Gulf County, Florida

Gulf County is a county in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, 13,332 people lived there. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 13,975. Its county seat is Port St. Joe, Florida.

History
Gulf County, created in 1925, was named for the Gulf of Mexico. Wewahitchka was its first county seat and the 1927 Gulf County Courthouse is still there. In 1965, the county seat was moved to Port Saint Joe, which under its original name Saint Joseph, had been the site of Florida's first Constitutional Convention in 1838.

Land
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 744.59 sqmi, of which 554.60 sqmi (or 74.48%) is land and 190.00 sqmi (or 25.52%) is water.

Gulf County is one of a few counties in the United States to be in two time zones, Eastern and Central in this case. Other examples include Idaho County, Idaho, and Malheur County, Oregon, having parts in both Mountain and Pacific Time Zones as well as Cherry County, Nebraska which is in both the Mountain and Central Time Zones.

Counties nearby

 * Calhoun County, Florida - north
 * Liberty County, Florida - northeast
 * Franklin County, Florida - east
 * Bay County, Florida - west

National protected area

 * St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge (part)

People
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,332 people, 4,931 households, and 3,535 families living in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 7,587 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.89% White, 16.94% Black or African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. 2.03% of the people were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,931 households out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.30% were not related. 25.50% of all households were made up of people living alone and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the county the people was spread out with 21.70% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 114.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,276, and the median income for a family was $36,289. Males had a median income of $27,539 versus $20,780 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,449. About 13.70% of families and 16.70% of the people were below the poverty line, including 20.80% of those under age 18 and 14.10% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

 * Port St. Joe
 * Wewahitchka
 * Dalkeith
 * Highland View
 * Honeyville
 * Overstreet
 * White City

Politics
Gulf County is heavily Democratic. However, the county tends to vote Republican in statewide and national elections. As of November 2008, there are 9074 registered voters, the Democratic Party's 5529 members (61%) hold a large advantage over the Republican Party's 2853 members (31%).

Republican Steve Southerland represents the county in the US House of Representatives.

Despite remaining a Democratic stronghold, In the 2008 Presidential election John McCain carried the county with 69% of the vote. In 2004, Gulf County re-elected President George W. Bush by a 2 to 1 margin.

Government links/Constitutional offices

 * Gulf County Board of County Commissioners
 * Gulf County Supervisor of Elections
 * Gulf County Property Appraiser
 * Gulf County Sheriff's Office
 * Gulf County Tax Collector

Special districts

 * Gulf County School District
 * Northwest Florida Water Management District

Judicial branch

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

Tourism links

 * Gulf County Tourism Development Council

Business links

 * Gulf County Chamber of Commerce