Everything about Palatka Florida totally explained
Palatka is a city in
Putnam County,
Florida,
United States. The population was 10,033 at the 2000 census. As of
2004, the population recorded by the
U.S. Census Bureau is 10,796.
(External Link
) It is the
county seat of
Putnam County and includes
East Palatka. The city is home to St. Johns River Community College and
Ravine Gardens State Park.
History
The area was once the domain of the
Timucuan nation, two tribes of which existed in the Palatka region under chiefs
Saturiwa and Utina. They
fished bass and
mullets, or
hunted deer,
turkeys,
bear and
opossum. Others
farmed beans,
corn,
melons,
squash and
tobacco. But
war and
disease devastated the tribes. Florida would then be taken over by the
Seminole, who called the location Pilo-taikita, meaning
boat (pilo)
ford (taikita), or "boat crossing." Here the
St. Johns River narrows and begins a shallower, winding course upstream to
Lake George and
Lake Monroe.
Because of the
Treaty of Paris, control of Florida changed in
1763 from
Spain to
England. In
1767, Denys Rolle, an English
philanthropist and nobleman, established Rollestown on the east bank of the St. Johns River at the head of deep water navigation. His 78,000 acre (320 km²)
plantation was a
utopian commercial and
humanitarian experiment, recruiting settlers off the streets of
London, including
paupers,
vagrants,
pickpockets and "penitent
prostitutes." Two hundred
indentured servants arrived to clear
wilderness for
agriculture and
livestock. Unaccustomed to either hard work or a
subtropical climate, however, they scattered. Rolle next imported
slaves from
West Africa to tend
chickens,
hogs,
goats and
sheep, or produce
cotton,
indigo,
citrus and
turpentine for export to England. A mansion was built and a village laid out, but trouble beleaguered the "ideal society." In
1770, a disgruntled overseer sold over 1,000 of his employer's
cattle and disappeared with the money. Rolle hired new overseers and bought more slaves, but the plantation remained unprosperous. When Spain resumed control of Florida in
1783, Rolle abandoned the colony and chartered a ship to carry his household belongings, livestock and slaves to a 2,000 acre (8 km²) estate on
Great Exuma in the
Bahamas. The point in East Palatka, however, is still called Rollestown.
With changes of sovereignty in Florida came numerous changes of ownership in Pilatka, as Pilo-taikita was first contracted. In
1774, naturalist
William Bartram noted an
Indian village on the west bank, but it would vanish. After the
United States acquired Florida in
1821, Nehemiah Brush established a
ferry and bought a 1,200 acre (4.9 km²) tract in
1826 and then an equal number in
1827. The site became a distribution point, where goods were shipped by a
New York company to supply immigrants at the Grant of Arredondo, which lay to the west.
The infusion of American settlers, however, created hostility among the Seminole people. When the government attempted to relocate the tribe starting in
1833, the
Second Seminole War began. Pilatka was attacked and burned in
1835. Recognizing the site's strategic importance for control of the St. Johns River, the main artery into
Central Florida, the military in
1838 established Fort Shannon, named for Captain Samuel Shannon. It included a
garrison, supply depot and hospital. During
1842 the Seminole were driven from the area, and consequently Fort Shannon was abandoned by the army in
1843. But the piers and buildings it had erected (including 8
blockhouses, 5 of which burned in a fire of
1855) would spur development of the town. By
1847, it was growing rapidly. In
1849, Putnam County was created, with Pilatka the county seat. With the help of Judge Isaac H. Bronson, whose house in now a museum, it was incorporated a city in
1853.
During the
1850s, Florida in general and Pilatka in particular gained a reputation as a haven for invalids escaping northern winters.
Steamboats carried them up the river in increasing numbers. One visitor wrote that amusements included "
sailing, fishing,
rowing,
walking, riding in
buggy and on
horseback,
whist, enchre,
backgammon and hunting." The trend was interrupted by the
Civil War, when
gunboats cruised the waters and Pilatka was destitute and largely deserted. On
October 7,
1862, the
USS Cimarron fired several
shells over the town after seeing some
Confederate cavalry. Mary Boyd pleaded with
Union Commander Maxwell Woodhull to spare Pilatka, assuring him that the horse soldiers were not residents. He complied. Following the rebellion, tourists returned to find new hotels, including the Putnam House and the Larkin House. Steamers ran up the
Ocklawaha River to
Eustis,
Leesburg and
Silver Springs, or the St. Johns River to
Enterprise and
Sanford. Industries included
logging, raising
cattle and
hogs, and
orange groves. On
May 24,
1875, the post office changed the spelling to Palatka, ending confusion with Picolata.
By the
1880s, several competing
railroads crossed the community, which became an important
junction. These included the Florida Southern Railroad, the
Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad, the St. Augustine and Palatka Railway, and the
Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad. But on
November 7,
1884, Palatka suffered a devastating fire. Guests arrived that season to find no accommodations, and so continued on the train south -- the beginning of a gradual tourism shift elsewhere. It would also lose
trade,
shipping and transportation preeminence to Jacksonville. Nevertheless, with its downtown rebuilt in brick to be
fireproof, Palatka emerged a finer place.
In
1893, A. E. and H. S. Wilson of
Saginaw, Michigan bought the Noah J. Tilghman & Son
sawmill, which manufactured
cypress lumber. Renamed the Wilson Cypress Company, it expanded operations and became a major employer. At its peak, it was the second largest cypress mill in the world, but closed in
1944. The
Great Freeze of
1894 and
1895 destroyed Palatka's citrus groves for 5 years, which were formerly a major attraction. The ill-fated
Cross Florida Barge Canal was once intended to pass the city. Today, tourism remains important.
Notable residents
- Isaac H. Bronson, judge & congressman
- Pop Lloyd, baseball player
- William Dunn Moseley, first governor of the state of Florida
- Joseph Stilwell, general
- Jarvis Williams, football player
- John L. Williams, football player
- Michelle McCool, American professional wrestler
- Willie Offord, football player
- Alexander Strausz, cartographer, school superintendent, engineer and brewer
Geography
Palatka is located at (29.647731, -81.651259).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.5
km² (7.5
sq mi). 7.0 square miles (18.0 km²) of it's land and 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²) of it (7.70%) is water. Palatka is drained by the St. Johns River.
Demographics
As of the
census of
2004, there were 10,796 people, 3,880 households, and 2,421 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,442.1 people per square mile (556.6/km²). There were 4,318 housing units at an average density of 620.7/sq mi (239.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 48.93%
White, 48.43%
African American, 0.16%
Native American, 0.44%
Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, 1.04% from
other races, and 1.00% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.83% of the population.
There were 3,880 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% were
married couples living together, 24.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% are other types of families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% 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 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 81.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $18,129, and the median income for a family was $26,076. Males had a median income of $27,716 versus $19,187 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $11,351. About 27.9% of families and 33.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 41.0% of those under age 18 and 19.6% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Palatka Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located 2 miles northwest of the
central business district.
Sites of interest
Bronson-Mulholland House (1854)
Palatka Railroad Preservation Society
Putnam County Historical Society & Museum
Ravine Gardens State Park
Angel's Dining Car (Florida's Oldest Diner)Further Information
Get more info on 'Palatka Florida'.
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