registration actually declining for at least the past 15 years.
YearRepublicanDemocraticThird parties
201667.72% 54,45628.34% 22,7893.94% 3,167
201260.22% 44,66238.37% 28,4601.41% 1,047
200857.13% 43,70641.12% 31,4601.76% 1,343
200456.86% 39,50042.15% 29,2770.99% 690
200052.06% 29,80144.60% 25,5313.35% 1,916
199640.57% 20,12544.44% 22,04414.98% 7,431
199236.68% 16,41235.62% 15,93727.71% 12,397
198862.95% 21,07236.40% 12,1840.65% 218
198466.47% 20,76433.51% 10,4680.01% 4
198058.48% 14,28637.50% 9,1624.02% 982
197645.03% 7,97353.30% 9,4381.67% 296
197277.22% 8,84822.75% 2,6070.03% 3
196838.71% 2,76724.83% 1,77536.46% 2,606
196448.02% 2,32951.98% 2,521
196051.82% 1,86148.18% 1,730
195650.69% 1,57049.31% 1,527
195247.85% 1,24952.15% 1,361
194827.91% 46156.90% 94015.19% 251
194416.58% 26483.42% 1,328
194011.05% 19488.95% 1,561
193610.43% 15989.57% 1,366
193210.84% 14789.16% 1,209
192837.77% 50561.03% 8161.20% 16
19245.94% 3083.76% 42310.29% 52
192011.93% 9482.61% 6515.46% 43
19166.62% 4686.47% 6016.91% 48
19122.19% 1182.90% 41714.91% 75
19087.43% 3383.56% 3719.01% 40
19045.04% 2188.49% 3696.47% 27

Media

The Citrus County newspaper of record is the Citrus County Chronicle, a daily. It is published by Landmark Media Enterprises. A second paper, The Newscaster, also circulates in Citrus County but is located in neighboring Marion County.
Other online news sources include the Groundhog News, Citrus Daily, Real News Real Fast, Sunshine Standard and Citrus Times Online.
The local TV station is WYKE-CD.
The county is part of the Nielsen-designated. Spectrum and Comcast serve different areas of Citrus County, with Spectrum serving the western part of the county, including Crystal River; and Comcast serving Inverness, and the eastern county communities; these systems offer most Tampa Bay stations, plus selected channels from the Orlando and Gainesville markets.
Radio stations in Citrus County are part of the Arbitron-designated.

Government links/Constitutional offices