Putnam County, Florida


Putnam County is a county located in the northeastern part of the state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 74,364. Its county seat is Palatka.
Putnam County comprises the Palatka, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Jacksonville-St. Marys-Palatka, FL-GA Combined Statistical Area. The county is centrally located between Jacksonville, Gainesville, St. Augustine, and Daytona Beach.

History

Putnam County was created in 1849. It was Florida's 28th county created from parts of St. Johns, Alachua, Orange, Duval, and Marion counties. The county was named for Benjamin A. Putnam, who was an officer in the First Seminole War, a lawyer, Florida legislator, and the first president of the Florida Historical Society. The Putnam County Historical Society has determined that Benjamin A. Putnam is the grandson of Israel Putnam, for whom other counties and places in the United States are named. Benjamin A. Putnam died in the county seat of Palatka in 1869.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
The county contains various sinkhole lakes such as Lake Barco where unconsolidated deposits on the surface have slumped into the highly soluble limestone of the upper Floridan aquifer.

Adjacent counties

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 70,423 people, 27,839 households, and 19,459 families residing in the county. The population density was 98 people per square mile. There were 33,870 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 77.91% White, 17.04% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.94% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 5.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 27,839 households out of which 28.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.80% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 24.60% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 24.20% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $28,180, and the median income for a family was $34,499. Males had a median income of $29,975 versus $20,955 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,603. About 15.80% of families and 20.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.60% of those under age 18 and 13.10% of those age 65 or over.

Ancestry/Ethnicity

the largest self-reported ethnic/ancestry groups in Putnam County, Florida are:
Largest ancestries Percent
English20.0%
German9.5%
Irish8.2%
"American"8.0%
Polish2.2%
Scottish2.0%
Spaniard1.7%
Scots-Irish1.3%
Dutch1.0%
Scottish2.9%
Swedish0.8%

Education

The main campus of St. Johns River State College is located in Palatka.
First Coast Technical College is public, post secondary vocational school with a campus in Palatka.

Libraries

Putnam County is served by the which has five branches:

Cities

YearRepublicanDemocraticThird parties
201666.48% 22,13830.31% 10,0943.21% 1,069
201261.50% 19,32637.13% 11,6671.37% 431
200859.01% 19,63739.77% 13,2361.22% 406
200459.12% 18,31140.07% 12,4120.81% 250
200051.29% 13,45746.14% 12,1072.57% 675
199638.91% 9,78647.75% 12,01013.34% 3,356
199234.72% 8,91041.73% 10,70923.55% 6,042
198857.24% 11,62442.23% 8,5750.53% 108
198459.37% 11,43540.61% 7,8230.02% 4
198046.67% 8,27350.24% 8,9063.10% 548
197634.03% 5,04064.81% 9,5971.16% 172
197274.61% 8,74124.76% 2,9010.63% 74
196826.80% 2,95526.49% 2,92046.71% 5,150
196450.38% 5,07249.62% 4,995
196048.72% 4,23651.28% 4,459
195656.58% 4,21243.42% 3,232
195251.65% 3,76648.35% 3,525
194829.68% 1,43540.27% 1,94730.06% 1,453
194428.44% 1,16371.56% 2,926
194022.47% 1,00877.53% 3,477
193626.47% 97573.53% 2,709
193228.29% 91171.71% 2,309
192863.01% 2,10534.60% 1,1562.39% 80
192435.13% 57454.41% 88910.47% 171
192040.51% 1,18153.41% 1,5576.07% 177
191628.67% 41860.29% 87911.04% 161
191219.51% 22965.93% 77414.56% 171
190830.88% 45454.22% 79714.90% 219
190425.83% 21069.13% 5625.04% 41

Transportation

Airports

The historic Old Atlantic Coast Line Union Depot is the current Amtrak station in Palatka for Putnam County along the CSX Sanford Subdivision. Originally the station not only served the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad but also served the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, the Southern Railway, Florida East Coast Railroad, and the Ocklawaha Valley Railroad. Additionally, the Edgar Spur of the CSX Wildwood Subdivision enters the western edge of the county from Alachua County.

Navigable Waterways